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agent-desktop vs Claude Code

Compare agent-desktop and Claude Code - features, pricing, and which is better for your workflow.

What is agent-desktop?

Free Apache-2.0 CLI from Vercel Labs. Coding agents read and operate desktop apps through the OS accessibility tree.

Price: Free

  • CLI and C library for macOS, Windows, and Linux
  • JSON snapshot with refs, then act and snapshot again
  • Headless by default, no pixel matching
  • Optional cursor per agent on macOS, Windows, and Linux X11
  • Apache-2.0
Learn more about agent-desktop

What is Claude Code?

Anthropic's agentic coding tool — Claude in your terminal, IDE, desktop app and browser, reading and editing your codebase, running commands, opening pull requests and working on tasks in the cloud.

Price: Paid

  • Works in the terminal, VS Code and JetBrains, the Claude desktop app, and on the web
  • Reads and edits across your whole codebase, runs commands and tests, and opens pull requests
  • Cloud sessions keep working after you close the laptop; hand off between local and cloud
  • Skills, hooks, MCP servers and plugins to shape how it works on your projects
  • Subagents and workflows for parallel, multi-step tasks
  • Included with Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, or pay as you go on the API
Learn more about Claude Code