Helmsman is a Mac app that drives your own Claude Code CLI. It is in an invite-only beta: once your invite is active, the download page holds the current build for your account.
Before you start
You need two things on your Mac:
- macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Apple Silicon (M1 or later). The beta ships an Apple Silicon build only.
- The Claude Code CLI, installed and signed in. Helmsman spawns your existing
claudebinary; it does not bundle or replace it. Ifclauderuns in your terminal, Helmsman can drive it.
Getting the app
Helmsman is invite-only during the beta. Request access through the access flow;
once your invite is active, the download page opens the .dmg for your account.
It is a gated download, tied to the email you signed in with.
Installation is the usual Mac flow: open the .dmg, drag Helmsman to your Applications
folder, and open it. Because the release build is signed and notarized, Gatekeeper opens it
without a warning. If you want to check the signature and the download’s checksum yourself,
see Verify your download.
When a newer build ships, Helmsman offers it in-app from the titlebar chip, so you download here just once.
First launch
On first launch, Helmsman asks for a projects folder. Point it at the folder that holds your repositories. From there you can spawn a session into the grid. See First run.
Staying local
Helmsman runs entirely on your machine. It owns local terminals and talks to your local
claude; nothing about your code is relayed to a Helmsman server. The security page
has the full account.