February 21, 2026
AI hype, desktop gripe
When Code is Free, Why is Claude is an Electron app?
Users roast Claude: slow app, login fails, no Linux — the 90/10 excuse flops
TLDR: Claude’s desktop app still runs on Electron, a web wrapper, even as Anthropic touts AI agents that write code. Commenters pile on, slamming the “90/10” excuse, flagging login issues and the missing Linux app, and joking “free as in puppy” to say upkeep is the real cost.
Claude’s shiny AI hype meets a very grumpy reality: its desktop app is built on Electron, the “web page in a box” trick that makes apps easy to ship but often slow and chunky. The article says this still makes sense because AI coding bots nail the first 90% but the last 10% is brutal—more bugs, more platforms, more headaches. The crowd’s response? Not buying it. One user snapped ‘shameful explanation,’ while another rolled their eyes at the ‘90/10’ line and pointed out there isn’t even a Linux app yet.
The roast continued with real pain points. A commenter couldn’t even log in—just a spinning wheel and a signup detour—snarking that it’s not exactly the future of coding. Another said the IntelliJ plugin is basically a command-line tool pretending to be a plugin. And the joke of the day? ‘Free as in puppy’—translation: “free” code still needs endless feeding, walks, and vet bills. Meanwhile, folks can’t help noticing the irony: Anthropic spent big on an agent swarm to build a Rust-based C compiler and bragged about it, yet the desktop app is still slow, buggy, and bloated. The article argues Electron is practical; the comments clap back that users deserve better from Claude.
Key Points
- •The article contrasts Anthropic’s investment in agentic coding (a ~$20,000 Rust-based C compiler project) with its choice to ship the Claude desktop app using Electron.
- •Electron’s main advantages are a single codebase for Windows, Mac, and Linux and the ability to reuse web app code, enabling faster cross‑platform delivery.
- •Electron’s drawbacks include large app sizes due to bundling Chromium, potential lag, and weaker OS integration, though some issues can be mitigated with extra engineering.
- •The author argues coding agents handle the first 90% of development well but struggle with the final 10% and ongoing real‑world maintenance, citing limitations observed in the compiler project (attributed to “Opus”).
- •Maintaining separate native apps would increase the support surface area across platforms; thus, the article concludes Electron remains a pragmatic choice for now.