Does Pairbar need Codex?

No. It works with the Claude desktop app alone, the Codex app alone, or both. Pairbar doesn't offer the features that need the other app (a handoff, say) until you have it.

Is it a replacement for the Claude app?

No. You keep chatting in the official Claude app, with all its features and updates. Pairbar sits over its sidebar and opens chats in Claude.

Does it work with Claude Code in the terminal?

Pairbar's sidebar sits over the Claude desktop app, so you need that app. Its status line integration and limits also use Claude Code's claude command-line tool when it's installed.

What if I add Codex later?

Install the Codex app and its threads appear in the same list, with the cross-app extras. Nothing to set up again.

Pairbar With Only Claude Code: What You Get

The focused chat's context card over the Claude app: its task and PR, the skills and agents that fit, quick actions, and what needs a look now.

The problem

Pairbar is often shown with Claude Code and Codex side by side, so it's fair to ask whether it's worth it if Claude is your only agent. The short answer: most of what Pairbar does is about managing many Claude Code chats at once, and none of that needs Codex. The longer answer is the table below, one feature per row.

How Pairbar solves it

Install Pairbar and open Claude
Pairbar needs macOS 26 or later and the Claude desktop app. It sits over Claude's sidebar and fills from the files Claude already keeps on your Mac; there's nothing to import and no account. The app filter shows Get Codex ↓ for the missing app, and nothing else depends on it.
Optional: install the command-line tool
With the claude command-line tool, Pairbar can also fork chats, send messages without opening a chat, start new chats with custom settings, and run workflows and check-ins. With gh, it shows pull-request checks. See Getting started.
Optional: turn on live status
Settings → Integrations → Live status for Claude (hooks) → Install… makes status instant and feeds the plan-limit ring from Claude Code's status line. See setting up live status.
Try it on a busy day
The free trial needs no card. Run a few Claude Code chats in different repositories and see whether the list, the Needs you section and the notifications change how often you go looking for a chat. See pricing.

Everything you get with Claude Code alone

Feature	What it does for Claude Code
The sidebar	every Claude Code chat across projects, local and cloud, in one list over Claude's own sidebar; grouped by project, date, status or label; `⌥` peeks at Claude's own sidebar
Live status	working (and on what, "Bash · npm test"), Needs you (with the question or command), unread; instant with the optional hooks
Notifications	a banner and sound when a chat finishes or needs you and a count on the menu-bar icon
Tasks	chats grouped by branch or worktree, with the PR and its checks, and approve-first suggestions such as Ask Claude to fix the failing checks
`⌘K` search	titles, projects, branches and everything said in your conversations, plus actions; `⌃⌥K` from any app
The context card	for the chat Claude is showing: its task and PR, the skills and agents that fit, and quick actions
Skills	every skill Claude Code loads, usage, drift fixes, suggestions for the chat you're in, Use in chat
Agents	your Claude Code agents with ready-made commands; Claude writes, improves and creates them from chats that went well
Subagents	running subagents under each chat, and a reader for each one's brief, steps and result
Plan limits	a ring for the 5-hour and weekly windows, with reset times
Voice	dictation into Claude's message box, on-device, with optional Polish on your own plan
Forks and follow-ups	fork a chat from its latest reply or any earlier one, and send a message without opening it
Workflows and check-ins	prompts that run on a schedule through your own `claude`, with permission levels and goal checks, and check-ins that re-prompt a chat until CI is green
Agent actions	with Pairbar's tools installed, a Claude chat can ask for helper chats in Claude (read-only, running commands or editing, optionally in a new worktree), run your workflows or schedule a check-in on itself, each approved by you

Second opinions and code reviews that a chat asks for go to the other app, because their point is a different model family, so they need Codex. With Claude alone, a chat can still ask for helper chats in Claude, a run of one of your workflows or a check-in. See Agent actions.

What's extra if you also use Codex

Codex threads and cloud tasks in the same list and the same Tasks.
Switching between the two apps' windows in one click, and the basket that docks both as one window.
Handoffs of a chat to the other app, and second opinions and reviews from the other model family.
Sharing skills between the apps, a second limit ring, and a suggestion of which app to start a chat in.

Without Pairbar

If Claude Code is your only agent, the alternatives to Pairbar are:

The Claude app on its own: its sidebar lists your Claude Code sessions, local and cloud. See Pairbar vs the Claude app's sidebar.
Terminal session managers that run claude in tmux panes or worktrees. See Claude Code session managers for Mac.
Your own hooks and scripts for notifications, and /usage for limits.

Frequently asked questions

Does Pairbar need Codex?: No. It works with the Claude desktop app alone, the Codex app alone, or both. Pairbar doesn't offer the features that need the other app (a handoff, say) until you have it.
Is it a replacement for the Claude app?: No. You keep chatting in the official Claude app, with all its features and updates. Pairbar sits over its sidebar and opens chats in Claude.
Does it work with Claude Code in the terminal?: Pairbar's sidebar sits over the Claude desktop app, so you need that app. Its status line integration and limits also use Claude Code's claude command-line tool when it's installed.
What if I add Codex later?: Install the Codex app and its threads appear in the same list, with the cross-app extras. Nothing to set up again.

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.

Download free trial See pricing