Command reference ยท Claude Code
/desktop
Continues the current session in the Claude Code desktop app.
Hands off the running terminal session seamlessly to the Claude Code desktop app: the conversation and context transfer unchanged instead of starting over. The session then continues there, with parallel sessions, a visual diff view, an integrated editor and terminal, and live previews of apps. Short form: /app.
The commands reference still lists only macOS or Windows plus an active Claude subscription as prerequisites; without a matching platform, the command doesn't even appear in the list. Since the week of June 29 to July 3, 2026 (versions 2.1.195-2.1.201), the desktop app has also been available for Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+) according to a separate documentation page marked as beta, including the Code tab for Claude Code. The prerequisite line for /desktop itself wasn't visibly updated there - whether the session handoff now also works on Linux can't be clearly determined from the sources.
โ WHEN TO USE IT?
Continue a running terminal session on a larger screen with a graphical interface
Run /desktop in the middle of a debugging session to switch to the desktop app's parallel diff view and integrated editor
Switch from a laptop on the go to the desktop machine without losing context
/desktop to continue the same conversation on the main machine in the app
โ WHEN NOT TO?
Expecting a smooth session handoff on Linux like on macOS/Windows
the commands reference still lists only macOS/Windows as prerequisites for /desktop; whether the handoff also works with the separately documented Linux beta app (Ubuntu 22.04+/Debian 12+, since week 27/2026) is not confirmed by the sources
Better: start the Linux beta app directly and check there whether an equivalent handoff is offered, or stay in the terminal session
No active Claude subscription
without a corresponding subscription, /desktop doesn't even show up according to the docs
Better: run /login and set up a subscription first, or keep working in the terminal session with API key authentication
SOURCES
- Claude Code docs (official) โ code.claude.com
MORE COMMANDS ยท Claude Code