Install the claude, codex and gh command-line tools for Pairbar

Before you start

• Pairbar installed on macOS 26 or later.
• A Claude plan that includes Claude Code, and/or a ChatGPT plan with Codex, for the tools you want to use.
• Terminal, and Homebrew if you want to install gh with brew.

Steps

1. Check what Pairbar already found
   The last page of the welcome window (You're all set) lists the apps and the optional claude, codex and gh tools it found, with links for the missing ones. Reopen it from the menu-bar icon → Welcome… if you've closed it.
2. Install the Claude Code CLI
   Anthropic's recommended native installer for macOS is curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash; Homebrew (brew install --cask claude-code) also works. Open a new terminal and run claude --version to confirm.
3. Sign in to Claude Code
   Run claude in any folder and follow the browser prompts to log in. claude doctor prints install and settings diagnostics if anything looks wrong.
4. Install and sign in to the Codex CLI
   OpenAI's installer for macOS is curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh (see the Codex CLI docs for other methods). Run codex in a project folder and choose Sign in with ChatGPT on first run.
5. Install and sign in to the GitHub CLI
   Run brew install gh, then gh auth login and follow the prompts. gh auth status shows which account it's using.
6. Check the tools from Pairbar's side
   Open the limits card (hover the usage rings): it no longer says it needs the Claude Code command-line tool. For Codex cloud tasks, codex cloud list in a terminal should list your tasks. For gh, rest the pointer on a chat with a PR to see its checks in the hover card.

Which Pairbar features need which tool

Everything else (the chat list, status, search, switching, notifications, handoff files) reads files the desktop apps already keep on your Mac and needs no CLI.

What Pairbar runs, and why it uses your login

• Plan limits: normally none. The numbers come from Claude Code's status line (set up by Install of live status for Claude) or the Claude app's own record; claude -p /usage runs only when neither has anything from the last 6 hours, at most every 15 minutes, and uses no chat turn. Pairbar never undoes what Claude changes in its own settings.
• Workflows: claude -p and codex exec --json in the workflow's folder. They use your own plan, like chatting; there's no API key to set up.
• Codex cloud tasks: codex cloud list, at most every 5 minutes and only while the sidebar is showing.
• Pull requests: gh, for PR state and checks.

Troubleshooting

Limits show "Checking…" or "needs the Claude Code command-line tool"

Install claude, open a new terminal, and confirm claude --version prints a version. Then open the limits card again.

A fork, message or workflow fails

Press Details on the notice under the search field to see the tool's full output. The most common cause is a CLI that isn't logged in: run claude or codex in a terminal and sign in.

`claude` isn't found after installing

The install directory isn't on your shell's PATH yet. Follow Anthropic's PATH fix in its setup docs, then open a new terminal.

Codex cloud tasks don't appear

Run codex cloud list in a terminal. If it errors, sign in to codex again; if it lists tasks, wait up to 5 minutes with the sidebar showing.