Bring Claude Code into Your Browser: A Visual Guide for Desktop & Mobile

A complete walkthrough from installation to daily use—no command-line wizardry required

Have you ever wished you could check your Claude Code sessions on the train?
Do some team members avoid the terminal altogether?
This post shows—step by step—how to run the official CLI in a friendly web interface that works on laptops, tablets, and phones.

Table of Contents

1. What Claude Code and Claude Code UI Actually Are
2. Quick-Start Checklist
3. Three-Minute Installation
4. First-Run Tour
5. Turning Features On Safely
6. Core Workflows
7. Mobile-First Tips
8. Troubleshooting the Top Five Errors
9. Architecture at a Glance
10. Contributing Without the Headache
11. When to Use CLI vs. UI
12. Next Steps

1. What Claude Code and Claude Code UI Actually Are

Claude Code
A command-line tool from Anthropic that understands your codebase, answers questions, and generates patches. Everything happens inside the terminal.

Claude Code UI
An open-source web layer built with Node.js and React. It forwards every message to the real CLI and shows answers in a browser. Nothing is re-implemented; the CLI remains the single source of truth.

Flow:

Browser (React) ⇄ Node.js Express ⇄ Claude CLI

All permissions stay identical to the CLI—no hidden escalations.

2. Quick-Start Checklist

3. Three-Minute Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/siteboon/claudecodeui.git
   cd claudecodeui
   

2. Install dependencies

   npm install
   

3. Prepare environment variables

   cp .env.example .env
   # Open .env and set the port you prefer
   

4. Start the development server

   npm run dev
   

   The terminal prints:
   Server running on http://localhost:3001

5. Open the browser

   • Desktop: navigate to http://localhost:3001
   • Phone: make sure you are on the same network, then visit http://<computer-ip>:3001. Add to home screen for PWA mode.

4. First-Run Tour

5. Turning Features On Safely

Every tool that can write files or run scripts is disabled by default.

To enable:

1. Click the gear icon in the sidebar → Tools Settings
2. Toggle only what you need
3. Close the modal; settings are saved in the browser

Recommended order:

6. Core Workflows

6.1 Project Management

• Auto-discovery
  The UI scans ~/.claude/projects/ and lists every project that has ever run claude.

• Refresh
  A refresh button in the sidebar adds new projects without restart.

• Rename / Delete
  Right-click a project card. These actions only update the UI list; the actual folder remains untouched.

6.2 Chat Interface

• Resume sessions
  Each project shows past sessions. Click to continue; context is restored.

• Search
  Filter messages by keyword.

• Export
  Export single messages or entire sessions as .md or .jsonl.

6.3 File Explorer & Editor

• Tree navigation
  Expand folders on the left, preview files on the right.

• Syntax highlighting
  Powered by CodeMirror, supports 100+ languages.

• Live save
  Press Ctrl+S; the file is written to disk immediately and the CLI sees the change.

6.4 Git Explorer

• Status overview
  Modified, added, and deleted files are listed.

• Stage / unstage
  Check or uncheck files.

• Commit
  Write the message in the box, then click Commit.

• Branch switcher
  Dropdown lists local branches; one click checks it out.

6.5 Session Management

• Persistence
  All conversations are stored as JSONL inside the project’s .claude/ folder.

• Cross-device sync
  Push the project to GitHub; on any new machine git pull and refresh the page.

7. Mobile-First Tips

8. Troubleshooting the Top Five Errors

8.1 “No Claude projects found”

• Run claude inside at least one project directory to initialize.
• Ensure ~/.claude/projects/ exists and is readable:
  ls -ld ~/.claude/projects

8.2 File Explorer empty or slow

• Verify project permissions:
  chmod -R u+rwX .
• Exclude large folders in .env:
  IGNORED_DIRS=node_modules,.git
• For EMFILE errors on macOS:
  ulimit -n 65535

8.3 Shell commands not running after enabling the tool

• Use the syntax /shell <command> in the chat input.
• The shell tool only opens the channel; commands are still user-typed.

8.4 Mobile browser cannot connect

• Ensure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi.
• Check firewall rules on the host computer.

8.5 High memory usage

• The UI itself is lightweight; memory is usually the Claude CLI process.
• Close idle projects or exit long sessions.

9. Architecture at a Glance

┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
│   Frontend   │    │   Backend    │    │ Claude CLI   │
│ React + Vite │◄──►│ Express + WS │◄──►│ Integration  │
└──────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘

• Frontend – Vite cold-starts in <1 s, hot reloads <50 ms.
• Backend – Stateless proxy with static file serving; no database.
• Protocol – JSON over WebSocket, one message per object, easy to log or replay.

10. Contributing Without the Headache

Areas that welcome help:

• Bug fixes
• UI/UX refinements
• Documentation improvements
• Performance tweaks

11. When to Use CLI vs. UI

12. Next Steps

• Deploy the UI on an internal server so the whole team shares the same project list.
• Use the BASE_PATH variable in .env to serve under /claude alongside existing tools.
• Write a small cron job that exports daily sessions to your internal wiki, keeping documentation always up to date.

Enjoy your new visual Claude Code experience—on your desk, on your sofa, or on the go.