Checked on 2026-09-29
DMN and Claude Code
Claude Code's desktop app now runs several Claude sessions side by side. DMN runs Claude Code too, next to Codex, with an engine they share. Here's how they compare, and how they fit together.
At a glance
| Claude Code desktop app | DMN | |
|---|---|---|
| Agents | Claude Code sessions | Claude Code (its CLI, or DMN's chat pane) and Codex, side by side, plus plain shells |
| Many at once | A sidebar of every active and recent session, filtered by status, project or environment | Panes in Balanced, Spotlight or Rail layouts, and a Fleet panel with each agent's status and changes |
| Around the agents | An integrated terminal and file editor, diff review, and a drag-and-drop layout | Terminals with command blocks, code panes that path:line links open, a git drawer and six themes |
| Finding code | Claude Code's built-in tools, such as grep, glob and file reads | The same, plus a local engine that answers in one call, callers included |
| Shared context | Sessions read your project's CLAUDE.md files | Notes every agent on the project reads and writes, Claude or Codex, and claims on files an agent is editing |
| Cost | Part of your Claude plan | Free. You still need a subscription for each agent you run. |
The Claude Code column is from Anthropic's product page and its April 2026 post "Redesigning Claude Code on desktop for parallel agents". Tell us if it's out of date.
Which should you use?
Claude Code's app if you only run Claude and want Anthropic's own interface, bundled with your plan.
DMN if you run Claude Code and Codex on the same code, want them to share what they learn and see who's editing what, or want them to spend fewer tokens finding code. Finding the code behind bugs, on code the model could rarely place without tools, we measured 21–25% fewer requests and 16–22% fewer tokens, finding the right code about as often. How we measured.
Use them together
DMN's engine isn't tied to its app. dmn skill-init --apply teaches Claude Code the
dmn command line, and dmn mcp-init --apply adds DMN's MCP server, so Claude Code can use
DMN's search, memory and claims wherever you run it.
Questions
Does DMN replace Claude Code?
No. Claude Code runs inside DMN's panes just as it is, with your own subscription.
Do I need a Codex subscription too?
Only if you want to run Codex. DMN works with whichever agents you have.