It's the real claude
The official CLI you installed and signed in to. No model of its own, no fork, no API key. Usage counts against your plan exactly as if you'd typed it in a terminal.
Free · open source · Windows 10 & 11
Same Claude Code. Less babysitting.
Parallel tasks on their own branches, undo for any turn, and routines that start the moment your limit resets, all on your own Pro or Max plan. No API keys. No per-token billing. And a pixel hermit crab who scuttles off to do it.
It's the real
claude CLI
Your skills, hooks & MCP carry over
Or just the crab, no account
Try on
173 accessories66 bugs to catch99 levelsNo telemetryGPL-3.0
How it works
Tell him. He handles it.
Tell him what you want
Type it, or hold Ctrl+Alt+Space and say it. Windows hears it, on your PC.
Helper crabs work side by side
Every subagent gets its own lane in the panel and its own crab on your desktop. Tabs can work in their own copy of the repo on their own branch.
He brings it home
Checks run, the diff waits for your review, and Undo puts back every file a turn changed. Then you both level up.
Already use Claude Code?
Nothing to migrate. Nothing to give up.
It's the real
Everything carries over
Your skills, agents, hooks, MCP servers, CLAUDE.md files and permission rules work as they are, and anything you set up in Shellby works in your terminal too.
The difference is the tooling
Parallel work, undo, review, scheduling and alerts, built in, so you don't have to script them yourself. Why Shellby, if you have Claude Code →
Everything he can do
A whole dev crew. In a shell.
He starts with just a chat box. The rest of his shell opens as he works: ten areas, well over a hundred features, and every one of them on your own plan and your own PC.
⚡ Gets things done
Claude Code, with a crew.
- Helper crabsEvery subagent gets its own lane in the panel and its own crab on your desktop.
- Your crewEach agent type is a lasting crab with a name, a hat and a record. They level up.
- Tabs that don't collideEach tab can work in its own copy of the repo on its own branch. Bring it home merges it, never force-pushes.
- Undo any turnPuts back every file a turn changed, including what a script or
npm installdid. - He checks it himselfRun checks stamps a test verdict on the turn, with before/after pictures of your dev server.
- Comment on the diffClick line numbers, say what should change, and send it back as one follow-up.
- Try it N ways
/tries 3sends one task to three copies, tests each and ranks them. - Learns from your correctionsCorrect the same thing twice and he offers it as a
CLAUDE.mdrule, in your words.
🧰 Toolbox & Lean Shell
Every tool, priced and findable.
- The ToolboxEvery skill, agent, MCP server, mod, hook, rule and
CLAUDE.md, with an editor for each. - Skill ShopFind and add skills, and hundreds of your own stay findable.
- Prompt snippetsSave a prompt once and call it with
/review. - Lean ShellWhat every new conversation carries, in tokens, with idle plugins flagged.
- What each turn costTokens, its share of your 5-hour window, and how full the context is.
- Before it gets crowdedHe offers to make room a turn or two before the context fills.
- Park, share, sign inPark a skill instead of deleting it, export a set of tools, sign in to MCP servers without a terminal.
- ModsClaude Code mods, each saying in plain words what it can do.
🗂️ Runs your dev day
Every repo. Every server.
- ProjectsThe repos you work in, here and on GitHub or GitLab, with branches and unpushed work.
- Dev serversStart one and a
:5173pill sits by the crab. A taken port gets a fix. - When a server crashesHe holds up a red sign; the card marks the error lines. Nothing goes to Claude until you say.
- Next upYour to-dos, GitHub issues, milestones and code TODOs, ranked, each with Do this.
- Fix this buildA red pull request's failing log, handed to Claude. Address the review quotes open comments.
- Errors from SentryNew production errors, with Fix this error and When did this break?
- Time on each projectHours, clients and rates, PDF or CSV timesheets, and Toggl, Clockify or Harvest.
- Flaky tests & dependenciesFlaky tests caught and fixed, deps checked weekly with a PR to bump them.
🔁 Automates
Work that starts itself.
- Run it when my limit resetsQueue heavy tasks; they start when your window resets, overnight too, with the PC kept awake.
- RoutinesA prompt on a schedule, with the result sent to your phone.
- WorkflowsA schedule, a red build, a release or a file landing starts a list of steps.
- Build it with ClaudeDescribe the workflow and Claude lays it out on the map.
