Spacecake
Open-source desktop GUI that adds a markdown editor, task board, and context monitor to Anthropic's Claude Code CLI
Download Spacecake if you already pay for Claude Pro and run Claude Code daily, but keep a terminal-only fallback. The task board with named agent owners and the 67%/60%-cliff context gauge solve real problems that plain Claude Code leaves you to eyeball. It is free and open source, but it is alpha — the March 22, 2026 updater fix for data loss shows stability is still being earned. If you need multi-model support, use Cursor or GitHub Copilot instead; Spacecake is Anthropic-only by design.
Verified 1d ago · liveness 55/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/spacecake
- Developers already running Claude Code on a Claude Pro plan
- Developers who prefer writing markdown specs before code
- Teams that want visual tracking of multiple AI agent tasks
- Open-source contributors who want a free, inspectable Claude Code GUI
- Teams that need multi-model support beyond Anthropic
- Developers who prefer a pure terminal without a GUI
- People who do not use Claude Code or have no Claude Pro subscription
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Skip Spacecake if you don't use Claude Code or Anthropic models, since it's a GUI for that CLI alone and adds nothing to a Cursor, Copilot, or Codex workflow.
Spacecake itself is free during public alpha, but Claude Code requires a Claude Pro subscription — budget $20+/mo before the app saves you anything.
At $0 during public alpha, Spacecake is the cheapest layer in this stack — but it is additive, not substitutive. You still pay for Claude Pro ($20+/mo), and the opusplan hybrid needs Claude Max ($100/mo for 5x, $200/mo for 20x). Multi-model tools like Cursor and GitHub Copilot fold the model subscription into one bill and work across providers; Spacecake is cheaper only if you were paying for Claude Code anyway.
In short
Spacecake — Open-source desktop GUI that adds a markdown editor, task board, and context monitor to Anthropic's Claude Code CLI. Best for Developers already running Claude Code on a Claude Pro plan, Developers who prefer writing markdown specs before code, Teams that want visual tracking of multiple AI agent tasks. Free to use.
What's new in Spacecake
Checked yesterdayAcross the latest 5 updates: 2 changelog entries and 3 news mentions.
Master Claude Code's Context Window: Avoid the Performance Cliff
Guide explaining that Claude Code's context degrades at 60% capacity and how to manage the 1M token window — the same 60% threshold Spacecake's in-app gauge warns on.
fix: prevent data loss in updater
Fixed a bug in the updater that could cause data loss during updates, addressing a stability risk for users on the auto-update path.
fix: prevent popover from closing
Fixed an issue where popover dialogs would close unexpectedly, improving reliability of in-app editing panels.
How to Use Claude in Cursor: Complete Setup Guide
Setup guide covering model selection, API configuration, and credit optimization for running Claude inside Cursor — a vendor comparison piece rather than a Spacecake feature.
Claude Code Plan Mode: Think First, Ship Faster
Explains plan mode's read-only research state, the four-phase explore/plan/implement/verify workflow, and the opusplan alias that uses Opus 4.6 for planning and Sonnet 4.6 for implementation.
What people actually say about Spacecake — is it worth it?
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
5 mentions across 1 source (GitHub) · researched Jul 3, 2026.
Average across the 1 source that answered — each source counts once, not each post.
- +WYSIWYG markdown editor with live preview is genuinely well-designed.
- +Integrated terminal streams Claude Code output in real time.
- +Task board with pending/in-progress/completed cards is handy.
- +Git commit, push, pull, branch management built into the UI.
- +Context window monitor warns at 60% capacity before performance drops.
- −Startup takes ~5 minutes on large projects with session history.
- −Dark theme does not include the terminal on Windows.
- −Fonts are too small on 27-inch 4K monitors.
- −Crash on Windows when pressing Ctrl+G to open a plan.
- −Unix socket not created, breaking IDE statusline integration.
