cl_quick

The first release isn't out yet. There is nothing to download so far. Until there is, this page says what the Claude quick chat needs and how it works with Claude Code.

Requirements

  • An Apple silicon Mac.
  • macOS 13 or later.
  • The app is under 5 MB.
  • Claude Code, signed in. cl_quick answers with your own Claude Code sign-in, so a profile needs a Claude Code folder that is signed in. Install and sign in to it first, with Claude Code's setup guide (opens in a new tab).

The app is free. Chats count against your Claude plan's usage limits, because your own Claude Code answers them.

How it works with Claude Code

  1. A profile is a Claude Code folder.~/.claude, a ~/.claude-* folder, or any folder set with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR. On its first run cl_quick takes every signed-in one it finds, named after the folder.
  2. The bar opens, and a claude starts.One claude at a time, on the profile's account in use. It is kept while a chat is open and ended after 15 minutes idle.
  3. Your Claude Code answers.Each chat counts against that account's limits. Claude Code runs with no tools, no MCP servers and no settings files, and with its own non-essential traffic (telemetry, error reports, update checks) off.
  4. The limits come from the same claude.It is asked for the account's 5-hour and weekly limits, which sends no message to a model, and the chat shows them in its bar and its header.

When the first release is out

cl_quick isn't signed with an Apple Developer ID yet, so the first time it opens, macOS says it can't verify the app. Open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway, once.

The shortcut is ⌥Space by default, and Open at login in Settings ▸ General keeps cl_quick in the menu bar, ready for it.

Updates

Updates in Settings ▸ General is on by default. About once a day cl_quick asks GitHub Releases for cl_quick's latest release, anonymously, and when a newer one exists the menu bar menu shows "Update available", which opens the release's page in your browser. The app downloads and installs nothing itself.

cl_quick's own update check is the one thing it sends besides your messages. Turn Updates off and no request is made. What it sends, exactly

Already use cl_audit?

cl_quick is the successor of the quick chat in cl_audit (opens in a new tab). On its first run it copies cl_audit's old quick chat settings (the shortcut, model and thinking), if there are any, and it shares nothing with cl_audit while running.

Removing it

The strip at the bottom of Settings ▸ General has Remove…, which asks "Move cl_quick's data to the Trash?" and then moves cl_quick's folder and any old quick chats to the Trash, turns the login item off and quits. Your Claude Code folders, their sign-ins and their other sessions stay.

Questions

What cl_quick keeps and sends, what incognito means and how accounts switch are in the FAQ. The home page shows it working, step by step.

cl_quick is made by n-uf (opens in a new tab) and is not affiliated with Anthropic.