On April 15, Anthropic delivered a thorough redesign of the Claude Code desktop application and introduced a new feature called Routines.
The core signal of this update: Claude Code is no longer a single-threaded tool that waits for your commands and executes them. It is evolving toward multi-task, asynchronous work.
For developers who use Claude Code daily, both changes are worth a close look.
What Changed in the Desktop Version
Multi-Session Management: A Left Sidebar to Run Multiple Tasks Simultaneously
After the redesign, a new sidebar on the left displays all active and historical sessions. You can filter by status, project, or environment, and group sessions by project.
If you previously kept three terminal windows open, each running a Claude Code session, you can now manage all of them from a single interface.
The keyboard shortcut Command+; lets you fork a question while the current task is still running — it doesn't interrupt the main thread, but you can ask Claude about an error message. This is a practical design: during a long-running task, you often have many questions but don't want to interrupt it.
Built-In Developer Tools
Several tools that previously required switching to other applications are now integrated directly into the desktop app:
- Built-in terminal: Run tests and execute builds without switching to the system terminal.
- Built-in file editor: Quickly edit a few lines without opening another editor.
- Redesigned diff viewer: Optimized for large-scale changes, so large PR diffs no longer lag.
- Extension preview panel: Real-time preview for HTML files, PDFs, and local application servers.
These are productivity details — not major features on their own — but together they reduce the time spent jumping between different tools.
View Modes and Layout Customization
Three new view modes control the visibility of Claude's tool calls:
- Verbose: See everything Claude is doing, step by step.
- Normal: Default mode, showing key steps.
- Summary: See only the final result.
Every panel supports drag-and-drop repositioning, so you can arrange the layout to your preference. CLI plugins are also supported, and SSH sessions now work on Mac and Linux — a practical addition for remote developers.
Routines: Let Claude Code Work While You're Away
This is the feature in this release that truly deserves separate attention.
Routines packages prompts, a code repository, and connectors into an executable configuration. It can be triggered on a schedule, via an API call, or — and this is particularly interesting — through GitHub events, such as when someone submits a pull request.
Consider a real-world scenario:
Someone submits a PR to your repository → Routines triggers automatically → Claude Code performs a code review, runs relevant tests, generates review comments → A comment appears automatically in the PR.
This entire process requires no one watching.
Similar scenarios include: checking all open issues every morning, automatically updating documentation after every merge to main — tasks that previously required writing scripts or configuring CI can now be described in natural language for Routines to execute.
Current limitations:
- There is a daily execution cap (the exact limit depends on your subscription plan).
- It is currently in Research Preview status, not yet a stable production feature.
- It runs on Anthropic's web infrastructure, not locally.
Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans can all apply for early access.
What This Update Signals
Routines reveals a shift in Anthropic's positioning of Claude Code. Previously, the logic was: you sit there, talk to Claude, and it helps you write code. Now, it's becoming: you define the rules and trigger conditions, and Claude works in the background, running tasks for you.
This aligns with the broader direction of the AI coding tool landscape — evolving from a pair-programming assistant to an autonomous software engineer.
Cursor has Background Agent, GitHub Copilot has Coding Agent, and now Claude Code has Routines.
The difference is that Claude Code's Routines are directly integrated with code repository events (GitHub PRs) — no need to write webhooks or configure third-party integrations. For teams that use GitHub daily, this integration path is relatively smooth.
Summary
This update didn't introduce a new model or refresh benchmark scores, but on the product level, it pushes Claude Code a step closer to being a genuine engineering tool.
Multi-session management addresses parallel work; Routines addresses asynchronous work. Together, they give Claude Code the beginnings of a production-grade tool — not just a chat box, but a system that can run within your workflow.
Sources: CocoLoop, Anthropic Rebuilds Claude Code Desktop App Around Parallel Sessions (MacRumors)