The problem
Once you use Claude Code and Codex side by side, the obvious move is a tool that manages both. Most of the ones built for that job become the place you work: they run the agents' command-line tools in their own terminals or windows, or rebuild the chat on their own screen. That can be a good trade for parallel batches, but it has costs if you like the official apps.
- You leave the official apps' interfaces for that work, along with anything those apps add that the other tool hasn't copied yet.
- Updates arrive through someone else. When Anthropic or OpenAI ship a new feature in their app, you get it when the tool supports it, if it does.
- Another UI to learn, with its own idea of projects, tasks and review.
The other extreme, using the two apps with nothing on top, keeps everything official but splits your work across two windows and two lists that don't know about each other.
How Pairbar solves it
- Keep using Claude and Codex as you do nowInstall Pairbar and open either app. Pairbar draws a panel over that app's own sidebar, matching its width and position. The chat area, the menus and settings are still the app's own; Pairbar never patches or injects into them.
- Pick chats from one listClaude Code sessions and Codex threads appear together with their status: working, needs you (with the question it's asking) and finished. Click one and it opens in its own app through the
claude://orcodex://link, with the other app's window moved into the same spot if you allowed Accessibility. - Reach the app's own sidebar when you need itHold ⌥ (or ⌘) over Pairbar to peek at the app's sidebar underneath, double-tap ⌥ to keep it showing, or press ⌃⌥S to hide Pairbar. This is where your regular (non-coding) Claude chats stay. See peeking.
- Add the command-line tools for the extras (optional)Plan limits, forks, messages without opening a chat and workflows run through your own
claudeandcodexCLIs, signed in with your own plans. Without them, the list, status, switching and search still work. See installing the CLIs.
What stays exactly the same
| Without Pairbar | With Pairbar | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you chat | The Claude and Codex desktop apps | The same apps; Pairbar opens chats in them |
| App features | Everything each app offers | Unchanged: Pairbar doesn't modify either app |
| App updates | From Anthropic and OpenAI | Unchanged: install them as usual |
| Subscriptions | Your Claude and ChatGPT plans | The same plans, through the apps and your own signed-in CLIs |
| App settings | In each app | Unchanged; Pairbar reads a few (like the sidebar width) to line up |
| Chat names | Set in each app | A Codex rename in Pairbar goes through your codex into Codex; a Claude rename stays in Pairbar |
What Pairbar adds
- One list of both apps' chats, grouped by project, app, status, date or your own labels. See chats.
- Live status, subagents, PR badges and two plan-limit rings. See limits.
- Search inside conversations of both apps, ⌘K over the apps and ⌃⌥K from anywhere. See search.
- Handoff and fork across the two apps, and scheduled workflows.
- Notifications and a count on the menu-bar icon when a chat finishes or needs you.
Honest limits
- Pairbar's panel covers the app's own sidebar. That's the design, and the app's sidebar is always one ⌥ away, but it takes a moment to get used to.
- Regular (non-coding) Claude chats aren't listed in Pairbar; they stay in Claude's own sidebar.
- Pairbar reads undocumented local files of both apps. An update to Claude or Codex can break a Pairbar feature until Pairbar is updated. See troubleshooting.
- It's paid after a 7-day free trial ($49/year ($39 first year with LAUNCH), $9/month or $129 lifetime (first 200 buyers)), with every feature in every option, and needs macOS 26 or later on Apple silicon.
Without Pairbar
Other ways to use both agents, and what each keeps:
| Approach | Keeps the official apps | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Both apps, nothing on top | Yes | two lists and two windows, no shared status or search |
Both CLIs in a terminal (claude, codex), perhaps with tmux | No | you give up the desktop apps' interfaces |
| A workspace tool such as Superset or Conductor | No: agents run in its own terminals or workspaces | strong parallel runs and diff review, and it uses your existing Claude and ChatGPT plans too; you chat in its interface instead of the apps. See Pairbar vs Superset |
| The Claude app's own Code sidebar only | Yes | doesn't show Codex chats. See Pairbar vs the Claude app's sidebar |
Frequently asked questions
- Do I lose any Claude or Codex app features with Pairbar?
- No. You're still in their app for every chat. Pairbar is a separate panel over their sidebar, and the app's own sidebar is one ⌥ away (hold it to peek, double-tap to keep it).
- Do I need an API key?
- No. Pairbar uses the apps and your own
claudeandcodexcommand-line tools, signed in with your plan, the same way other tools that run those CLIs do. Pairbar itself only contacts Lemon Squeezy for the licence and its update feed. - What happens when Claude or Codex update?
- You update them as usual and keep every new feature, since you're using the official apps. Pairbar reads their undocumented local files, so an update can occasionally break a Pairbar feature until Pairbar ships a fix; Pairbar checks for its own updates once a day.
- Is Pairbar affiliated with Anthropic or OpenAI?
- No. Pairbar is an independent app that works alongside the official Claude and Codex desktop apps.
Related
- GlossaryOverlay sidebarA separate app that draws a panel over another app's window and adds to it, leaving the original app unchanged.
- ComparisonPairbar vs Conductor: two Mac apps for Claude Code and Codex, built differentlyConductor runs parallel agents in its own isolated workspaces; Pairbar organises the chats you run in the official Claude and Codex apps.
- AlternativesClaude Code session managers for Mac (2026)A neutral round-up of Mac tools for running and tracking many Claude Code sessions, from the Claude app itself to terminal managers.
- Use caseSwitch between Claude Code and Codex on a Mac without hunting for windowsOne list for both apps; clicking a chat from the other app swaps its window into the same spot.
- GuideHow to install Pairbar and set it up on your MacInstall from the DMG, go through the welcome window, choose the optional permissions and start using the sidebar.
- DocsThe sidebarHow it sits over Claude and Codex, peeking, collapsing, tabs, the header
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.