A fast, native Windows desktop launcher for Claude Code projects, built with Tauri and React.

Originally designed with a Python sidecar, switched to pure Rust for:

• Simpler architecture — No IPC complexity or process management
• Better performance — Direct function calls vs process communication
• Smaller binaries — ~15MB vs ~50MB+ with Python bundled
• Easier distribution — Single executable, no runtime dependencies
• More reliable — No cross-process communication failures

This was the right call: startup is instant, distribution is one .msi file, and there are zero Python version compatibility issues.

• Quick Launch — Launch Claude Code projects with one click
• Project Management — Add, organize, and manage your coding projects
• Tags & Notes — Organize projects with custom tags and notes
• Pin Favorites — Pin frequently used projects to the top
• Recent Projects — Automatically tracks your 5 most recent projects
• Smart Search — Fuzzy search across names, tags, notes, and paths
• Modern UI — Clean Material-UI interface with light/dark theme support
• Keyboard Navigation — Navigate projects using arrow keys
• Persistent Storage — SQLite database stores all project data

• Frontend: React 18 + Material-UI + TypeScript
• Backend: Rust (Tauri 2.0)
• Database: SQLite with rusqlite
• Build: Vite + Tauri CLI

Download the latest .msi installer from the Releases page and run it.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js 16+
• Rust (latest stable)
• Windows SDK

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/semmlerino/claude-launcher.git
cd claude-launcher

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development
npm run tauri dev

# Build for production
npm run tauri build

1. Add Projects: Click the + button or drag folders into the app
2. Launch Projects: Click "Launch" on any project card
3. Continue Session: Check "Continue" to use the --continue flag
4. Edit Details: Click the edit icon to modify name, tags, or notes
5. Pin Projects: Click the star icon to pin to the top
6. Search: Use the search bar to filter projects

• Arrow Keys: Navigate between project cards
• Enter: Launch the selected project
• Tab: Move focus between elements

Project data is stored in a SQLite database at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\ClaudeLauncher\projects.db

├── src/                    # React frontend
│   ├── components/         # React components
│   ├── App.jsx            # Main app component
│   └── main.jsx           # Entry point
├── src-tauri/             # Rust backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── lib.rs         # Tauri commands & SQLite logic
│   └── tauri.conf.json    # Tauri configuration
└── package.json           # Node dependencies

• docs/guides/ for testing, spec, and WSL integration notes
• docs/internal/ai_workflows/ for maintainer-only agent workflow material

Claude Code Not Found: Ensure claude or claude-code is in your system PATH, then restart the launcher.

Database Issues: Delete %APPDATA%\ClaudeLauncher\projects.db to reset.

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.