🦀 Claude Desktop - Tauri Edition

Lightweight, fast Linux desktop client for Claude AI - Built with Tauri (Rust + Web) instead of Electron.

⚡ Why Tauri?

Feature	Tauri (This project)	Electron (Official)
Memory (idle)	~30-50 MB 🚀	~200-400 MB 🐌
Binary size	~5-8 MB 📦	~150 MB 📦📦📦
Startup time	<1 second ⚡	3-5 seconds 🐌
CPU usage	Low 💚	High 🔥

✨ Features

• ✅ Native Linux performance - No Electron bloat
• ✅ Chat + Code in one window - Switch between Claude Chat and Claude Code with tabs
• ✅ MCP Server support - Full Model Context Protocol integration
• ✅ Session authentication - Uses your Claude subscription (no API keys)
• ✅ System tray - Quick access from taskbar
• ✅ Global hotkey - Ctrl+Alt+Space to open
• ✅ Dark theme - Easy on the eyes
• ✅ Config UI - Manage MCP servers through GUI
• ✅ Memory efficient - Single window, no extra processes

📦 Installation

Download Pre-built Packages

Coming soon! Check Releases for:

• .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Mint)
• .AppImage (Universal Linux)
• .rpm (Fedora, RHEL)

Build from Source

Prerequisites

# Rust
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# Tauri dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
    build-essential \
    curl \
    wget \
    libssl-dev \
    libgtk-3-dev \
    libayatana-appindicator3-dev \
    librsvg2-dev

# Node.js (for frontend tooling)
# Install via nvm, apt, or snap

Build

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/milhy545/Claude-Desktop.git
cd Claude-Desktop

# Install frontend dependencies
npm install

# Build (choose one)
npm run build              # All formats
npm run build:deb          # .deb package
npm run build:appimage     # .AppImage
npm run build:rpm          # .rpm package

# Output: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/

Development

npm run dev

🔧 Configuration

MCP Servers

Config file: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/home/user/Documents",
        "/home/user/Projects"
      ]
    },
    "git": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-git"]
    },
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite",
        "--db-path",
        "/home/user/my-database.db"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Edit via GUI: Open app → Settings (⚙️) → Edit config

Authentication

Uses claude-cli-authentication for session management.

Session stored in: ~/.claude/

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+Alt+Space - Show/focus window (global)
• Ctrl+, - Open settings
• Esc - Close modal/settings

💬 Chat + Code Integration

Claude Desktop includes both Claude Chat and Claude Code in one application:

Tabs Mode (default):

[💬 Chat] [⌨️ Code]
     ▲
  Click to switch

• Click Chat → Opens claude.ai (conversations)
• Click Code → Opens Claude Code (coding assistant)
• Single window, low memory usage
• Perfect for low-spec PCs

Why tabs?

• Memory efficient (only one webview active)
• No system freeze from multiple windows
• Fast switching between Chat and Code
• Ideal for all-in-one PCs

🏗️ Architecture

Rust Backend (Tauri)
├── Authentication (claude CLI integration)
├── MCP Server Manager (launch/stop npx/python/binary)
├── Config Parser (JSON)
└── System Integration (tray, hotkeys)

Web Frontend
├── Embedded claude.ai (iframe)
├── Settings UI
└── Server management UI

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! This is a community project.

1. Fork the repo
2. Create feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing
3. Commit: git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature'
4. Push: git push origin feature/amazing
5. Open PR

📄 License

MIT License - See LICENSE

🙏 Credits

• Anthropic - For Claude AI
• Tauri - For the amazing framework
• Community - For Electron alternatives inspiration

🐛 Known Issues

• First launch might be slow (npx downloads MCP servers)
• WebKitGTK might have some rendering quirks vs Chromium
• Some claude.ai features might not work in iframe

🗺️ Roadmap

• Auto-update mechanism
• Desktop Extensions (.mcpb) support
• Custom themes
• Multi-window support
• Notification system
• Offline mode

📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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Made with 🦀 Rust and ❤️ for Linux users

"Protože Linux uživatelé si zaslouží stejně dobrý desktop klient jako Mac/Windows - ale rychlejší!"