Claude Code GUI: a desktop workflow with IXIOM

What you need before the first session

Install IXIOM for your operating system and architecture, then sign in to start the three-day trial. The download page lists the version available for each platform. A Windows release can be newer than the macOS or Linux build, so check the version beside your download.

Set up Claude Code using Anthropic's current installation and sign-in instructions. IXIOM needs to be able to launch that CLI. If you already use Claude Code in a terminal, confirm that the same installation and account work before bringing the session into IXIOM.

Start a Claude Code session

A useful first task is deliberately small: ask the agent to explain one part of a repository before letting it change files. This makes it easier to check that the session has the right project and that your CLI setup is working.

1. Choose a project environment

   Keep unrelated projects in separate environments. Give the session a descriptive name, such as Website: navigation, so you can recognize it in the sidebar later.

2. Create a session and select Claude Code

   Select the Claude Code backend and an available model. Model choices depend on the installed CLI, provider access and IXIOM version; use the choices shown by your installation.

3. Attach the repository and describe the outcome

   Use the repository integration to give the session its working context. State what should change, what should stay intact and which checks matter for the result.

4. Review the first result

   Check the proposed files and run the project's relevant checks. A completed agent response is the point to inspect the work, not proof that the feature works.

Choose between chat, terminal and split views

Chat presents the conversation, attachments and tool results in a form that is easier to scan. Terminal exposes the actual CLI input and output. Use it when you need to see a CLI prompt, an error or a command's output in its original form.

Split and tiled layouts let you keep several sessions visible. For example, leave a documentation session open beside a coding session. You can change the arrangement without combining their tasks into one conversation. Start with two panes and add more only when each has a clear purpose.

Use Codex or Gemini alongside Claude Code

The backend is a session choice. A second session can use Codex or Gemini while the first stays on Claude Code. This is useful when one session researches an unfamiliar module and another implements a bounded change.

Separate conversations do not by themselves make concurrent file edits safe. If both agents will edit the same repository, use separate Git worktrees through IXIOM's repository or team workflow. Review and integrate their results deliberately. The parallel-agent guide explains that handoff in more detail.

When the session does not start

First check whether the CLI starts outside IXIOM. A provider sign-in error, exhausted usage allowance or missing executable needs to be resolved at that layer. In IXIOM, check the selected backend and the CLI path under Terminal settings.

If the agent describes the wrong files, inspect the attached repository and the session's working directory before continuing. If a feature described in the docs is absent, compare your installed version with the platform version on the download page.

What the IXIOM subscription covers

IXIOM costs 19.99 EUR per month and offers a three-day trial without a credit card. It provides the desktop workspace and its features. It does not include a Claude, Codex or other provider subscription, and it does not remove the provider's usage limits.

Bring the provider access appropriate to the CLI you use. API usage may be billed by that provider. Hosted Image Studio credits are a separate offering. The pricing page explains the IXIOM trial and subscription.