- • Requires a Claude Pro subscription ($20/mo) and Claude Code installed separately
- • API usage for Claude Code may incur additional costs depending on usage tier
Viability Score
How well maintained and how widely used is Spacecake? Built from what the vendor actually publishes (docs, changelog, tutorials, integrations, pricing), whether the site is live, and how much real users discuss it. How we calculate this
Last calculated: September 2026
How we score →Key Features
- WYSIWYG markdown editor with Mermaid diagram rendering and live checklists
- Integrated terminal streaming Claude Code output
- Real-time context window monitor showing live usage percentage and cost (e.g. '🧠 67% | 💰 $4.20')
- Agent task board with pending, in-progress, and completed states
- Named agent task ownership (agent-1, agent-2) with drag-and-drop task management
- Git integration: commit, amend, push, pull, and branch management
- Change tracking panel with file diff status (M, U, D, A) and commit history
- Per-project CLAUDE.md system prompt editing
- JSON stack configuration for coding conventions (stack, style, tests)
- ship-faster.md template for research, plan, and implement workflows
- Plan mode support separating read-only research from code execution
- Cross-platform desktop app: macOS (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows x86-64, Linux (deb and AppImage)
- Open-source codebase
- Claude Code model alias and environment variable configuration (e.g. opusplan, ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL)
- Dark, light, and auto theme selection
About Spacecake
Spacecake is an open-source desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux that wraps Anthropic's Claude Code CLI in a visual interface. Instead of living purely in a terminal, you get a WYSIWYG markdown editor with Mermaid diagram rendering and live checklists for writing specs before you code, plus an integrated terminal that streams Claude Code output with a real-time context monitor — the vendor's own demo shows '🧠 67%' and warns you when you approach the 60% capacity point where Claude Code's context quality degrades. A drag-and-drop agent task board tracks pending, in-progress, and completed tasks with named owners (agent-1, agent-2). Git integration handles commit, push, pull, branch management, and file diff history in a side panel. Per-project CLAUDE.md editing lets you define coding conventions, and a JSON config block ('stack': 'next.js', 'style': 'functional', 'tests': 'vitest') pushes those rules into Claude's suggestions. The bundled ship-faster.md template walks you through research, plan, and implement phases, and Spacecake aligns with Claude Code's plan mode, which separates read-only research from code execution until you approve the plan. It targets developers who already use Claude Code and want markdown-based planning and visual agent tracking without leaving the terminal workflow. It is free during public alpha, requires a Claude Pro subscription and Claude Code installed, and works only with Anthropic's models — the vendor's screenshots show Opus 4.5 and Opus 4.6 (the opusplan alias uses Opus 4.6 for planning and Sonnet 4.6 for implementation).
Behind the Verdict
Spacecake's case rests on one specific claim: that Claude Code users want structure before code, not just a faster terminal. The product backs that up. The markdown editor renders Mermaid diagrams and checklists, so architecture notes and task lists live in the same file you plan from. The integrated terminal streams Claude Code output while a context monitor shows live usage — the vendor's screenshots show '🧠 67% | 💰 $4.20' — and its own March 2026 blog post on the context window explains that Claude Code degrades at 60% capacity. That pairing of warning threshold and live gauge is the most genuinely useful thing here, because context bloat is invisible in a raw terminal until output quality drops. The task board shows pending, in-progress, and completed work with owners like agent-1 and agent-2, and git integration covers commit, push, pull, branches, and a change panel with diff status (M, U, D, A) and history. Per-project CLAUDE.md editing and JSON stack config keep conventions in the repo instead of your head. Where it falls short: it is Claude-only. The site's comparison pages pit Claude Code against Copilot, Cursor, and Codex, but Spacecake itself does not broker other models, so if your team standardizes on GPT or Gemini you are out of scope. It requires Claude Pro and a working Claude Code install, which means the free app still sits behind a $20+/mo subscription, and the Max-tier opusplan hybrid (Opus 4.6 planning, Sonnet 4.6 implementation) documented in the plan-mode post is a Claude Code feature you inherit rather than something Spacecake adds. Alpha status is the other caveat: recent commits are bug fixes — updater data loss, popovers closing unexpectedly, drag-and-drop performance — not finished polish. There is no public pricing page beyond 'free during public alpha,' so treat long-term pricing as unannounced. It fits developers who plan in markdown and want visual agent tracking; it does not fit multi-model teams, terminal purists, or anyone who has not internalized git.
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Spacecake actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
Writes a markdown feature spec with a Mermaid architecture diagram in the editor, sets a JSON stack config for next.js and vitest, then runs Claude Code in the integrated terminal with the context gauge visible.
Outcome: The spec lives in the repo next to the code, and the context monitor flags the 60% cliff before output quality drops.
Uses the task board to assign database schema, API endpoints, and unit tests to agent-1 and agent-2, reviewing named-owner status as work moves from pending to completed.
Outcome: Work-in-flight is visible without a separate tracker, and finished changes are committed through the built-in git panel.
Runs Claude Code in plan mode to explore read-only, reviews the drafted plan, then switches to implementation and checks the diff panel for deviations.
Outcome: Research happens before edits, so cross-cutting concerns surface before files are touched.
