A modern web interface for Claude Code CLI - Transform your command-line coding experience into an intuitive web-based chat interface
codeGeneration-dark-2025-08-23T04-11-01.webm
📱 Screenshots
💡 Light Theme Screenshots
🔧 Advanced Features
📑 Table of Contents
- ✨ Why Claude Code Web UI?
- 🚀 Quick Start
- ⚙️ CLI Options
- 🚨 Troubleshooting
- 🔧 Development
- 🔒 Security Considerations
- 📚 Documentation
- ❓ FAQ
- 🤝 Contributing
- 📄 License
✨ Why Claude Code Web UI?
Transform the way you interact with Claude Code
Instead of being limited to command-line interactions, Claude Code Web UI brings you:
| CLI Experience | Web UI Experience |
|---|---|
| ⌨️ Terminal only | 🌐 Any device with a browser |
| 📱 Desktop bound | 📱 Mobile-friendly interface |
| 📝 Plain text output | 🎨 Rich formatted responses |
| 🗂️ Manual directory switching | 📁 Visual project selection |
🎯 Key Features
- 📋 Permission Mode Switching - Toggle between normal and plan mode execution
- 🔄 Real-time streaming responses - Live Claude Code output in chat interface
- 📁 Project directory selection - Visual project picker for context-aware sessions
- 💬 Conversation history - Browse and restore previous chat sessions
- 🛠️ Tool permission management - Granular control over Claude's tool access
- 🎨 Dark/light theme support - Automatic system preference detection
- 📱 Mobile-responsive design - Touch-optimized interface for any device
🚀 Quick Start
Get up and running in under 2 minutes:
Option 1: npm Package (Recommended)
# Install globally via npm npm install -g claude-code-webui # Start the server claude-code-webui # Open browser to http://localhost:8080
Option 2: Binary Release
# Download and run (macOS ARM64 example) curl -LO https://github.com/sugyan/claude-code-webui/releases/latest/download/claude-code-webui-macos-arm64 chmod +x claude-code-webui-macos-arm64 ./claude-code-webui-macos-arm64 # Open browser to http://localhost:8080
Option 3: Development Mode
# Backend (choose one) cd backend && deno task dev # Deno runtime cd backend && npm run dev # Node.js runtime # Frontend (new terminal) cd frontend && npm run dev # Open browser to http://localhost:3000
Prerequisites
- ✅ Claude CLI installed and authenticated (Get it here)
- ✅ Node.js >=20.0.0 (for npm installation) or Deno (for development)
- ✅ Modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
- ✅ dotenvx (for development): Install guide
⚙️ CLI Options
The backend server supports the following command-line options:
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
-p, --port <port> |
Port to listen on | 8080 |
--host <host> |
Host address to bind to (use 0.0.0.0 for all interfaces) | 127.0.0.1 |
--claude-path <path> |
Path to claude executable (overrides automatic detection) | Auto-detect |
-d, --debug |
Enable debug mode | false |
-h, --help |
Show help message | - |
-v, --version |
Show version | - |
Environment Variables
PORT- Same as--portDEBUG- Same as--debug
Examples
# Default (localhost:8080) claude-code-webui # Custom port claude-code-webui --port 3000 # Bind to all interfaces (accessible from network) claude-code-webui --host 0.0.0.0 --port 9000 # Enable debug mode claude-code-webui --debug # Custom Claude CLI path (for non-standard installations or aliases) claude-code-webui --claude-path /path/to/claude # Using environment variables PORT=9000 DEBUG=true claude-code-webui
🚨 Troubleshooting
Claude CLI Path Detection Issues
If you encounter "Claude Code process exited with code 1" or similar errors, this typically indicates Claude CLI path detection failure.
Quick Solution:
claude-code-webui --claude-path "$(which claude)"Common scenarios requiring explicit path specification:
- Node.js environment managers (Volta, asdf, nvm, etc.)
- Custom installation locations
- Shell aliases or wrapper scripts
Environment-specific commands:
# For Volta users claude-code-webui --claude-path "$(volta which claude)" # For asdf users claude-code-webui --claude-path "$(asdf which claude)"
Native Binary Installation: Supported. Script path detection may fail and show warnings, but the application will work correctly as long as the Claude executable path is valid.
Debug Mode:
Use --debug flag for detailed error information:
claude-code-webui --debug
🔧 Development
Setup
# Clone repository git clone https://github.com/sugyan/claude-code-webui.git cd claude-code-webui # Install dotenvx (see prerequisites) # Start backend (choose one) cd backend deno task dev # Deno runtime # OR npm run dev # Node.js runtime # Start frontend (new terminal) cd frontend npm run dev
Port Configuration
Create .env file in project root:
Run with dotenvx to use the .env file:
# Backend cd backend dotenvx run --env-file=../.env -- deno task dev # Deno dotenvx run --env-file=../.env -- npm run dev # Node.js # Frontend (uses Vite's built-in .env support) cd frontend npm run dev
Alternative: Set environment variables directly:
PORT=9000 deno task dev # Deno PORT=9000 npm run dev # Node.js
🔒 Security Considerations
Important: This tool executes Claude CLI locally and provides web access to it.
✅ Safe Usage Patterns
- 🏠 Local development: Default localhost access
- 📱 Personal network: LAN access from your own devices
⚠️ Security Notes
- No authentication: Currently no built-in auth mechanism
- System access: Claude can read/write files in selected projects
- Network exposure: Configurable but requires careful consideration
🛡️ Best Practices
# Local only (recommended) claude-code-webui --port 8080 # Network access (trusted networks only) claude-code-webui --port 8080 --host 0.0.0.0
Never expose to public internet without proper security measures.
📚 Documentation
For comprehensive technical documentation, see CLAUDE.md which covers:
- Architecture overview and design decisions
- Detailed development setup instructions
- API reference and message types
❓ FAQ
Q: Do I need Claude API access?
Yes, you need the Claude CLI tool installed and authenticated. The web UI is a frontend for the existing Claude CLI.
Q: Can I use this on mobile?
Yes! The web interface is fully responsive and works great on mobile devices when connected to your local network.
Q: Is my code safe?
Yes, everything runs locally. No data is sent to external servers except Claude's normal API calls through the CLI.
Q: Can I deploy this to a server?
While technically possible, it's designed for local use. If deploying remotely, ensure proper authentication and security measures.
Q: How do I update?
Download the latest binary from releases or pull the latest code for development mode.
Q: What if Claude CLI isn't found or I get "process exited with code 1"?
These errors typically indicate Claude CLI path detection issues. See the Troubleshooting section for detailed solutions including environment manager workarounds and debug steps.
🔗 Related Projects
Alternative Claude Code Web UIs:
- siteboon/claudecodeui
- A popular web-based Claude Code interface with mobile and remote management focus
- Offers additional features for project and session management
- Great alternative if you need more advanced remote access capabilities
Both projects aim to make Claude Code more accessible through web interfaces, each with their own strengths and approach.
🤝 Contributing
We welcome contributions! Please see our development setup and feel free to:
- 🐛 Report bugs
- ✨ Suggest features
- 📝 Improve documentation
- 🔧 Submit pull requests
Fun fact: This project is almost entirely written and committed by Claude Code itself! 🤖
We'd love to see pull requests from your Claude Code sessions too :)
📄 License
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.