Shellby
Download · free · open source

Bring him home.

One installer for Windows 10 and 11. Keep him as a desk pet with no account at all, or let him run Claude Code on your own Pro or Max plan. You choose when he moves in.

Download for Windows v0.78.0
Shellby-Setup-0.78.0.exe 118 MB Released October 9, 2026 Windows 10 & 11 (x64)
Portable build All files and SHA256SUMS Scoop or winget
No API keys No telemetry GPL-3.0 Updates himself
Three ways in

Pick how much crab you want.

Every way starts with the same app. You can add Claude Code later from Settings, or switch back to just the crab any time.

Uses your Claude Pro or Max plan

Crab + Claude Code

He runs the official Claude Code CLI you install and sign in to yourself. Usage counts against your plan exactly as if you'd typed it in a terminal.

  1. Install Claude Code and sign in with your Claude account (Pro or Max). Already have it? Skip this step.
    PowerShell
    > npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
> claude auth login
  2. Download Shellby-Setup (or the portable build) and run it.
  3. Pick Crab + Claude Code. He walks you through a two-step check (CLI found ✓, signed in with a Claude account ✓) and asks how much freedom he gets.

Prefer a quieter crab? Pick Work mode instead: the same, with your tools first on the bar.

No account

Just the crab

Download, run it, and pick Just the crab. That's it: Health, the Wardrobe, his voice, trophies and crab cards. No Claude, no account, still a desk pet who talks, plays and dresses up.

You can add Claude Code later from Settings.

Scoop · winget

From a package manager

Scoop
> scoop bucket add shellby https://github.com/x-salmon/shellby
> scoop install shellby/shellby

Or winget install x-salmon.Shellby, once Microsoft's review of the package finishes. Scoop keeps him up to date with scoop update shellby (the in-app updater stands aside); a winget install updates itself like the regular installer.

The first minute

Run it, pick a mode, meet him.

  1. Installing is one click. No wizard pages: a short progress window with his icon, and Shellby opens when it's done.
  2. He asks how he should live with you. Claude Code, Work mode or just the crab, or Claude Code on another computer, for a PC where it can't be installed but ssh works.
  3. He moves onto your desktop. Click him to open the panel. He lives on the wallpaper layer, behind every window.

Change your mind later with a right-click on him (or the tray icon) → Mode.

“Windows protected your PC”?

That's SmartScreen. Here's why, and how to check.

Microsoft SmartScreen warns about any app that isn't code-signed or that few people have downloaded yet, and Shellby releases aren't signed yet.

To install anyway: click More info → Run anyway.

Signing is being set up with Azure Artifact Signing, under the maintainer's verified name. Until the first signed release, every build is built in the open and ships checksums. Code signing policy →

Check you got the real file

Every release is built by GitHub Actions from the tagged commit, and each one lists SHA-256 checksums in SHA256SUMS.txt.

  1. Download SHA256SUMS.txt from the same release.
  2. Run Get-FileHash on the file you downloaded.
  3. The hash should match the line for that file. If it doesn't, don't run it, and tell us privately.
PowerShell · in your Downloads folder
> Get-FileHash .\Shellby-Setup-0.78.0.exe
Then compare with
> Get-Content .\SHA256SUMS.txt

Rather not trust a binary at all? Build him from source.

Staying current

He keeps himself up to date. And Claude Code too, if you like.

Updating Shellby

The installed version updates itself. He checks GitHub Releases, downloads in the background, and puts a dot on the ⚙ gear when an update is ready.

  • Click Restart and update in Settings → About, or Update to x.y.z and restart in the tray menu, or just quit and it installs on the way out.
  • Your settings live in %APPDATA%\Shellby, so they carry over.
  • The portable build can't update itself: download the new Shellby-Portable-x.y.z.exe and replace the old one.

Keeping Claude Code current

Claude Code checks for its own updates only in an interactive terminal session, and the sessions Shellby starts aren't interactive. So a copy that only ever runs under Shellby would stay on the version you installed.

  • Once a day Shellby asks the npm registry which version is newest and, if yours is older, says so once and puts an Update button in Settings → About. It runs Claude Code's own claude update.
  • Update it for me and he does it himself, only while no conversation is running.
  • Leave it to me and he never asks the registry.
Requirements

What he needs.

SystemWindows 10 or 11x64. Windows only: there's no macOS or Linux build.
Just the crabNothing elseNo Claude, no account.
For the Claude sideClaude Code 2.1+The official CLI, installed and signed in by you.
AndPro or MaxA Claude plan. No API key, no per-token billing.
Build from source

Read him, build him, run him.

Shellby is free software under the GPL-3.0. Clone him, install, start. Every image on his README is rendered from the real app.

Want a dev crab that needs no Claude account and keeps his own profile? npm run setup, then npm run dev:crab.

The full setup, every test and maintenance script, and a map of the code are in DEVELOPMENT.md.

Uninstalling? He asks whether to delete your data too, and No is the default. What's stored and where →

PowerShell
> git clone https://github.com/x-salmon/shellby
> cd shellby
> npm install
> npm start

Still deciding?

Read what he adds if you already live in Claude Code, or the questions everyone asks first.

Why Shellby Read the FAQ