Use Cases
- Write a markdown feature spec with Mermaid diagrams in the editor, then execute it through Claude Code in the integrated terminal.
- Watch the context gauge to act before Claude Code hits the 60% capacity point where its output quality degrades.
- Track multiple agent tasks on the board with named owners, review status, and commit the results through git integration.
- Edit CLAUDE.md visually and iterate on project conventions without leaving the app.
- Review file diffs and commit history in the side panel after Claude Code finishes a generation task.
- Use the ship-faster.md template to run research, plan, and implement phases in order.
- Set a JSON stack config (e.g. next.js, functional style, vitest) so Claude's suggestions match your toolchain.
Models Under the Hood
as of 2026-09-08
Limitations
- Spacecake is a frontend for Claude Code, so you still need a Claude Pro subscription and a working Claude Code install — the app being free does not make the underlying service free.
- It supports only Anthropic's models.
- It is in public alpha, and recent commits are bug fixes (updater data loss on March 22, 2026; popovers closing unexpectedly on March 21), so stability and feature completeness are not guaranteed.
- Claude Code's context quality degrades at around 60% capacity, which the app surfaces but does not eliminate — active context management is still on you.
- There is no published road map for pricing after alpha ends.
as of 2026-09-14
Verification history
We have re-verified Spacecake 7 times since . Each pass re-reads the vendor's own pages and re-checks every listed field against that evidence; passes where nothing had changed are marked as such.
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-checked, vendor evidence unchanged
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-checked, vendor evidence unchanged
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
Showing the 6 most recent of 7 verification passes.
Free to cite with attribution — this page re-verifies continuously.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Plans compared
For each published Spacecake tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Public Alpha
$0/mo
Ideal for
Developers already paying for Claude Pro who want a free visual layer over the Claude Code CLI.
What this tier adds
Starting tier — no cost during public alpha, but requires your own Claude Pro subscription and Claude Code install.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Spacecake's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
At $0 during public alpha, Spacecake is the cheapest layer in this stack — but it is additive, not substitutive. You still pay for Claude Pro ($20+/mo), and the opusplan hybrid needs Claude Max ($100/mo for 5x, $200/mo for 20x). Multi-model tools like Cursor and GitHub Copilot fold the model subscription into one bill and work across providers; Spacecake is cheaper only if you were paying for Claude Code anyway.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Spacecake — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
Budget roughly 10 minutes if Claude Code and a Claude Pro login are already in place: install the platform build (Apple silicon or Intel dmg, Windows exe, deb or AppImage), sign in, and point it at a repo. Add 20-30 minutes the first time you set up a CLAUDE.md and a JSON stack config. If Claude Code itself is not installed and configured, do that first — it's the prerequisite, not part of the
Switching to or from Spacecake
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From plain Claude Code CLI: install Spacecake, open existing repos, and reuse your current CLAUDE.md files without changes.
- →From Cursor or Copilot: keep your existing repos, add a CLAUDE.md and JSON stack config so Claude follows project conventions, and expect a Claude-only model set.
- ↗To Claude Code CLI alone: uninstall the desktop app and continue in the terminal — CLAUDE.md files and repo state carry over unchanged.
- ↗To Cursor or GitHub Copilot: move markdown specs into the new tool's context files and re-establish model selection, since neither reads Spacecake's JSON stack config.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Tutorials & Learning
YouTube returned 6 videos for “Spacecake”, and we withheld 6: 6 could not be judged, because “Spacecake” is a single word that other videos use for other things. We are showing none, because we could not prove any of them are about Spacecake.
Official links
Tools that pair well with Spacecake
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Spacecake, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
Refact.ai
Open-source autonomous AI coding agent that plans, executes, and deploys tasks inside VS Code and JetBrains IDEs.
Cline
Open-source coding agent that edits code and runs terminal commands across IDE, CLI, and desktop.
Goose
Open-source AI agent for desktop, CLI, and API — automate code, research, and workflows locally
Featured Head-to-Head Comparisons
Spacecake vs Presto Voice
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Spacecake vs Locus Robotics
These tools serve completely different domains: Locus Robotics automates physical warehouse picking with AMRs, while Spacecake enhances the developer coding workflow with a visual Claude Code interface. Choose only if you need physical robot automation; choose Spacecake if you're a Claude Code user wanting a GUI.
Spacecake vs Truleo
Truleo is purpose-built for law enforcement to extract leads from siloed data, while Spacecake is a developer tool that enhances Claude Code with a visual interface. Your choice depends entirely on your domain: if you're in policing, choose Truleo; if you're a coder, choose Spacecake.
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