Claude

What is Claude?

Claude is the AI assistant built by Anthropic. Most people reach it at claude.ai in a browser, where it handles long documents, code, research and drafting. It is known for holding a lot of context at once and for staying useful across a long back and forth rather than a single question.

Anthropic publishes its plans on the Claude pricing page. As of September 2026 the Japanese storefront lists Free at $0, Pro at $18 per month when billed annually ($220 up front) or $22 billed monthly, and Max starting at $110 per month with five or twenty times the Pro usage. Free already covers web search, memory across conversations, file creation and code execution. Pro adds Claude Code, Claude Cowork and unlimited projects. Prices shown for Japan include 10% consumption tax, so the figure you see may differ slightly from your own region.

Anthropic also ships an official desktop app. You can download it for macOS from claude.ai/download, and the same page offers Windows, Linux docs, iOS and Android. So why wrap claude.ai with Kagemusha instead? Two reasons that the official app does not cover: the number of accounts you can keep open at once, and browser extensions. Kagemusha wraps claude.ai in a Chromium based browser with its own isolated profile, which means a work Claude and a personal Claude can sit side by side in the Dock as two separate apps, and password managers or translation extensions run inside the window. Both apps can live on the same Mac, so this is not an either/or choice.

Why Use Claude as a Desktop App on Mac with Kagemusha?

Claude is not a tool you open and close. It stays open all day while you work on something else, and you return to it dozens of times. That usage pattern is exactly where a browser tab fails you. Past twenty tabs the title collapses to a favicon, and finding Claude again means scanning windows with your eyes instead of pressing a key.

• One click from the Dock: no browser launch, no bookmark hunt. The icon is the Claude icon, so you never pick the wrong window
• It joins the Cmd+Tab rotation: bouncing between your editor and Claude becomes a single keystroke instead of a tab search inside a browser
• An isolated profile per app: Kagemusha gives every app it builds its own profile, so cookies never mix with your main browser or with other apps
• Two accounts, two apps: keep a company Claude and a personal Claude signed in at the same time and switch without logging out
• Chrome extensions work: install a password manager, a translator or a screenshot tool from the Chrome Web Store directly inside the app
• The tab bar can disappear: hide the address bar and tab strip and the window shows nothing but the conversation

Two smaller settings matter more than they sound. A quit confirmation dialog can be switched on so Cmd+Q does not end a long conversation by accident, and tab restore brings back the page and scroll position you had when you quit. Both turn Claude from something you re-open into something you resume.

You pick the underlying engine when you create the app: Chrome, Chrome Canary, Chromium, Brave, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi or Opera. Kagemusha references the browser already installed on your Mac, so when that browser updates, your Claude app updates with it. The requirement is macOS 12 or later, on Intel or Apple silicon.

Recommended Usage

If Claude runs all day. People who treat Claude as a thinking partner open it many times an hour. Giving it a Dock slot and a place in the Cmd+Tab rotation removes a small tax you were paying every single time. It also survives closing every browser window, which is the normal end of a busy afternoon.

If you hold two Claude accounts. A company workspace and a personal subscription is a common pairing. In one browser that means signing out and back in, or living in a private window that forgets you. Build two Kagemusha apps instead, name them clearly, and both stay signed in permanently.

If you compare answers across models. Kagemusha's Space mode puts several services in one window with a sidebar to switch between them. Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini in a single Space lets you ask the same question three times and read the answers without juggling three windows. Each service keeps its own view, so switching does not lose your place.

If Claude is always paired with something else. Quick Setup opens several URLs as tabs when the app launches. Claude plus your internal docs, or Claude plus GitHub, becomes one icon that restores the whole working set. Turn the tab bar on when you use this, otherwise the extra tabs load with no way to reach them.

If you share your screen while using Claude. A browser window leaks your bookmark bar and whatever else is open in the tab strip. An app with the tab bar hidden shows only the conversation. If you want a hard guarantee, URL rules can restrict the app to claude.ai so a stray click cannot navigate somewhere you did not intend to broadcast.

How to Set Up

Kagemusha ships with presets for more than 300 services and Claude is one of them, so there is no URL or icon to prepare.

• Open Kagemusha and click "Create App"
• Type "Claude" in the preset search and select it
• Choose a browser engine. Chrome is the safe default
• Toggle the options you want: notifications, extensions, tab bar, incognito
• Click "Create". The .app is generated in a few seconds

The first launch shows the normal Claude sign-in screen. If you sign in with Google, a popup window opens for the OAuth flow. The default window handling mode, Smart, is built to allow authentication popups while blocking unwanted ones, so this works without changes. If a popup ever fails to appear, switch window handling to "Allow all" and try again. Two-factor authentication behaves exactly as it does in a browser: the code entry screen appears in the app window, and an authenticator app or SMS code is entered the same way.

You sign in once and the session is stored in that app's own profile. If you plan to create several apps for the same account, the template profile feature lets you log in once and copy that signed-in state into new apps instead of repeating the process. Every option except the browser engine can be changed later from the app list.

The free tier creates up to three apps with no feature restrictions. Going beyond three requires Pro, a one-time purchase of 3,980 yen including tax, with no subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Claude already has an official Mac app. Why use Kagemusha?

The official app is free at claude.ai/download and is a fine choice if you use a single account. Kagemusha is worth it when you want two or more Claude accounts signed in at once, when you want Chrome extensions running inside the window, or when you want Claude in one window alongside ChatGPT and Gemini. Both can be installed on the same Mac.

Q. How do Claude pricing and Kagemusha pricing relate?

They are separate. Your Claude plan is billed by Anthropic. As of September 2026 the Japanese pricing page lists Free at $0, Pro at $18 per month billed annually ($220 up front) or $22 billed monthly, and Max from $110 per month. Kagemusha is free for up to three apps and 3,980 yen once for unlimited apps. Kagemusha does not change or resell your Claude subscription.

Q. Can I keep work and personal Claude accounts separate?

Yes. Each app Kagemusha builds gets its own profile, so two apps signed into two accounts stay signed in independently. Cookies and sessions never cross over, and logging out of one has no effect on the other.

Q. Do Chrome extensions work inside the app?

Yes. Enable extensions when creating the app and you can install anything from the Chrome Web Store. Because profiles are per app, you can give your Claude app a specific set of extensions without touching your main browser.

Q. Will I get notifications?

Enable notifications at creation time and the site's push notifications appear in the macOS Notification Center. Style and sound are then controlled per app under System Settings, Notifications.

Q. What are the system requirements?

macOS 12 or later, with at least one of Chrome, Chrome Canary, Chromium, Brave, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi or Opera installed. Intel and Apple silicon Macs are both supported.