Developers spend a surprising amount of time bouncing between their code editor, browser tabs, API documentation, GitHub issues, and design files. Anthropic thinks Claude Code should simply do all of that without constantly asking users to switch windows. The company has announced a new in-app browser for Claude Code on desktop, allowing its AI coding assistant to open websites, read documentation, inspect designs, and interact with web pages directly from within the application.

A browser built into Claude Code

According to Anthropic’s documentation, the Browser pane functions as a fully tabbed browser that sits alongside a developer’s workspace. Claude can open documentation, issue trackers, internal web apps, or virtually any other website, then read page contents, click links, and interact with elements much like it already does with local development environments.

Developers can launch the browser using Ctrl + Shift + B on Windows or Cmd + Shift + B on macOS. External links shared inside Claude conversations can also be opened directly in the Browser pane or, if preferred, in the user’s default browser. The browser even supports website logins, including Google OAuth pop-ups, making it useful for testing authenticated applications.

Security comes first

Because Claude is now capable of interacting with live websites, Anthropic has built several safeguards into the experience. The first time Claude attempts to act on a particular website, users are asked whether to Allow once, Always allow, or Deny that action. These permissions are stored per site and can later be revoked from the settings menu. Even after approval, Claude cannot create accounts, make purchases, or bypass CAPTCHAs without explicit user permission.

Anthropic also distinguishes the new Browser pane from its Claude in Chrome extension. The built-in browser uses a clean, isolated browser profile with no browsing history or saved logins, making it ideal for development and testing. Users who want Claude to work with their existing browser sessions and logged-in accounts are still encouraged to use the Chrome extension instead.

The update might sound small on paper, but it removes one of the biggest annoyances in AI-assisted coding: constantly copying links back and forth between a browser and the coding assistant. Instead of saying, “Here’s the documentation, go read it,” developers can now simply let Claude open the page itself, understand the context, and continue working — all without leaving the desktop app. That’s one less browser tab to keep open, and if there’s one thing developers never seem to have enough of, it’s fewer browser tabs.