- MCP servers in stepsTick the servers a step may use; it files the Linear issue or posts to Slack without asking.
- From an issue to a pull requestOffer to take on issues, end to end.
- Spending guardAutomations stop before they touch the share of your window you keep for yourself.
- n8n, web hooks and secretsPair it with n8n for everything else; secrets are encrypted by Windows.
🌊 Gets out more
Your phone, your stream, your desk.
- Tell me when I'm awayA permission prompt, finished run or red build reaches your phone. ntfy is one QR scan.
- Answer from your phoneAllow or Deny from the notification, or start a task from it.
- CI on your pull requestsA ✗ sign when a build goes red, a dance when it's fixed.
- The
shellbycommandshellby do "tidy my Downloads"from any terminal. - On streamAn OBS browser source on a transparent background.
- On your deskOpenRGB lighting that follows his mood, and Stream Deck keys for Allow, Deny and Stop.
- In your editorHe reacts to Claude Code in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, JetBrains and Windows Terminal.
- Other computersWork with Claude Code on a server or another PC, over ssh.
🔒 Keeps you in control
Nothing happens you didn't allow.
- Permission cardsAllow, Always allow or Deny, with Y A N.
- Self-built tooling gets flaggedThe card warns when a command runs a script Claude wrote.
- Five permission modesFrom Ask first to a fenced-off Autonomous that's never the default.
- Your own rules applyYour Claude Code allow and deny rules hold in every mode.
- Look over my changesA read-only security review of uncommitted and unpushed work.
- Billing safetyNo API keys and no per-token billing: it runs on your plan's normal limits.
- No telemetryHistory stays in
%APPDATA%\Shellby. No servers of ours. - Clashes, spotted earlyTwo copies change the same file? Both tabs get a ⚠ before you bring them home.
🦀 Lives on your desktop
A crab, not a widget.
- On the wallpaper layerBehind every window, still there after Win+D.
- Shows what's happeningHe scuttles while Claude works, raises a claw when it needs you, naps when it's quiet.
- A voice of his ownChipper, fussy, cocky or sleepy. He never quotes Claude.
- He climbs your windowsRides them when you drag them, gets flung off when you shake them.
- Guards your focusIn a little helmet, with notifications held back.
- Around youHeadphones when music plays, a keyboard when you type, a sou'wester in the rain, hushed on calls.
- Knows your limitsWhen you'll hit your 5-hour window, and a message held for after the reset.
- Work modeA quiet crab in one click; turning it off puts every setting back.
💞 Good company
Just the two of you.
- Little scenesHe pounces on your cursor and misses, builds a sandcastle, gets the hiccups. 24 to catch.
- Gifts from diggingSea glass, a lost key, a pearl, once in a while a gold doubloon. 102 finds in 13 sets.
- He remembers youFrom New friends to Inseparable, with the story of your moments together.
- A tank to decorateA castle, a cave, kelp and his finds, arranged where you want them.
- Your beachA sandcastle for every project you ship, and the tide coming in with your streak.
- GamesHide and seek, fetch, and friends' crabs who drop by and chat.
- Snacks and napsGentle by design: never below a floor, never dropping while you're away.
- No Claude neededAll of it works with Just the crab, no account.
🎩 Dresses up
173 things to wear. 66 bugs to catch.
- Outfits & setsHead-to-tail sets and costumes for every season. Helpers wear matching hats.
- He grows into new shellsFrom a Snail Shell to the Rainbow Nautilus.
- 50+ trophies, 99 levelsXP, daily bounties and outfits that unlock as you use him.
- A character sheetShipping, Rigour, Craft and Tidiness, and a class from the highest.
- Shell stickersOne for every project you ship, going vinyl, holo and foil.
- The BugdexEvery kind of bug Claude fixes is a pixel creature in a jar. Only a real fix catches one.
- Bug battlesIts HP drops as failing tests clear; beat each habitat's boss for its badge.
- Cards to shareA crab card as he's dressed, and a weekly one every Friday.
🩺 Watches your PC
He sweats when your GPU does.
- Live vitalsGPU and CPU temperature and load, VRAM, memory, drives, fans and battery, with sparklines.
- His mood follows your hardwareSweating past 80°C, dizzy when memory fills, an overstuffed shell when a drive is full.
