k3d3 · Programmerino · Feb 1, 2026
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# CLAUDE.md
+
+## Project Overview
+
+Nix flake that runs Claude Desktop on Linux by repackaging the macOS build with JavaScript stubs for the native bindings.
+
+## Building
+
+```bash
+nix build .#claude-desktop          # Standard build
+nix build .#claude-desktop-with-fhs # With FHS environment for MCP servers
+nix run .                           # Build and run
+```
+
+## Architecture
+
+The build process (`pkgs/claude-desktop.nix`):
+
+1. Download macOS DMG
+2. Extract with 7z (handles HFS+ despite warnings)
+3. Extract and patch `app.asar`:
+   - Title bar: Enable native frames on Linux
+   - Platform detection: Add `linux-x64`/`linux-arm64` for Claude Code
+   - Origin validation: Allow `file://` protocol when unpackaged
+   - Tray icons: Theme-aware selection
+   - Window blur: Fix quick-submit focus
+4. Replace `@ant/claude-native` with inline JS stubs
+5. Repackage and wrap with Electron
+
+## Updating Version
+
+In `pkgs/claude-desktop.nix`:
+1. Update `version`
+2. Update `srcDmg.url` with new version/hash from filename
+3. Update `srcDmg.hash` (run `nix-prefetch-url <url>` then `nix hash to-sri sha256:<hash>`)
+
+## Packages
+
+- `claude-desktop` - Standard build
+- `claude-desktop-with-fhs` - FHS wrapper for MCP servers (npx, uvx, docker)
+- `claude-desktop-shell` - FHS shell for MCP development
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -4,104 +4,63 @@ If you run into an issue with this build script, make an issue here. Don't bug A
 
 # Claude Desktop for Linux (Nix)
 
-Supports MCP!
-![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/93080028-6f71-48bd-8e59-5149d148cd45)
+This is a Nix flake for running Claude Desktop on Linux with proper desktop integration.
 
-Supports the Ctrl+Alt+Space popup!
-![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1deb4604-4c06-4e4b-b63f-7f6ef9ef28c1)
+## Features
 
-Supports the Tray menu! (Screenshot of running on KDE)
+- MCP server support
+- Ctrl+Alt+Space popup
+- System tray integration
+- GNOME/Wayland desktop integration
 
-![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ba209824-8afb-437c-a944-b53fd9ecd559)
+## Usage
 
-This is a Nix flake for running Claude Desktop on Linux.
-
-# Usage
-
-To run this once, make sure Nix is installed, then run
+To run once:
 
 ```bash
 NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run github:k3d3/claude-desktop-linux-flake --impure
 ```
 
-The "unfree" part is due to the fact that Claude Desktop is not an open source application, and thus, Nix's licensing rules
-are dictated by the application itself, not the build script used to build the application.
+The "unfree" flag is required because Claude Desktop itself is proprietary.
 
 ## Installation on NixOS with Flakes
 
-Add the following to your `flake.nix`:
+Add to your `flake.nix`:
 ```nix
 inputs.claude-desktop.url = "github:k3d3/claude-desktop-linux-flake";
 inputs.claude-desktop.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
 inputs.claude-desktop.inputs.flake-utils.follows = "flake-utils";
 ```
 
-And then the following package to your `environment.systemPackages` or `home.packages`:
+Then add to `environment.systemPackages` or `home.packages`:
 ```nix
 inputs.claude-desktop.packages.${system}.claude-desktop
 ```
 
-If you would like to run [MCP servers with Claude Desktop](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user) on NixOS, use the `claude-desktop-with-fhs` package. This will allow running MCP servers with calls to `npx`, `uvx`, or `docker` (assuming docker is installed).
+For [MCP servers](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user) (`npx`, `uvx`, `docker`), use the FHS variant:
 ```nix
 inputs.claude-desktop.packages.${system}.claude-desktop-with-fhs
 ```
 
-## Other distributions
-
-This repository only provides a Nix flake, and does not provide a package for e.g. Ubuntu, Fedora, or Arch Linux.
-
-Other known variants:
-- https://github.com/aaddrick/claude-desktop-debian - A debian builder for Claude Desktop
-- https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/claude-desktop-bin - An Arch package for Claude Desktop
-- https://github.com/wankdanker/claude-desktop-linux-bash - A bash-based Claude Desktop builder that works on Ubuntu and possibly other Debian derivatives
-
-If anyone else packages Claude Desktop for other distributions, make an issue or PR and I'll link it here.
-
-# How it works
-
-Claude Desktop is an Electron application. That means the majority of the application is inside an `app.asar` archive, which usually contains minified Javascript, HTML, and CSS, along with images and a few other things.
-
-Despite there being no official Linux Claude Desktop release, the vast majority of the code is completely cross-platform.
-
-With the exception of one library.
-
-## `claude-native-bindings`
-
-![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9b386f42-2565-441a-a351-9c09347f9f5f)
-
-Node, and by extension Electron, allow you to import natively-compiled objects into the Node runtime as if they were regular modules.
-These are typically used to extend the functionality in ways Node itself can't do. Only problem, as shown above, is that these objects 
-are only compiled for one OS. 
-
-Luckily enough, because it's a loadable Node module, that means you can open it up yourself in node and inspect it - no decompilation or disassembly needed:
-
-![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b2f1e72c-f763-45c0-8631-2de5555ae653)
-
-There are many functions here for getting monitor/window information, as well as for controlling the mouse and keyboard.
-I'm not sure what exactly these are for - my best guess is something unreleased related to [Computer Use](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/computer-use),
-however I'm not a huge fan of this functionality existing in the first place.
-
-As for how to move forward with getting Claude Desktop working on Linux, seeing as how the API surface area of this module is relatively
-small, it looked fairly easy to just wholesale reimplement it, using stubs for the functionality.
-
-## `patchy-cnb`
+## Other Distributions
 
