[FEATURE] Desktop: clone a Git repo from a URL when starting a new session (no terminal)

[alexlatchford]

Problem

The Claude Code Desktop app cannot start working on a repository that isn't already cloned to local disk. The Project folder picker in the new-session flow only lets you select an existing local directory — there is no "clone from Git URL" entry point anywhere in the UI.

This creates a bootstrap gap for the common workflow "I have a repo URL, I want to start a Claude Code session on it":

1. The clone step must happen outside the app, in a terminal (git clone <url>), before the repo can be selected as a project.
2. But opening a terminal itself requires already being inside a session of another project — so a user with no local projects yet has no in-app way to get started at all.
3. Once cloned, the rest is already native and smooth (select the folder → Desktop auto-creates a worktree → session starts). The only missing piece is the clone.

Impact

• Onboarding a new repo always requires dropping to a terminal, which defeats the point of a GUI-first workflow.
• There's a chicken-and-egg problem: you can run git clone via Claude's Bash tool, but only from an existing session — so the very first project can't be created without an external terminal.
• Users juggling many repos (reviews, one-off clones, exploring OSS) pay this friction repeatedly.

Expected behavior

In the new-session flow, alongside the Project folder picker, offer a "Clone from Git URL" option that:

• Accepts a repo URL (SSH or HTTPS) and a destination parent directory
• Runs the clone, then opens a session rooted in the freshly-cloned repo (auto-creating a worktree, as Desktop already does for local folders)
• Surfaces clone progress/errors in the UI (auth failures, existing directory, etc.)

Current workaround

• Clone in an external terminal first, then select the folder in Desktop, or
• From an already-open session in some other project, ask Claude to run git clone <url> <path> via its Bash tool, then open a new session pointed at that folder.

Both require an existing project/terminal to bootstrap from.

Related

• Desktop App: Allow choosing working directory before first message #73928 — "Desktop App: Allow choosing working directory before first message." Same problem area (weak project/folder selection at session start); its own listed workaround is "use the CLI," which is exactly the terminal dependency this request aims to remove. This issue extends that ask to the not-yet-cloned case.

Environment

• Claude Code Desktop app (macOS)
• Version: 1.21459.0 (f7518f), 2026-07-14T05:32:17.000Z