- A heads-up, onceOne notification when something crosses the line, another only if it gets worse.
- What's hogging itThe busiest processes, each with an End task that asks first.
- Starts with WindowsEvery startup entry, with a Switch off that works like Task Manager's.
- Developer clutterDocker, WSL disks and npm, pip, Cargo and Gradle caches. Tens of gigabytes back.
- Ask Shellby whyWhy it's hot, what's safe to clear. He never deletes or kills anything himself.
- No admin rightsAnd nothing leaves your PC.
And that's not the half of it.
Browse every feature- Queue and steer
- Side by side tabs
- Review inbox for finished work
- Undo to here
- Chats you can tick off
- While you were away
- Every slash command
- See what every turn changed
- Crit hits
- Before and after pictures
- File links
- Open in VS Code
- Try again from any turn
- Push from the folder menu
- Continue in a terminal
- Bring it into Shellby
- Ctrl+K command bar
- Find and zoom
- Push-to-talk
- Team packs
- Hooks and memory
- Permission rules editor
- The prompt cache
- What a task usually costs
- A heads-up before a big one
- XP for tidying
- Linear and Jira
- GitLab too
- Stale branches
- Copies left behind
- Pulse
- Releases
- Clone
- A port that's taken
- Servers keep running
- Open a draft pull request
- Issue helper
- Show me around
- Check the docs
- Clients and rates
- Time from your commits
- Timesheets
- Is it safe to leave?
- Shutdowns wait
- Streaks and nudges
- Retry from the failed step
- Fix with Claude
- Workflow templates
- Web hooks
- Sharing workflows
- A model of its own
- Sync between PCs
- Visiting crabs
- Profile card
- Built with Shellby badge
- Discord status
- Stream Deck keys
- Telegram finds your chat
- Publish your packs
- Status line
- Claude can drive him
- Pals on the floor
- Cheeky crab mode
- Sandy footprints
- Drop files on him
- Kind to your battery
- Footsteps and ta-das
- A beach in the background
- Pet him
- He notices your day
- Crabs that chat
- Outfit codes
- Seasons
- Daily bounties
- Tide events
- Crab eggs
- Sparklies
- The friends' board
- Saved tank layouts
- Stickers on the glass
- Gauges in disguise
- Moving day
- Undo and redo decor
- The Sticker Book
- Share my week
- Badges and the league
- The Deep Four
- Bugs that evolve
- Hall of Fame
- CPU temperature via HWiNFO
- Drive temperatures
- Fans and battery
- What Shellby himself costs
- 40-alert log
- Custom skins
- Community voices
- Scenes from packs
- Pack Studio
- Updates are a button
- Claude Code stays current
- Notifications that look like him
Dress him up
18 crabs. 173 accessories. 24 effects.
Every one drawn by his real sprite engine, right here on the page. Outfits unlock as you work, and he grows into new shells from a Snail Shell to the Rainbow Nautilus.
You stay in control
What can it do to my repo without asking?
Only what you've allowed. The default Ask first mode asks before every edit and command your own rules don't already permit. A tab can work in its own copy of the repo, and it only merges back when you say so, never with a force-push.
Permission modes in detailAsk first
Reads freely; asks before edits and commands. The default, and recommended.
Smart
Claude Code's auto mode: a safety classifier approves routine steps and blocks risky ones.
Auto-edit
Edits files on its own; still asks before running commands.
Plan only
Proposes a plan card. Nothing changes until you approve.
Autonomous
Behind an explicit warning, never the default, never reachable from the shellby command.
Things to try with him
He's not a widget. He's a crab.
Every trick is a setting. Turn up the ones you like; Work mode quiets them all in one click.
Your plan, your PC
No API keys. No telemetry. No servers of ours.
- Each conversation is one official Claude Code process you signed in to yourself. Shellby never sees your Claude sign-in.
- Conversation history lives in
%APPDATA%\Shellby, on your PC, and nowhere else. - Health readings, push-to-talk audio and the time tracker never leave your machine.
- Every connection he makes is listed in the privacy policy.
Community
Made by people who love him.
Hats, effects, colors, voices and scenes from the community, installed in one click and checked before anything lands. Packs are pixel art and settings only: they can't run code.
Get Shellby. It's free.
Free for Windows 10 and 11. Bring your Claude Pro or Max plan, or just keep him for company.