-The result of that is a library I call `patchy-cnb`, which uses NAPI-RS to match the original API with stub functions.
-Turns out, the original module also used NAPI-RS. Neat!
+- [claude-desktop-debian](https://github.com/aaddrick/claude-desktop-debian) - Debian/Ubuntu
+- [AUR package](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/claude-desktop-bin) - Arch Linux
+- [claude-desktop-linux-bash](https://github.com/wankdanker/claude-desktop-linux-bash) - Ubuntu/Debian (bash-based)
 
-From there, it's just a matter of compiling `patchy-cnb`, repackaging the app.asar to include the newly built Linux module, and
-making a new Electron build with these files.
+## How it Works
 
-# License
+Claude Desktop is an Electron app. The macOS DMG is extracted, patched for Linux compatibility, and repackaged:
 
-The build scripts in this repository, as well as `patchy-cnb`, are dual-licensed under the terms of the MIT license and the Apache License (Version 2.0).
+1. Extract `app.asar` from the macOS build
+2. Patch title bar detection, platform checks, and tray icon handling
+3. Replace `@ant/claude-native` Windows bindings with JavaScript stubs
+4. Repackage with Linux Electron
 
-See [LICENSE-MIT](LICENSE-MIT) and [LICENSE-APACHE](LICENSE-APACHE) for details.
+The native binding stubs provide no-op implementations for Windows-specific features (window effects, input emulation, etc.) that aren't needed on Linux.
 
-The Claude Desktop application, not included in this repository, is likely covered by [Anthropic's Consumer Terms](https://www.anthropic.com/legal/consumer-terms).
+## License
 
-## Contribution
+Build scripts are dual-licensed under MIT and Apache 2.0. See [LICENSE-MIT](LICENSE-MIT) and [LICENSE-APACHE](LICENSE-APACHE).
 
-Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution intentionally submitted
-for inclusion in the work by you, as defined in the Apache-2.0 license, shall be dual licensed as above, without any
-additional terms or conditions.
+Claude Desktop itself is covered by [Anthropic's Consumer Terms](https://www.anthropic.com/legal/consumer-terms).
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
@@ -6,44 +6,68 @@
     flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
   };
 
-  outputs = {
-    self,
-    nixpkgs,
-    flake-utils,
-  }:
-    flake-utils.lib.eachSystem ["x86_64-linux" "aarch64-linux"] (system: let
-      pkgs = import nixpkgs {
-        inherit system;
-        config.allowUnfree = true;
-      };
-    in {
-      packages = rec {
-        patchy-cnb = pkgs.callPackage ./pkgs/patchy-cnb.nix {};
-        claude-desktop = pkgs.callPackage ./pkgs/claude-desktop.nix {
-          inherit patchy-cnb;
+  outputs =
+    {
+      self,
+      nixpkgs,
+      flake-utils,
+    }:
+    flake-utils.lib.eachSystem [ "x86_64-linux" "aarch64-linux" ] (
+      system:
+      let
+        pkgs = import nixpkgs {
+          inherit system;
+          config.allowUnfree = true;
         };
-        claude-desktop-with-fhs = pkgs.buildFHSEnv {
-          name = "claude-desktop";
-          targetPkgs = pkgs:
-            with pkgs; [
-              docker
-              glibc
-              openssl
-              nodejs
-              uv
+      in
+      {
+        packages = rec {
+          claude-desktop = pkgs.callPackage ./pkgs/claude-desktop.nix { };
+
+          claude-desktop-with-fhs = pkgs.symlinkJoin {
+            name = "claude-desktop-with-fhs";
+            paths = [
+              claude-desktop
+              (pkgs.buildFHSEnv {
+                name = "claude-desktop-bwrap";
+                targetPkgs =
+                  pkgs: with pkgs; [
+                    docker
+                    glibc
+                    openssl
+                    nodejs
+                    uv
+                    glib
+                    gvfs
+                    xdg-utils
+                  ];
+                runScript = "${claude-desktop}/bin/claude-desktop";
+              })
             ];
-          runScript = "${claude-desktop}/bin/claude-desktop";
-          extraInstallCommands = ''
-            # Copy desktop file from the claude-desktop package
-            mkdir -p $out/share/applications
-            cp ${claude-desktop}/share/applications/claude.desktop $out/share/applications/
+            postBuild = ''
+              rm -f $out/bin/claude-desktop
+              ln -sf $out/bin/claude-desktop-bwrap $out/bin/claude-desktop
+            '';
+          };
+
+          claude-desktop-shell = pkgs.buildFHSEnv {
+            name = "claude-desktop-shell";
+            targetPkgs =
+              pkgs: with pkgs; [
+                docker
+                glibc
+                openssl
+                nodejs
+                uv
+                glib
+                gvfs
+                xdg-utils
+              ];
+            runScript = "bash";
+          };
 
-            # Copy icons
-            mkdir -p $out/share/icons
-            cp -r ${claude-desktop}/share/icons/* $out/share/icons/
-          '';
+          default = claude-desktop;
         };
-        default = claude-desktop;
-      };
-    });
+      }
+    );
 }
diff --git a/patchy-cnb/.cargo/config.toml b/patchy-cnb/.cargo/config.toml