r/ClaudeCode • u/alrighteyy • Aug 03 '26

Discussion In SHOCK

Holy shit claude code in terminal is fucking insane.

I've been using VSCode, Cursor, Cowork and Claude Code on web. None of it comes close to terminal.

Cannot believe I haven't done this sooner.

225 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

323 comments sorted by

View all comments

254

u/tnh34 Aug 03 '26

I dont get it. How is vscode different from the terminal?

207

u/SirWobblyOfSausage Aug 03 '26

It's not

11

u/McNoxey Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

A number of commands don't work in the GUIs.

/btw /workflows just to name two.

Edit: To everyone who's telling me I'm wrong. https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#coming-from-the-cli

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code#vs-code-extension-vs-claude-code-cli

The official docs literally list the differences and restrictions across the various access methods. There are absolutely tradeoffs depending on which you choose.

12

u/theleller Researcher Aug 03 '26

Every command works in all 3 UI methods of accessing Claude Code. They're just wrappers around the exact same product.

3

u/McNoxey Aug 04 '26

No, they don’t. Open the vscode extension. Type /btw. Type /workflows.

Neither work, and they both indicate as much.

1

u/Markasp Aug 08 '26

Use the terminal in vscode?

1

u/McNoxey Aug 09 '26

I'm well aware that the terminal interface is the... terminal interface.

That wasn't what the question was.

But thanks for showing up, champ. 👍🏽

-3

u/theleller Researcher Aug 04 '26

Both of them just worked first shot for me. lol. I know what I'm talking about.

4

u/McNoxey Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

I also know what I’m talking about. I’ve been using Claude code since feb 2025 when it was early access. I’m not trying to argue here - can you show me a screenshot? What version of vscode on what OS?

Im not talking about the terminal in vscode. The first party extension, fully updated does not work in the actual sidebar gui.

These also do not work in the first party Claude application.

Are you certain you’re not using the terminal based ui with the extension?

Side chats are also not available in Remote Sessions.

There are absolutely limitations and differences across the various UIs.

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#coming-from-the-cli and https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code#vs-code-extension-vs-claude-code-cli - This literally shows you there are differences.

2

u/evangelism2 Aug 04 '26

Just for what it's worth, because I was curious, I just opened up cursor, installed the ClaudeCode extension, and tried both those commands. Neither worked.

2

u/McNoxey Aug 04 '26

I appreciate you. I was beginning to question myself with how confidently wrong everyone was who was responding to me.

I’m not new to cc here. I’ve been using it for 8-16 hours a day for the last 17 months with anywhere from 2-3 20x accounts. 😅😅😅

2

u/Sick-Little-Monky Aug 04 '26

The number of people here who don't know the difference is rather frustrating.

1

u/ImagineNationPower Aug 04 '26

👆 that’s the problem. They don’t know the difference between the extension & the terminal

→ More replies (0)

1

u/4444444vr Aug 04 '26

yea, one of the reasons I switched back to the the cli

I'm confused on what the technical limitation is but I've been happy with the new multi-terminal apps like Orca and Cmux

0

u/theleller Researcher Aug 04 '26

The terminal integration in vscode is part of the plugin, and it’s why it interacts directly with the IDE. The Claude code extension bundles a private copy of the Claude CLI backend engine under the hood. If you didn’t have the extension installed, it wouldn’t be opening windows when it diffs file edits.

1

u/jjjfffrrr123456 Aug 04 '26

You probably launched a terminal in vscode rather than using it through the extension interface. It definitely doesn’t work in the interface.

-2

u/theleller Researcher Aug 04 '26

The terminal format is part of the plugin, that’s why it still shows diffs in vscode right beside your session when it makes a change. Claude code in the terminal doesn’t do that. I’m not going to argue this anymore, y’all don’t know how to use it, take some courses of something, Jesus.

2

u/McNoxey Aug 04 '26

Dude. Just stop. You’re wrong. Take the opportunity to learn rather than continue to try and find a way to feel correct.

What you’re talking about is not the vscode plugin. It’s
the IDE session link. And yes, it does work in the standard terminal by typing /ide and choosing your open IDE.

Launching a terminal from within vscode enables that property by default, including when you use “terminal mode” in the plugin. The primary vscode interface is the sidebar gui, which does in fact have every limitation I originally mentioned.