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Guide

How to install Pairbar and set it up on your Mac

Pairbar is a macOS app that lays one sidebar over the Claude and Codex desktop apps, listing your coding chats from both. This guide takes you from the downloaded DMG to a working sidebar: copying the app to Applications, the first-run welcome window, optional Accessibility, Notifications and Screen Recording permissions, starting at login, and your first clicks.

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About 5 minutes · 8 steps

Before you start

  • A Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 26 or later.
  • The Claude desktop app, the Codex desktop app, or both. With only one installed, Pairbar shows only that one.
  • Optional: the claude, codex and gh command-line tools. Pairbar works without them; see which features need them.
✎Search chats or type a commandNEEDS YOU?Pick a chart libraryRecharts or Chart.js?ACME-BACKENDRun the migration testsBash · npm testUpdate the READMEFinished 2m agoRefactor billing APIfeature/billingPlan-limit ringstightest of the 5-hour and weekly windowsNeeds youmoved to the top, with the questionWorkingand on what: tool and targetUnreadfinished since you last looked
The sidebar after setup: chats from both apps with working, needs-you and finished marks, and the two limit rings in the header.

Steps

  1. Download the DMG
    Get Pairbar-<version>.dmg from the download page. The trial is free for 7 days with everything on, and needs no card or account.
  2. Drag Pairbar onto Applications
    Open the DMG and drag Pairbar onto Applications. Run it from Applications rather than from the DMG or a temporary folder: a copy outside Applications may not be allowed to show notifications.
  3. Open it
    Open Pairbar from Applications. It's signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it without a warning.
  4. Go through the welcome window
    The first launch shows a short illustrated tour, one feature per page. Use ← and → to move, Return to continue, Esc to close, or Skip tour to jump straight to the permissions.
  5. Allow Accessibility
    On the permissions page, press Allow… next to Accessibility. macOS shows its prompt and opens System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility; switch Pairbar on there. If Pairbar is already listed and on but the welcome still says it's off, switch it off and on again.
  6. Allow Notifications
    Press Allow… next to Notifications and accept macOS's prompt. If the button reads Open Settings… instead, macOS has already answered once: it opens Pairbar's page in System Settings → Notifications, where you turn on "Allow notifications".
  7. Choose whether to open at login
    The last page, You're all set, shows what Pairbar found (the apps and the optional tools, with links for missing ones) and an Open Pairbar at login option. Turn it on if you want the sidebar ready every time you log in; you can change it later in Settings → General.
  8. Open Claude or Codex and click a chat
    Use the buttons on the last page, or open either app yourself. Pairbar appears over the app's own sidebar. Click any chat to open it in its app, even one that belongs to the other app.

What the welcome window covers

The seven pages of the welcome window
PageWhat it shows
1. One sidebar for Claude and CodexPairbar covers the apps' sidebars and reads the files they keep on this Mac; it uploads nothing
2. Everything at a glanceworking, needs you, finished, and the plan-limit rings
3. Switch appsclicking a chat from the other app moves its window into the same spot
4. Peek, search, jumphold ⌥, ⌘K, ⌃⌥K
5. Workflowsdescribed prompts that run on a schedule, with a goal check
6. Optional permissionsAccessibility, Notifications, and Screen Recording for window animations; released Capture (Coming Soon) also uses it for captures you start in Notes
7. You're all setwhat was found, Open Pairbar at login, buttons to open Claude or Codex

Closing the window any way counts as seen. It appears again only after an update that changes it. Reopen it any time from the menu-bar icon (Welcome…), Settings → About & advanced → Show welcome, or ⌘K → "Show welcome".

Why the permissions, and what happens without them

PermissionUsed forWithout it
Accessibilitymoving the Claude and Codex windows so they share one spot when you switch; instant ⌥/⌘ peekingclicking a chat from the other app still opens it, but wherever that app's window is
Notificationsa banner when a chat finishes or needs you, workflow results, check-in stopsno banners; the list and the menu-bar count still show status

Both can be checked and granted later in Settings → General → Permissions. The menu-bar icon also offers Allow Accessibility… while it isn't allowed yet.

First things to try

  • Press ✎ in the header to start a new chat from the composer.
  • Press ⌘K with Claude or Codex in front to search chats, including what was said inside them.
  • Hold ⌥ with the pointer over Pairbar to peek at the app's own sidebar, where your regular Claude chats live.
  • Press ⌃⌥S to collapse Pairbar into a small round button, and again to bring it back.

Troubleshooting

Accessibility is on in System Settings but Pairbar says it's off
macOS keeps the permission of an earlier build. In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, switch Pairbar off and on again.
"Allow…" for notifications shows no prompt
macOS only asks once. Use Open Settings… (in the welcome or Settings → General → Permissions) and turn on "Allow notifications" on Pairbar's page. If Pairbar isn't in Applications, move it there first.
The sidebar doesn't appear
Pairbar shows only while Claude or Codex is the frontmost app and its window shows a sidebar. Open the app's own sidebar or widen the window, and press ⌃⌥S in case Pairbar is collapsed.
My regular Claude chats aren't listed
Pairbar lists Claude Code and Codex chats only. Hold ⌥ over the sidebar to reach Claude's own sidebar.

Frequently asked questions

What are Pairbar's system requirements?
A Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later, plus the Claude desktop app, the Codex desktop app, or both. The claude, codex and gh command-line tools are optional.
Do I need to create an account to use Pairbar?
No. Pairbar has no account and no analytics. The 7-day trial starts the first time you open it, and buying activates this Mac automatically. On another Mac, use Use my email or enter your licence key.
Can I skip the permissions?
Yes, both are optional. Without Accessibility the other app opens wherever its window is; without Notifications you get no banners. You can grant either later in Settings → General → Permissions.
Do I lose any Claude or Codex app features with Pairbar?
No. Pairbar is a separate app drawn over the apps' sidebars, so every chat still happens in Claude or Codex itself. To use an app's own sidebar, hold ⌥ over Pairbar.
What happens when my subscription ends?
Pairbar is $49/year ($39 first year with LAUNCH), $9/month or $129 lifetime (first 200 buyers) after the 7-day trial. If a subscription ends, it keeps working for 14 days, then locks until you renew, without deleting anything. See activating your licence.
How do I see the welcome window again?
Choose Welcome… in the menu-bar icon's menu, Show welcome in Settings → About, or type "Show welcome" after ⌘K.

Related

Try Pairbar free for 7 days

One sidebar for the Claude and Codex desktop apps. Everything on for 7 days, no card needed; then $49/year ($39 first year with LAUNCH), $9/month or $129 lifetime (first 200 buyers). macOS 26 or later, Apple silicon.

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