Install claude with Homebrew Cask

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

No executable aliases were found in the local package database.

Project history

Anthropic introduced Claude in March 2023 after a closed alpha with partners including Notion, Quora, and DuckDuckGo. Claude was presented as a general AI assistant for summarization, search, writing, question answering, and coding.

Claude 2 launched in July 2023 alongside a public-facing claude.ai beta. Claude 3 followed in March 2024 with the Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku model family, expanded international availability, vision support, and a larger consumer audience.

Anthropic subsequently shipped native desktop applications for macOS and Windows and later a Linux beta. The desktop application developed into a broader workspace supporting chat, local integrations, desktop extensions, Claude Code, delegated tasks, quick entry, and—on supported plans—computer interaction.

Adoption history

Claude first reached users through selected partners and Anthropic's API, followed by the public claude.ai beta in 2023. It expanded to mobile and desktop applications, allowing the same account, conversations, projects, memory, and preferences to move across device types.

Claude Desktop grew from a native chat surface into an integration point for local MCP servers, desktop extensions, Claude Code, Cowork-style delegated tasks, quick entry, connectors, and local file or application access. This made the desktop package relevant both to general users and to developers who wanted Claude connected to local tools.

How it is used

Users sign in with a Claude account and use the desktop application for conversational assistance, document and image analysis, writing, research, coding, and synchronized projects.

Developers can connect local MCP servers through the documented JSON configuration file. Desktop extensions provide packaged access to local files, databases, calendars, and other applications; account credentials and extension secrets are managed by the application rather than through a documented credentials file.

Why package nerds care

Claude Desktop helped popularize local Model Context Protocol configuration through claude_desktop_config.json. That convention became a recognizable integration target for local MCP server authors and developer tooling.

The application now spans ordinary AI chat and more agentic workflows while remaining a separately installable desktop client. Package users care about its rapid update cycle, native global-entry features, local connector support, and relationship to the independently packaged Claude Code CLI.

Timeline

• 2023-03-14: Anthropic publicly introduced Claude after a partner closed alpha.
• 2023-07-11: Claude 2 launched with the public claude.ai beta.
• 2024-03-04: The multimodal Claude 3 family launched.
• 2024: Native Claude desktop distribution became available for macOS and Windows.
• 2026: Claude Desktop documentation covers macOS, Windows, and a Linux beta, plus Claude Code and delegated-task workflows.

Related projects

• Claude Code, Anthropic's terminal-oriented coding agent, is also accessible through the desktop application.
• Model Context Protocol, created by Anthropic, supplies the local-server and connector model used by Claude Desktop.
• Claude.ai and the Claude mobile applications share accounts and synchronized conversations with the desktop client.

Sources

• Official Claude 2 announcement: https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-2
• Official Claude 3 announcement: https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-family
• Official Claude introduction: https://www.anthropic.com/news/introducing-claude
• Official MCP SDK host guide: https://py.sdk.modelcontextprotocol.io/get-started/real-host/
• Official desktop download page: https://claude.com/download
• Official desktop installation guide: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/10065433-install-claude-desktop