Anthropic has enhanced Claude Code to run tasks in the background on macOS, enabling users to multitask without interruption , a significant step towards more practical AI-powered desktop workflows.
Anthropic has given Claude Code a more practical role on the Mac by allowing it to run tasks in the background. Instead of taking over the cursor and leaving the machine effectively unusable during a job, the assistant can now click, type and launch apps while the user keeps working elsewhere on the same computer, according to Smartworld and 9to5Mac.
The change matters because it removes one of the main frictions in Anthropic’s earlier “computer use” approach. In its previous form, the assistant required direct control of the pointer, which meant the user had to stop using the device until the task was complete. The new background mode is designed to fit around normal multitasking rather than interrupt it, making the feature more realistic for day-to-day work.
Anthropic is limiting the upgrade to macOS, and it is available only to Pro and Max subscribers. That narrower rollout means it is not a universal update, but it does target the users most likely to rely on Claude Code for coding, file handling and other repetitive desktop tasks. Anthropic’s own Claude Code product documentation shows the tool is intended to work across several operating systems and interfaces, including terminal and IDE use, but the new background execution feature itself is currently tied to Apple’s platform.
The move also puts Anthropic in closer step with OpenAI, which introduced a similar Mac capability in Codex earlier this year, according to Smartworld. For users already paying for Claude on the Mac, the update is less a dramatic reinvention than a meaningful usability fix: it turns a previously blocking feature into one that can run in parallel with other work. That is often the kind of improvement that decides whether an AI tool feels experimental or genuinely useful.
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