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perch

Install

A signed Mac download is coming. Until then, build it from source. You’ll need:

  • macOS, and Claude Code (or Codex) installed and logged in.
  • Node 22.6 or newer, only to build it. The Mac app brings its own copy to run.
  • The GitHub CLI, logged in (gh auth login), to see pull requests. Optional.
  • tmux (brew install tmux), to start sessions inside perch and watch their terminals there. Optional.

The Mac app

Section titled “The Mac app”
Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/maybenat/switchpath && cd perch
npm install
cd desktop && npm install && npm run package
# then drag desktop/dist/perch-darwin-arm64/perch.app into Applications

Or the dashboard, in a browser

Section titled “Or the dashboard, in a browser”
Terminal window
npm start   # prints a one-time link to open it

The link works once, for two minutes. Run npm start again for a new one.

The first time the Mac app opens, it shows what it found and offers to set up the rest (tmux, the editor extension) with a click. See First run.