Relay is a macOS desktop application that pairs git worktrees with Claude Code. It gives you a dedicated workspace for each task branch — a Claude terminal, a file viewer, a diff viewer, and a shell — all within a single window.
- Task groups organize related work across one or more repos. Each task group holds one or more worktrees, one per branch.
- Claude terminal — each worktree gets a persistent Claude Code session. You can send prompts and receive responses without leaving the app.
- Changed files panel — shows M/A/D/untracked files in the current worktree. Click a file to view its diff or open it in the editor.
- File viewer/editor — syntax-highlighted CodeMirror editor with multiple themes and word-wrap support.
- Shell tabs — a separate multi-tab terminal pane per worktree for running arbitrary commands.
- macOS notifications — Relay notifies you when Claude finishes responding, even when the window is in the background.
- macOS 12 or later
- Node.js 18 or later (with npm)
- Git 2.30 or later
- Claude Code CLI installed and authenticated
Install Claude Code if you haven't already:
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude loginnpm install
npm run startnpm install will automatically rebuild the native node-pty module for your Electron version via the postinstall script. The dev server starts with hot reload enabled.
npm run buildRuns electron-vite build, which compiles and bundles the TypeScript/React source (main process, preload, and renderer) into out/. The output is runnable via Electron but is not a distributable app — no .app bundle or installer is produced. You can preview the renderer with npm run preview.
To create a distributable macOS app:
npm run packageRuns three steps in sequence: generates app icons (build:icons), compiles the source with electron-vite build, then packages everything using electron-builder --mac. The output is a .app bundle and a .dmg installer written to dist/.
Note: Apple requires apps distributed outside the Mac App Store to be code-signed and notarized to run without Gatekeeper warnings. For personal use or local testing, you can bypass this by right-clicking the app in Finder and choosing Open.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop shell | Electron 36 |
| UI | React 18, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS 4 |
| Build | electron-vite, Vite |
| Terminal emulator | xterm.js + node-pty |
| Code editor | CodeMirror 6 |
| Diff viewer | diff2html |
| Persistence | electron-store |
Relay is in active development at v0.1. It currently supports macOS only. Windows and Linux support are deferred to a future release.