6.6 KiB
QuickClaude
A small, nearly invisible desktop window for talking to Claude on Windows.
QuickClaude is a lightweight front end for Claude Code. Instead of working in a terminal, you get a transparent, borderless window that sits on your desktop like a note. You type into it, Claude Code does the work in the background, and the answer shows up right there in the window.
It was built for people who want Claude close at hand without a browser tab or a terminal window taking up space.
What it looks like and how it behaves
The window has no title bar, no borders and no background to speak of. Text floats on your desktop in a small monospace font (Consolas 10, falling back to Courier New).
The faint word "clod" in the top left corner is the drag handle. Grab it to move the window anywhere. A small status line sits next to it so you can tell when Claude is working.
Drag any edge or corner to resize the window, with the normal Windows resize arrows. QuickClaude remembers its size and position, so it opens where you left it.
The input at the bottom is just a blinking cursor. No lines, outlines, placeholder text or focus highlights. Click anywhere in the window and the cursor jumps there, ready to type. Click and drag over the conversation to select text instead, then copy it with Ctrl+C or the right-click menu.
Menus
Right-click in the window for a small menu that matches the rest of QuickClaude:
On the conversation: Copy and New conversation. In the input: Cut, Copy, Paste and New conversation. Anywhere else: New conversation.
The tray icon (the dark blue square with a white "C") has New conversation, the "Claude can" setting described below, and Exit.
New conversation clears the window and starts Claude fresh, with no memory of what you talked about before.
What it can do
QuickClaude is not just a chat box. Because Claude Code is running behind it, Claude can actually do things on your behalf:
Search the web and read web pages, so it can answer questions about current events, people and anything newer than its training.
Read and search files anywhere in your user folder (Downloads, Documents, Desktop and so on), and create or edit them when you allow it.
Run commands on your computer, but only after you approve each one. See below.
The "Claude can" setting
Choose how much Claude is allowed to do from the tray menu. The change takes effect with your next message, no restart needed.
Only look. Claude can search the web, read web pages, and read and search your files. It cannot create, change or delete any file.
Edit files. Everything in Only look, plus creating and editing files in your user folder.
Auto. Everything in Edit files. On top of that, Claude Code's own safety check reviews anything else Claude tries and blocks risky actions, such as sending data off your PC or deleting things in bulk.
In every mode, commands still go through the confirm box.
The confirm box
A command can do almost anything to your computer, so QuickClaude never runs one silently. Whenever Claude wants to run a command (PowerShell, Bash, or a background monitor), a small dark box pops up showing the exact command and which folder it would run in, with Allow and Deny buttons and a countdown.
Allow runs it. Deny, pressing Esc or closing the box tells Claude you declined, and it carries on another way without running anything.
Deny has focus when the box opens, so an accidental press of Enter never runs a command.
If you don't answer within two minutes, the command is denied automatically.
Privacy
QuickClaude does not contain anyone's login, API key or account. It uses whatever account your own copy of Claude Code is signed into. Your messages, usage and billing all go through your own account, exactly as if you were using Claude Code in a terminal.
Claude is also instructed never to put your email address, website domain, name, account details or other personal information into web searches or the pages it fetches, unless you specifically ask it to search for them.
Requirements
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Nothing else to install for QuickClaude itself. It's a single self-contained exe and doesn't need .NET installed.
Claude Code version 2.1.257 or newer, installed and signed in. This is the important one. QuickClaude does not include Claude itself. It is only a window in front of Claude Code, so Claude Code must already be installed on your PC and logged in. You can check by opening PowerShell and typing claude --version. If it shows a version number and claude starts up signed in, you're set.
An Anthropic account. Claude Code needs either a paid Claude subscription (Pro or Max) or an API key from the Anthropic Console. Without one, QuickClaude will open but every message will fail.
Setup instructions for Claude Code: https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/setup
Installing
- Make sure Claude Code is installed, up to date and signed in (see Requirements).
- Download
QuickClaude.exefrom the Releases page of this repository. - Put it wherever you like and double-click it. It's a single file, so there's nothing else to install.
If you'd like it handy, right-click the exe and choose Pin to Start (on Windows 11 this can be under "Show more options").
Building it yourself
You'll need the .NET 8 SDK.
git clone https://git.bloggin.space/weishaupt/QuickClaude.git
cd QuickClaude
dotnet publish -c Release
The finished exe ends up in:
bin\Release\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\QuickClaude.exe
Close QuickClaude first if it's running from that folder, or the build can't replace the exe.
Troubleshooting
Nothing happens when I send a message. Claude Code probably isn't installed, isn't on your PATH, isn't signed in, or is older than 2.1.257. Open PowerShell, type claude --version, and update if needed.
Claude says it can't search the web, or uses commands to look things up. Start a new conversation from the right-click or tray menu. An older conversation can carry over outdated instructions.
Claude says it can't change a file. Check the "Claude can" setting in the tray menu. Only look is read-only by design.
The icon still shows an old color after updating. That's Windows caching the icon. Moving the exe to a different folder, or unpinning and re-pinning it, usually fixes it.
The window disappeared. It's transparent, so it can be easy to lose against a busy wallpaper. Look for the faint "clod" label, or exit from the tray icon and reopen it.