The web and desktop apps of Claude and Codex are getting better.

Three reasons.

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1. It is the most powerful way to use AI.

In the Terminal, AI can do anything you can do on your computer. Read and edit your files, install and run your apps, write and run code, operate your browser and computer.

This is power you can’t get from a web app.

The GUI apps wrap terminal AI in a nice interface. While they can be equally powerful, there are still some quirks and limitations at the moment.

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2. It gives you the optionality to switch vendors.

The same skill works across tools. Swap Claude Code for Codex tomorrow. Try open-source harnesses like OpenCode or Pi Coding Agent.

The command line is the common layer underneath all of them. Learn it once and your workflow is not tied to one company’s roadmap or pricing.

Why does optionality matter? When one vendor goes down, you switch to another and keep working. When one vendor raises its price or adds access controls, you have the option to move.

See the screenshot. When Claude is down, I launch Codex in the same Terminal and keep going.

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3. It is not as hard as you think.

You are still chatting with AI. The difference is a dark screen (you can switch to light), a monospace font, and no mouse (recent Claude Code updates support the mouse too).

The look scares people more than the actual use. In my workshops, four cohorts of business professionals who had barely touched a Terminal shipped a live website within hours.

Real comments from several learners: “It’s easy and fun.” “So simple?”

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If you are earlier in the journey, the dark screen is a mindset block, not a skill gap. Get past it and you get the most capable and robust way to work with AI, without betting on a single tool.

If you are a business professional who wants to learn to use Claude Code in the Terminal, I run a Foundations of Claude Code workshop. The next two cohorts are on 2 July (2 seats left) and 16 July.

Details: https://lnkd.in/e9r8kScw

#AI #ClaudeCode #VibeCoding #AIAgents #BuildInPublic