Conan
Native macOS app that runs Claude Code in its own terminal beside a live HUD of tool calls, skills and tokens.
Conan is a native macOS app from WhatMatters that runs Claude Code in its own terminal and shows the session live beside it: a timeline of prompts, tool calls and skills, context and token usage, and the skills and MCP servers in play. The download is free, and Premium costs $29 once with no subscription.
About Conan
Conan observes and visualizes Claude Code rather than replacing it: you run your normal Claude Code login in Conan's terminal, in your working directory, and Conan reads Claude Code's local session data in ~/.claude. It does not run a model itself, and its maker says it is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.
The HUD shows Context, Usage, Pulse, Skills and MCP beside the terminal, and the Timeline lists hook events, skills fired, a 'skills considered' heuristic, plan and loop rows and build trails. Version 1.4.0 shows subagent spawns inline with status, duration, model and tools; earlier 1.x releases added an Agents tab, a Files panel that flags files Claude has edited or read, and Conan Setup, which interviews you and starts Claude with a reviewed PRD.md and CLAUDE.md.
The free download is a live observer with the terminal, Context, Usage and a basic Timeline. Premium, $29 once for the lifetime of 1.x on unlimited Macs, adds skill-scoring rows, Plan/Loop/Build rows, expandable tool payloads, longer Pulse history, the times skills last fired, an MCP auth watchdog and Claude Radio, a built-in lo-fi stream.
Sources: conan.sh and /changelog, read 2026-10-27
Conan pros and cons
Pros
- Conan runs entirely on your Mac and sends no telemetry, and its maker says nothing about your code or prompts leaves your machine.
- It stays out of Claude Code's request path and only reads what Claude Code writes to disk, so Conan says the agent runs at full speed.
- Premium is a one-time $29 payment with no subscription, covering 1.x releases on unlimited Macs.
- The app updates itself through a signed built-in auto-update channel.
Cons
- It needs macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon with Claude Code installed; Windows and Linux versions are not available yet, only a waitlist.
- Conan is only useful if you work in Claude Code: it needs Claude Code installed and observes it rather than running a model of its own.
- In the free version the Timeline is basic, and skill scoring, tool payloads and longer Pulse history need Premium.
Tagged
- Supports Claude
Conan alternatives
The closest alternatives to Conan.
Conan vs other tools
Related reading
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</a>Frequently asked questions
- What is Conan?
- Conan — Native macOS app that runs Claude Code in its own terminal beside a live HUD of tool calls, skills and tokens.
- Is Conan free?
- Conan offers a free tier and paid plans with higher limits or premium features.
- What platforms does Conan support?
- Conan's own site lists it for macOS.
- What are the alternatives to Conan?
- The closest alternatives to Conan are Duckweed, Spotlight by Backplanes.
- What are the downsides of Conan?
- It needs macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon with Claude Code installed; Windows and Linux versions are not available yet, only a waitlist. Conan is only useful if you work in Claude Code: it needs Claude Code installed and observes it rather than running a model of its own. In the free version the Timeline is basic, and skill scoring, tool payloads and longer Pulse history need Premium.
- Is Conan free?
- The download is free and works as a live observer with the terminal, Context, Usage and a basic Timeline. Premium costs $29 once, with no subscription, and covers the lifetime of 1.x on unlimited Macs.
- Does Conan work on Windows or Linux?
- Not yet. Conan is macOS first, signed and notarized, and needs macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon; Windows and Linux aren't available, but you can join a waitlist to be emailed when they are.
- Does Conan send my code anywhere?
- Conan says no: it runs entirely on your Mac, reads Claude Code's local session data in ~/.claude and sends no telemetry.
- Do I need Claude Code to use Conan?
- Yes. Conan observes and visualizes Claude Code but does not replace it or run the model itself; you run real Claude Code in Conan's terminal.
- Is Conan made by Anthropic?
- No. Conan is built by WhatMatters and says it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.