FAQ
Questions about Paw, answered straight.
What it is, what it needs, where your code goes, and what it can't do yet. If yours is missing, write to hello@pawcode.dev and I will answer it here.
The basics
What is Paw?
Paw is a chat app and desktop GUI for Claude Code. Every agent gets its own chat, chats are grouped in projects (folders), and the files, terminals, browser, notes and tasks of the project sit in tabs next to the chat. It runs on your Mac, or on your own server. You may also see it called Pawcode, which is the name of the site.
Is Paw a GUI for Claude Code?
Yes. Paw starts your own Claude Code for each chat and shows it as a conversation, so you do not have to live in a terminal. It does not replace Claude Code, and you can still run Claude Code in a terminal as before. See all the features.
Does Paw need Claude Code?
Yes. Claude Code has to be installed and logged in on the computer that runs Paw. Paw runs your Claude, it does not include one.
Is Paw made by Anthropic?
No. Paw is an independent project. It is not made, endorsed or supported by Anthropic. "Claude" and "Claude Code" are Anthropic's names, used here to say what Paw works with.
How is it different from using Claude Code in the terminal?
In a terminal you get one session per window and you watch it. In Paw you get a list of chats with a ring on the working ones, a badge for what you have not read, notifications when one needs you, a shared task list, agents that can message each other, a Review tab for their branches, and your phone. Paw also has a terminal tab, and its History tab lists the Claude Code conversations you ran from a terminal in that folder, so you can read them or "Continue in Paw".
Will my existing Claude Code conversations show up?
In the History tab of a project, yes. It lists Paw chats and the Claude Code conversations you ran in that folder. Press "Continue in Paw" on one and a new chat carries on from it. The original stays as it was in your terminal.
Using it
Can I run several agents at once?
Yes, that is what Paw is for. Each agent has its own chat, model and effort. The Desk shows every project on one screen. Agents in a project can also read and message each other. More in managing multiple Claude Code agents.
Can the agents talk to each other?
Yes, inside one project. They can message each other, read each other's chats, share a task list, read and edit the project's notes with the paw command (paw note, paw read), and look at your terminals or type into them (paw terminal) while you watch. A message from another agent shows as "from Builder". They cannot reach another project.
Who is Loki?
Loki is Paw's cat and its built-in help. Press the white paw at the top of the rail (on a phone, the cat in the chat list header) and a tab opens with a chat that has read the whole Paw guide. Ask how to split the screen or remove a project and he answers with the steps. He has no tools, so he cannot change anything for you, and he says so when the guide does not cover a question. He runs on Claude, like your other chats, so each question is a small turn on your own plan.
Where are the settings?
Press Cmd+, (Ctrl+, on Windows and Linux), or the gear. Settings open over everything as one screen, so your tabs stay as they were. It has the default folder for new projects, the model and effort of new chats, when idle chats sleep, notifications, voice, text size (small, normal or large) and the keyboard shortcuts.
Which models can I use?
You pick the model and the effort per chat, and you can change them later in Chat info. A new model starts with your next message and the chat carries on where it was. Paw runs Claude Code only, not other AI tools.
Can an agent change my files without asking?
Yes. Paw starts agents with Claude Code's permission checks off and routes their questions to you, which is how they can work while you are away. That means an agent can run commands in its project folder. Keep your work in git, use folders you can afford to change, and look at the diffs in the Review tab before you merge.
Do agents use memory when idle?
An agent that has done nothing for a day goes to sleep by default, so it stops using memory, and your next message wakes it where it left off. You can change the delay in Settings. A starred chat never sleeps.
Phone and server
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Your phone opens Paw in its browser over Tailscale, and you can add it to the home screen to use it like an app. You can read chats, answer questions, send pictures and get push notifications. The agents run on the computer that runs Paw, not on the phone. Steps are in Claude Code on your phone.
Do I need Tailscale?
For the phone and for a server, yes. It is how your devices reach Paw without a public address. On a Mac alone you do not need it. Tailscale is free for personal use.
Can agents keep running when my laptop sleeps?
Not on the laptop: when it sleeps, the agents stop. If you run Paw on a server, they keep going. See Claude Code on a server.
What does a Paw server need?
A small Linux machine you control, Tailscale on it and on your devices, and Claude Code signed in with a token from claude setup-token. One script, scripts/deploy-vps.sh, builds Paw there and runs it as a service. The server page has the steps.
Privacy and security
Is my code sent anywhere?
Your chats and files stay on your machine or your server, and Paw has no accounts and no analytics. The agents talk to Claude, as Claude Code always does, so what an agent reads goes to Claude under your own Claude account. Voice messages are turned into text by a speech model on the computer that runs Paw. The only other traffic is what you switch on yourself: "Check for updates" in Settings, and push notifications to your phone.
How is a Paw server locked down?
It has two ports. Port 7291 is for you and only lets in the owner you named (the login you give the deploy script, like you@gmail.com), by Tailscale login plus the token, and Paw will not start there without an owner. Port 7290 is for agents on the same machine, token only, listening on localhost. Nothing is open to the public internet, and Paw warns you if Tailscale Funnel is turned on. The security table has the details.
Does this site track me?
No. There are no cookies, no analytics and nothing is loaded from another site.
Price and platforms
How much does Paw cost?
Paw is in a private beta and no price has been announced. Asking for the beta costs nothing. Your Claude usage is separate and on your own plan, and Paw shows it as two rings so you see the limits coming.
Is Paw Mac only?
The app is a Mac app for Apple Silicon for now, shipped as a .dmg. The engine also builds for Linux, which is how the server runs, and it compiles for Windows, but there is no Windows app yet. On your phone you use it in the browser.
How do I get the beta?
Email hello@pawcode.dev and say what you run Claude Code on. The next batch gets a .dmg. See the download page.
Keep reading
Try it on your own agents.
Paw is a private beta for Apple Silicon Macs. Write for the next batch and say what you run Claude Code on.