Why Pandev?
Claude Code is the most capable AI coding agent available today, but using it has friction.
The CLI is powerful but not visual. Running claude in your terminal works, but you lose context fast — no file explorer, no browser preview, no way to see what Claude is doing beyond scrolling terminal output.
Claude Desktop isn't built for coding. The interface isn't designed around developer workflows. There's no project awareness, no terminal, no file browsing, no git integration.
Multi-project work is painful. This is the biggest gap. When you're working with AI on real projects, you frequently kick off a task in one codebase, wait for the result, and switch to another project in the meantime. With the CLI or Desktop, this means managing multiple terminal windows, losing track of which session is where, and juggling context. It doesn't scale.
What Pandev does differently
Pandev wraps the Claude Code CLI in a native desktop application designed around how developers actually work with AI:
- Multi-project orchestration — All your projects in one window. Switch between them instantly. Each project maintains its own sessions, settings, and integrations.
- Visual chat + raw terminal — Get the best of both worlds. The chat view gives you rich tool call cards, plan approvals, and markdown rendering. The terminal view gives you the full CLI experience. Switch freely between them.
- IDE-like panels without the IDE bloat — File explorer, browser preview, git panel, and terminal panel — the features you actually need when coding with AI, without the overhead of a full IDE.
- Port stitching — Assign a dev server port to each project. Start your app with one click. Preview it inline. No more remembering which localhost port belongs to which project.
- Built-in integrations — Connect Supabase to browse your database directly. Connect Vercel to monitor deployments. GitHub authentication for cloning and feedback — all per-project.
- MCP, Skills, Agents, and Rules — Full support for extending Claude's capabilities with MCP servers, custom slash commands, specialized agents, and project-specific instruction files.
Bridging the gap
Pandev aims to be the middle ground between two extremes:
On one side, there are vibe coding tools like Lovable, Bolt, and v0 — great for rapid prototyping, but you don't own the environment and you quickly hit walls on real production work.
On the other side, there are AI-enhanced IDEs like Cursor and Windsurf — full-featured editors with AI bolted on, but the AI is a feature of the IDE rather than the core experience.
Pandev takes a different approach: the AI agent is the center of the experience, and the development tools (files, terminal, browser, git) are organized around it. It's not an IDE with AI features — it's an AI coding environment with the developer tools you need to ship real software.
Quick Start
- Installation — Install Pandev and the Claude CLI
- Adding a Project — Open your first project folder
- Your First Chat — Send your first message to Claude
- Cloning from GitHub — Clone a repo directly from Pandev
Core Features
- Workspace Overview — Chat, terminal, panels, and view modes
- Chat — Conversations, tool calls, plans, and questions
- Terminal — Claude CLI terminal and independent shell
- File Explorer — Browse, search, and favorite files
- Browser Preview — Preview your dev server inline
- Git Panel — Branch info, diffs, and commit history
- Sidebar & Sessions — Manage projects and chat sessions
- Dashboard — Project overview, dev server controls
- Command Palette — Quick actions with Cmd+K
Configuration
- Settings Overview — Global vs project settings
- MCP Servers — Add and manage MCP servers
- Skills — Custom slash commands
- Agents — Custom agent definitions
- Rules — Project and global rules for Claude
- Models & Permissions — Choose models and permission modes
- Integrations — Supabase, Vercel, and GitHub
- Appearance & Themes — Themes, UI scale, and display options
- Keyboard Shortcuts — Full shortcut reference
Advanced
- Mobile Access — Access Pandev from your phone
- Dev Server Management — Framework detection and port management
- Feedback & Bug Reports — Submit issues directly from the app