The Claude Desktop Buddy for Claude Code
A friendly BLE hardware companion that sits on your desk, lights up when Claude Code needs a permission, shows recent Claude messages, and lets you approve or deny tools with a tap. Built on the open claude-desktop-buddy protocol, ready to run out of the box.
🎁 $50 off MSRP · lifetime firmware updates · full refund any time before ship
What is Claude Desktop Buddy?
Claude Desktop Buddy is the first opt-in hardware companion for Claude Code and Claude Cowork. The Claude macOS and Windows apps can talk to BLE maker devices, and Claude Desktop Buddy is the reference desk pet that uses that channel: it wakes when you start a Claude Code session, quietly idles while Claude works, gets visibly impatient when a tool permission prompt is waiting, and lets you approve or deny right from the device without ever touching your keyboard.
Open BLE protocol
Claude Desktop Buddy speaks the open Nordic UART Service wire protocol defined by Anthropic, so every buddy stays compatible with future Claude releases.
ESP32 + M5StickC Plus
The firmware runs on the M5StickC Plus reference board, a pocket-sized ESP32 with a 135×240 color display, buttons, IMU, and LiPo battery.
Ready-to-run hardware
Every Claude Desktop Buddy arrives assembled, flashed, and QA-checked before it reaches your desk — no soldering, no PlatformIO, no pain.
Tap to approve
Press A to approve, B to deny. Hold A for the settings menu. The Claude Desktop Buddy screen lights up instantly when a permission prompt lands.
Why developers want a Claude Desktop Buddy
Claude Code sessions can run for hours. Claude Desktop Buddy keeps that long-running assistant ambient, physical, and trustworthy — the way terminals got an LED next to them in the 80s.
Features of the Claude Desktop Buddy
Everything the reference Claude Desktop Buddy firmware ships with — pre-flashed, pre-paired, ready the moment you unbox it.
BLE auto-reconnect
Claude Desktop Buddy pairs once with the Claude app and reconnects automatically whenever both sides are awake. No daily re-pairing.
Approve or deny on device
Button A approves a Claude Code permission prompt, button B denies it. Screen stays on while a prompt is pending so nothing slips by.
Transcript scrollback
Scroll the recent Claude messages right on the Claude Desktop Buddy display. No need to alt-tab mid-flow to see what Claude just said.
18 ASCII pets, 7 states each
Sleep, idle, busy, attention, celebrate, dizzy, heart — a full vocabulary of emotions for your Claude Desktop Buddy. Choice persists across power-offs.
Custom GIF characters
Drag a 96-pixel-wide GIF character pack (manifest.json + PNGs) onto the Hardware Buddy window, and Claude Desktop Buddy switches to GIF mode live.
Nap mode, long battery life
Face the device down and Claude Desktop Buddy naps while its battery refills. The screen auto-powers off after 30s to stretch runtime between charges.
IMU-aware reactions
Shake the Claude Desktop Buddy to dizzy it, face-down to nap, shake hard to wake. The built-in IMU turns physical gestures into firmware states.
Open firmware, open protocol
Every Claude Desktop Buddy we ship runs the upstream firmware from anthropics/claude-desktop-buddy. Flash your own, fork it, or build a custom board.
How to set up your Claude Desktop Buddy
Three steps from box to your first Claude Code permission approved on the device:
1. Unbox and power on
Press the power button on your Claude Desktop Buddy. It ships pre-flashed with the latest firmware and pre-charged for ~2 hours of Claude Code sessions.
2. Enable Claude Developer Mode
In the Claude desktop app, open Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode, then Developer → Open Hardware Buddy… and click Connect to find your Claude Desktop Buddy.
3. Pair and go
Grant Bluetooth permission when macOS or Windows asks. Claude Desktop Buddy auto-reconnects after that — start a Claude Code session and watch it wake up.
4. Make it yours
Hold button A to open the menu, cycle through the 18 ASCII pets, or drop a GIF character pack onto the Hardware Buddy window to give your Claude Desktop Buddy a custom face.
Get early access to the Claude Desktop Buddy
We are preparing the first batch of Claude Desktop Buddy devices now. Drop your email and we will ping you the moment pre-orders open — no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Claude Desktop Buddy FAQ
Everything people ask us about the Claude Desktop Buddy — the hardware, the firmware, and the pairing flow with Claude Code.
Claim one of the first 100 Claude Desktop Buddies.
$99 + $15 worldwide shipping. Founders Edition units are laser-engraved with your number (01 / 100 – 100 / 100), include lifetime firmware updates, and ship summer 2026. Full refund any time before your unit ships.