Which Claude app do you need: terminal, desktop or phone?

Most jobs are solved in the app. Which jobs need the terminal, and why it is less scary than it looks.

Our view

You have a job for Claude, and you want to know where to run it. We work in the terminal every day, and we do not tell most people to start there. We think the terminal gives you control: scripts over many files, and a rule that cannot be skipped. If you need that, it is worth learning. If you do not, the app already solves your problem.

Pick the job first, then the tool

Do the same task on many files: the terminal. Scripting is CLI-only, and one command can run over a list of files.
Run it every morning: the app. A local scheduled task runs only while the app is open and your computer is awake. A cloud task runs even when your computer is off. You need the terminal only for your own server.
Make Claude follow a rule every time: a hook. A rule in a file is context the model may follow. A hook is for what must always happen. We think hooks are the most underused feature.
Hand off a whole piece of work that uses your files, without a terminal: Cowork, in the desktop app. It is regular Claude Code in a less intimidating interface, with a filesystem sandbox set up for you.
Several jobs at once: the desktop app. Its sidebar lists your sessions and lets you run several in parallel.
Start or check a job from your phone: the phone. It can also send a task to your desktop with Dispatch, on Pro, Max and Ultra plans.
Your company requires Amazon Bedrock or Microsoft Foundry: the terminal or an IDE extension.

If you need the terminal, it is less scary than it looks

You type plain English, the same as in the app. One writer typed a plain request, typos included, and got a working result.
Open the terminal in the folder where your files are, type claude, and ask.
Configuration, project memory and connected tools are shared across the local surfaces, so nothing needs rebuilding.
The desktop app is an easier way in for beginners, with fewer features than the terminal.

What the terminal costs you

Desktop and IDE tools trade some terminal-only features for visual review. The app is better for reviewing changes visually and for parallel sessions in one window. Do not give those up without a reason from the list above.

Where we land

Pick the job first. Most jobs are solved in the app, and we will walk you through the feature that fits. When your job needs the terminal, we will walk you through that too.

Check

Write down your job in one line. Find it in the list above. Use the tool it names.
Run the job once on a small example. Confirm the result before you run it on everything.
If you chose a scheduled task, confirm it ran: a local task is skipped when the computer sleeps through its time.

Learn it step by step: Setting up Claude Code