codeCodeman vs Claude Code UI (CloudCLI): chat UI or live terminal
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What CloudCLI isWhat Codeman isSide by sideChoose CloudCLI if...Choose Codeman if...Using bothClaude Code UI, now called CloudCLI, gives Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI and OpenCode a chat-style web interface with a file explorer, a git panel and a shell, and it offers a paid hosted version. Codeman streams each agent's own terminal from persistent tmux sessions, so pick CloudCLI if you want a chat view with IDE-like panels or a managed cloud setup, and Codeman if you want the CLI's real interface kept alive across disconnects with alerts on your phone.
What CloudCLI is
CloudCLI (the repository is still siteboon/claudecodeui) is an open-source web UI you start with npx @cloudcli-ai/cloudcli on Node.js 22+. It opens on port 3001 and discovers your existing sessions from ~/.claude. Conversations happen in a chat interface; its package.json pulls in the Claude Agent SDK and the Codex SDK to drive them. Around the chat it has an integrated shell terminal, a file tree with editing, a git explorer for staging, committing and switching branches, and git worktree management added in v1.37.0. MCP servers you add in the UI are written to your Claude Code config. A plugin system adds tabs and services; community plugins include a web terminal and a scheduler. Its settings offer web push, desktop and sound notifications for action required, stop and error events.
All Claude Code tools are disabled by default in its UI, and you enable the ones you want. Beyond self-hosting there is CloudCLI Cloud, a hosted environment from €7 per month that keeps agents running with your laptop closed, plus an optional desktop companion for macOS and Windows and experimental Docker sandboxes. The code is AGPL-3.0-or-later.
What Codeman is
Codeman is a self-hosted web server that runs agent CLIs inside persistent tmux sessions and streams each real terminal to a browser. It supports nine CLIs (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Pi, Grok Build, DeepSeek Harness, OMP) plus plain shells, flags waiting or blocked agents on their tabs and through web push, and for Claude sessions adds auto-resume after a usage limit and live subagent windows. Cron jobs, Docker containers and remote SSH sessions are built in. It needs Node.js 22+ and tmux, runs on macOS and Linux (Windows through WSL2), and is MIT licensed.
Side by side
| CloudCLI | Codeman | |
|---|---|---|
| How you see the agent | Chat interface, plus a shell tab | The CLI's own terminal, streamed live |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI, OpenCode | Nine CLIs plus shell (Agent CLIs) |
| Hosted option | Yes, CloudCLI Cloud from €7/month | No, self-hosted only |
| Self-hosted | Yes, npm | Yes, installer or npm (Installation) |
| Phone access | Yes, responsive web UI | Yes: touch terminal, installable web app, QR login (Mobile Guide) |
| Notifications | Yes: web push, desktop, sound | Yes: tab alerts, desktop, web push with optional Approve and Deny for Claude |
| File browsing and editing | Yes | Yes (Working With Files) |
| Git panel (stage, commit, branches) | Yes | No |
| Git worktree management | Yes, since v1.37.0 | No |
| Plugins | Yes | No; HTTP API, SSE and hooks instead |
| Default Claude permissions | Tools disabled until you enable them | Permission prompts skipped by default; auto mode, normal prompting or an allowlist selectable |
| Terminal kept after you disconnect | Partial: the shell tab's PTY stays 30 minutes after the last disconnect, per its source | Yes: tmux, including across server restarts |
| Resume after a usage limit | Not in README | Yes, Claude sessions only |
| Scheduled prompts | Via a community plugin | Built in (Cron Jobs) |
| Isolation | Experimental Docker sandboxes (microVM) | Docker cases, one container per project (Docker Cases) |
| Desktop app | Yes, companion for macOS and Windows | No; the web UI installs as a PWA |
| License | AGPL-3.0-or-later | MIT |
Choose CloudCLI if...
- You prefer reading and writing to agents in a chat layout, with the files, the git state and a shell in panels around it.
- You want someone else to host it. CloudCLI Cloud runs the environment for you; Codeman has no hosted version, and reaching it from a phone means setting up Tailscale, a tunnel or a LAN password yourself.
- You use Cursor CLI, which Codeman does not run.
- You want to stage, commit and manage worktrees from the UI, or add plugins.
- You want the more conservative default. CloudCLI starts with Claude's tools off, while Codeman starts Claude sessions with permission prompts skipped unless you change the setting.
Choose Codeman if...
- You want the agent's actual TUI, slash commands, dialogs and all, rather than a chat rendering of it.
- Sessions must outlive the browser, the network and a restart of the server; in Codeman they live in tmux (Core Concepts).
- You run long unattended Claude sessions and want them to resume after a usage limit and show subagent activity as it happens (Keeping Agents Running).
- You use Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Pi, Grok Build, DeepSeek Harness or OMP.
- You need one Docker container per project, agents on remote hosts over SSH, or scheduled prompts.
Using both
They can run on the same machine: CloudCLI defaults to port 3001 and Codeman to 3000. Both read Claude Code's own transcripts under ~/.claude, so a Claude conversation started in one shows up in the other's history. Avoid driving the same conversation from both at once. A workable split: CloudCLI for focused work in the chat view, Codeman for sessions you leave running and check from your phone.
Checked against CloudCLI's README on 2026-09-25 (13,801 stars). Spotted something out of date? Open an issue.