Get up to 3× more from your Claude subscription in Claude Desktop’s local Code tab and the Claude Code extension for VS Code. Build more features, fix more bugs, and keep coding longer with Condense, using the same Claude plan and the tools you already know.
Keep your projects, your editor, and your workflow. Condense now brings that extra headroom to both the desktop app and your editor, so you can spend more of your plan on getting work done.
Code in the apps you already use
Claude Desktop
Open a project in the Code tab, give Claude a task, and review its changes as usual. Condense now supports local Code sessions on macOS and Windows. Connect the app once with dense to start using it.
Claude Code in VS Code
Use Condense from Anthropic’s Claude Code extension on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The same setup works in VS Code Insiders, Cursor, VSCodium, and Windsurf, and connects future Claude Code terminal sessions too.
How it works
Long coding sessions accumulate file contents, tool results, and command output. Condense optimizes that repeated history before requests reach Anthropic. Responses stream back to the same app.
dense connects your local Claude Code engine to Condense. For Desktop, a background watcher maintains the connection when Claude downloads a new engine version.
Track your plan and savings
With a Claude Code subscription login, run dense usage to see your plan usage and reset times, alongside an estimate of usage without Condense. After a task, dense info shows account and lifetime savings. Open the dashboard for individual sessions.
A published coding-session benchmark measured up to 72% lower model costs. Model-cost savings and subscription usage are different measurements; the usage guide explains how the subscription estimate works, including how activity outside Condense can overstate it.
Supported sessions
The desktop integration covers local Code sessions. Desktop Chat, Cowork, and sessions running in Anthropic’s cloud or a virtual machine are outside this integration. Linux users can use the VS Code extension. Existing third-party provider or gateway configurations keep their chosen route.
Get started
Install dense and sign in, then connect the app you use. Setup runs in a terminal once; your coding sessions stay in the app.
macOS or Linux:
curl -fsSL https://cli.condense.chat/unix | shWindows PowerShell:
irm https://cli.condense.chat/nt | iexFollow the setup prompts and sign in through your browser. Already have dense? Run dense self update to get the latest version. Use dense login if you need to sign in again.
Connect Claude Desktop
Open the Code tab once to finish its initial setup, then quit Claude Desktop. Run:
dense claude-desktop installReopen Claude Desktop, choose a project in the Code tab, and start a new local session. Give Claude a task and review its changes as usual. Condense now optimizes the conversation as you work.
Connect VS Code
Install Anthropic’s Claude Code extension and complete its sign-in. With dense installed, run:
dense persist claudeReload the VS Code window, open the Claude Code extension, and start a new conversation in your project. Run your next coding task there. This also connects future Claude Code terminal sessions to Condense.
Check the desktop connection
dense claude-desktop statusLook for routed beside the engine and watcher: running. If sessions are still running directly, run dense login and start a new session.
Connection settings
VS Code uses its claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper setting. If dense cannot update your settings automatically, follow the manual configuration hint it prints. An existing wrapper from another tool is preserved; review that setting before switching to dense. Source code and release notes are on GitHub.
Disconnect an app
Quit Claude Desktop and run dense claude-desktop uninstall to restore its original connection. For VS Code and terminal sessions, run dense unpersist claude. Reopen the app before starting a new conversation.