Claude Desktop: Download, Features, MCP

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's app for macOS and Windows, with Linux in beta. The download is free at claude.com/download. On the Free plan you get chat; from Pro upwards you also get Claude Code in the "Code" tab and Cowork. Compared with claude.ai in the browser, your account and conversations are the same, but only the app reaches into your computer: it opens folders you share, runs local MCP servers and extensions, can operate your screen and browser, and on a Mac opens from any app via a shortcut (Anthropic help center as of November 4, 2026).

I work with Claude Code every day and run 14 AI employees on it. I use both the terminal and the desktop app depending on the task, mostly the terminal, because that is what I am used to. With customers who don't write software it is usually the other way around: they stay with the desktop app. This article follows Anthropic's docs; details on the Mac build come from its app bundle (read November 4, 2026), not from a functional test.

Download and install Claude Desktop

System requirements according to Anthropic: macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, Windows 10 or later, and on Linux Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12, each on x64 or arm64.

• Mac: According to the docs, the file from claude.com/download is a universal build for Intel and Apple Silicon. Open the file, launch Claude from the Applications folder, sign in.
• Windows: There are installers for x64 and ARM64, plus the app in the Microsoft Store. Installing without admin rights gets you the app but no Cowork, which also needs the Windows feature Virtual Machine Platform.
• Linux (beta): Install from Anthropic's apt repository; updates arrive with apt upgrade, not in the app. Computer use and dictation are missing on Linux.

The Mac bundle (read November 4, 2026) shows an Electron app that requires macOS 13.0 and opens extensions (.mcpb, older .dxt) and skill files (.skill) on double-click. It also registers as a handler for folders, PDF, Word files and images. It asks separately for Desktop, Downloads and Documents; for Documents it names scheduled tasks, live artifacts and Cowork files. It also requests the microphone for dictation and the local network to reach development servers.

If you only want Claude Code in the terminal instead of the app, Install Claude Code: Windows, Mac, Linux shows the way.

Claude Desktop vs web: what only the app can do

The standard app loads its interface from claude.ai and stores conversations with Anthropic, so chats, projects and connectors match in app and browser. The difference is everything that touches your computer:

The quick access is called Quick Entry: double-tapping Option on a Mac opens an input box over any app, with screenshot or window capture. Caps Lock starts dictation once you enable that shortcut (macOS 14 or later). Quick Entry works on all plans, including Free.

Computer use exists only in Cowork and the Code tab (in the new interface, in any conversation in the desktop app). Per Anthropic, Claude tries a connector first, then the browser, and only then clicks on screen. Team and Enterprise currently lack it.

The Code tab and Cowork in the app

Claude Desktop is not a third tool next to Claude Code and Cowork but the housing for both. Since October 6, 2026, Cowork on Pro, Max and Ultra runs in the cloud. Your folders stay local: Claude reaches them only through the open app and fetches a copy of the file it needs. What Cowork can do is covered in Claude Cowork: What It Does, Who It's For. I have used Cowork myself, among other things for presentations and my own skills. Today I work only in Claude Code.

Since September 16, 2026, Anthropic has been gradually merging chat and Cowork into one Claude: once you have the new interface, there is no "Cowork" mode to pick, and what used to work only in Cowork is available in any conversation. The "Code" tab stays where it was.

The Code tab is Claude Code with panes instead of a terminal: parallel sessions, optionally each in its own Git worktree, a diff view, a built-in terminal, and cloud or SSH sessions. It reads the same settings files as the CLI. Since Cowork moved to the cloud, Anthropic recommends this tab for purely local tasks. How the cloud sessions work is explained in Claude Code on the Web: Cloud Sessions.

Claude Desktop and MCP: extensions, config, connectors

There are two ways to run local MCP servers. The easy one is desktop extensions: .mcpb packages you install with one click from Anthropic's directory under "Settings > Desktop app", next to "Extensions". Your own packages go in via "Advanced settings", section "Extension Developer". The app ships with Node.js, and fields marked sensitive, such as API keys, go into the system keychain.

The second way is the file claude_desktop_config.json, which you open via "Settings > Developer > Edit Config":

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

After every change, quit and restart the app. The "+" in the input box, under "Connectors", shows whether a server is running. How to add a server and use it in Claude Code is shown in Set Up a Claude MCP Server.

Remote MCP servers run as custom connectors and also work in the browser (one on the Free plan); local servers only work in the app. Anthropic notes that custom connectors are not verified and that Claude can act in them. What connectors can and can't do is covered in Claude Connectors: What They Are and Do. Why a tool with access to your inbox and files is a target is explained in Prompt Injection: Protecting AI Agents.

Claude Desktop in companies: Team and Enterprise

On Team and Enterprise, admins control the app through policies. On a Mac it reads the preference domain com.anthropic.claudefordesktop, also its bundle ID, distributed via MDM such as Jamf, Kandji or Intune. On Windows the values live in the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Claude. The most important switches:

• forceLoginOrgUUID: sign-in only with an account from your organization, no private account on the company machine
• isDesktopExtensionEnabled, isLocalDevMcpEnabled: extensions and local MCP servers on or off
• isClaudeCodeForDesktopEnabled, secureVmFeaturesEnabled: Code tab and Cowork on or off
• allowedWorkspaceFolders: which folders Cowork may mount
• disableAutoUpdates: updates only through your own software distribution

For Windows there are MSIX packages for Intune, SCCM or Group Policy. The package installs per user. For all users on a device, use Add-AppxProvisionedPackage.

For data protection, the plan matters, not the app: per Anthropic, Team and Enterprise inputs aren't used for training by default; on Free, Pro, Max and Ultra the setting "Help improve our AI models" under "Settings > Privacy" decides.

Claude Desktop without Anthropic's cloud: 3P mode

For organizations whose model requests should not run through Anthropic's own services, there is a separate mode: Claude Desktop on third-party (3P). The app sends all requests to a provider you configure, such as Amazon Bedrock or Google Cloud's Agent Platform (on Microsoft Foundry, Anthropic itself operates the models); Chat, Cowork and Code keep working, conversations stay on the device, and web and mobile access are missing. How to set this up with Bedrock is shown in Set Up Claude Desktop with Amazon Bedrock; the EU regions and limits of Bedrock itself are covered in Claude on AWS Bedrock: EU, GDPR and Cost.

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude Desktop free?

The download is. On the Free plan you use chat in it, plus Quick Entry on a Mac. Claude Code and Cowork need a paid plan from Pro upwards.

Does Claude Desktop run on an Intel Mac?

Yes, according to Anthropic the Mac download is a universal build for Intel and Apple Silicon, for macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. Computer use needs macOS 14.

Where is the Claude Desktop MCP config?

In claude_desktop_config.json: on a Mac under ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, on Windows under %APPDATA%\Claude\. The quickest way there is "Settings > Developer > Edit Config". Restart the app afterwards.

Are my chats the same in the app and in the browser?

Yes, with the standard app and an Anthropic account. Not in 3P mode, for example on Bedrock: there, conversations live only on the device in question.

How do I update Claude Desktop?

On a Mac via "Claude > Check for Updates…", on Windows via "Help > Check for Updates…"; per Anthropic's Windows guide, the app also checks about every four hours. On Linux, use apt upgrade. Company IT can switch off auto-updates and ship builds itself.

Where to go from here

Install the app, share one folder with Claude and give it one real task from your week. If you then want more control, Claude Code: A Guide for Beginners walks you through the first steps in the Code tab or the terminal. Which extensions and workflows others actually use is something we discuss in my community AI Employee Framework.