Install Switchboard

Switchboard is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux for running and keeping track of your Claude Code sessions: you see which one works, which one waits for you and what each one changed. It uses the Claude Code you already have, with your own login, settings, commands and skills, so there is nothing extra to sign in to.

Switchboard on a Mac with a finished session open: the sidebar with Needs you and Working groups on the left, the conversation in the middle and the Changes panel with a diff on the right

Requirements

A Mac with Apple Silicon, a PC with Windows 10 or 11 (x64 or Arm64), or a Linux computer (x64 or Arm64).
Claude Code installed and signed in. If claude works in your terminal, you are ready. If it doesn’t, Switchboard shows you how to install it when it opens; see First launch.
On Windows: Git for Windows, for Claude Code and for the Changes panel and git features. PowerShell 7 is recommended; the Windows PowerShell every PC has works too.

Download the .dmg from the latest release.
Open it and drag Switchboard to Applications.
Open Switchboard from Applications or Spotlight.

Releases are signed and notarised by Apple, so macOS opens them without asking.

Install on Windows

Download Switchboard-<version>-setup.exe from the latest release.

Download Switchboard-<version>-setup.exe. It is one installer for x64 and Arm64 PCs: it installs the build that matches yours.
Run it. It installs for you only, in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\switchboard, without asking for admin rights, and adds Switchboard to the Start menu and the desktop.
Switchboard opens when the installer is done. Later, open it from the Start menu.

If Windows SmartScreen says “Windows protected your PC”, the installer isn’t signed: see If Windows blocks the installer.

Install on Linux

Every release has an AppImage, a .deb and an .rpm, for x64 and Arm64. Download the one for your distribution from the latest release.

Debian, Ubuntu and their derivatives: install the .deb with apt, which also installs what it needs:
Terminal window
```
sudo apt install ./Switchboard-<version>-amd64.deb
```
Fedora, RHEL and openSUSE: install the .rpm:
Terminal window
```
sudo dnf install ./Switchboard-<version>-x86_64.rpm
```
Any distribution: make the AppImage executable and run it. It needs FUSE 2 (libfuse2, or libfuse2t64 on Ubuntu 24.04).
Terminal window
```
chmod +x Switchboard-<version>-x86_64.AppImage
./Switchboard-<version>-x86_64.AppImage
```

The .deb and .rpm add Switchboard to your applications menu. On Arm64 the files end in arm64 (and aarch64 for the .rpm). What works differently on Linux is in Switchboard on Linux.

Install with Homebrew

If you use Homebrew, install the cask:

brew install --cask estruyf/tap/switchboard

Switchboard updates itself, so brew upgrade skips it. To update it through Homebrew instead, run:

brew upgrade --cask estruyf/tap/switchboard

Build it from source

You can also build the app from the repository. You need Node 24 or later, and it takes a couple of minutes. npm run dist builds for the system it runs on: a .dmg on a Mac, an installer on Windows, and an AppImage, .deb and .rpm on Linux.

npm install
npm run dist

Then open apps/desktop/dist/Switchboard-<version>-arm64.dmg and drag Switchboard to Applications. A build you make yourself updates like a release.

Build it on Windows

On Windows 10 or 11, run the same commands in PowerShell, with Node 24 and npm 11 or later, and Git for Windows. No Visual Studio build tools are needed. The build makes apps\desktop\dist\Switchboard-<version>-setup.exe; run it to install. A build you make yourself updates like a release.

Build it on Linux

Run the same commands with Node 24 and npm 11 or later, git, and the tools to compile a Node module (build-essential and python3 on Debian and Ubuntu). The .rpm also needs rpmbuild (the rpm package on Debian and Ubuntu); without it the build makes the AppImage and the .deb. The files are in apps/desktop/dist.

If macOS blocks the app

A build you make yourself without a Developer ID certificate is unsigned. It opens normally on the Mac that built it. On another Mac, macOS blocks the first launch. Right-click the app and choose Open, or remove the quarantine flag in a terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Switchboard.app

If Windows blocks the installer

An installer you build yourself is unsigned. On another PC, Windows SmartScreen stops it with “Windows protected your PC”. Choose More info, then Run anyway. The repository’s notes on building and signing have the details.

Uninstall

Quit Switchboard and drag it from Applications to the Trash. With Homebrew, run brew uninstall --cask estruyf/tap/switchboard.

Open Windows Settings › Apps, find Switchboard and choose Uninstall. This also removes the switchboard:// link handler Switchboard registered.

On Linux, run sudo apt remove switchboard or sudo dnf remove switchboard, or delete the AppImage.

Your sessions stay in Claude Code’s folder, and Switchboard’s own data (projects, actions, preferences) stays in ~/Library/Application Support/Switchboard%APPDATA%\Switchboard. On Linux it is ~/.config/Switchboard. Delete that folder too if you don’t want to keep it.

Updates

Switchboard checks for a new release shortly after it opens and every few hours, and tells you in the corner of the window when there is one. It also checks whether the Claude Code it runs is up to date. See Updates for how it works and how to change it.

Settings

The update checks and the update channel are in Settings, About. Open Settings with Command, CommaControl, Comma.

Next steps

First launch: what you see when Switchboard opens.
Your first session: start Claude on a project.
Switchboard on Windows: what is different on a Windows PC.
Things to try next: features that are easy to miss, once your first session runs.