Pelican in 50 seconds: a function written in the editor, sent to Claude, which completes it and writes its tests, the changes reviewed hunk by hunk, the code and its tests side by side, the tests run, then the diff in Git.

Pelican brings together in a single window everything you need to develop with Claude: the conversation with Claude Code, a real editor, terminals, Git, your databases and your servers. It works just as well on a project on your Mac as directly on a server, over SSH: a feature often reserved for paid versions of code editors, free in Pelican. Pelican is free; only Claude Code requires a Claude subscription.

What Pelican does

Claude at the core

The conversation with Claude Code, right next to your code, with permissions under control.

Live responses, showing the files Claude reads, the commands it runs and the changes it proposes.
Edit with Claude (⌘K): select some code and describe the change; the proposal appears as a diff, to accept with one key or retry with different instructions. With no selection, Claude writes code at the cursor.
Four ways to work: approve everything manually, accept file edits, plan mode (Claude proposes before acting) or auto mode.
Claude subscription tracking: your plan (Pro, Max…) and two gauges in the toolbar, for the 5-hour session and for the week; one click shows the details, with the reset time of each limit, the Claude Code version and the model in use.
Choice of model and thinking effort, remembered for each project.
Images: attach, drag or paste a screenshot into the conversation.
A Claude Code terminal tab opens with the project for those who prefer the command line.
Change review: every file Claude touches, even through a command, is shown hunk by hunk; keep or discard a hunk, a file or an entire turn in one click.
Parallel conversations in tabs, including isolated conversations on their own branch (git worktree), to merge once the work is done.
Attach context in one click: file, selection, file or project errors, failing tests, changed files; “@” to mention a file, ⌥⌘K to send the selection with its line numbers.
Notifications when Claude has finished or is waiting for your approval, and the number of pending requests on the Dock icon.
Claude Code MCP servers and hooks in a single window: status of each server, adding and removing them, project hooks.

Remote projects

Work on a server as if the project were on your Mac. Free, where other editors reserve it for their paid version.

Open a project hosted on a server over SSH: file tree, editor, search, terminals, Git and Claude Code work directly on the server.
Nothing to install on the server except Claude Code (and Git if you use it): Pelican goes through your usual SSH access (key or password).
Claude Code runs on the server, in the project folder: it reads, edits and tests the code where it runs.
Built-in Tern: SFTP access to the project's files on the server, inside the Pelican window.
The server's databases remain reachable through the SSH tunnel.

Editor

A fast editor, backed by a real language server.

Command palette (⇧⌘P): every Pelican command and its shortcut, right at your fingertips; customizable shortcuts in Settings.
Syntax highlighting, tabs, clickable minimap, quick file opening, split editor (⌘\) and two-file comparison, Markdown preview next to the text.
Live errors, completion, go to definition, references, renaming, formatting (also on save) and quick fixes (⌥⏎) powered by language servers: Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Swift, C/C++/Objective-C, Go, Rust, PHP, HTML, CSS, JSON, YAML and Shell; one-click install.
Structure panel: the file's classes and functions, to navigate through it.
Git in the gutter: added, modified or deleted lines, revertible in one click, and git annotations (blame): the author and date of each block of lines (⌥⌘B).
Local history: every version of your files kept for 30 days on your Mac, to compare and restore, even outside Git or after a change by Claude.
Find and replace across the whole project.
Project file tree with file creation, renaming and deletion.

Run, test and debug

Run, test and debug without leaving the window.

Built-in terminals in tabs, in the project folder (or on the server for a remote project).
Per-project run configurations: one shortcut (⌘R) to start your app, with an environment file (.env.local…) specific to each configuration.
Python debugger: breakpoints in the gutter, stepping, call stack, variables and evaluation console (debugpy, installed in one click).
Tests panel for pytest, Jest and Vitest: run everything (⌘U), a single file or a single test, rerun failures, and hand a failing test to Claude.

Git

All your everyday Git work without leaving the editor.

Changed files, diff, commit, push and pull, branches from the toolbar; commit message written by Claude.
Partial commit: stage, unstage or discard a single hunk from the diff.
Hunk-by-hunk merge conflict resolution (your version, the incoming one or both), or handed to Claude.
Log of all commits, tags, stash.
GitHub, Gitea and Forgejo accounts: clone your repositories, publish a project, create pull requests and see open ones; Claude can review them.
Repositories located in a project subfolder detected automatically.

Databases

Query your data right next to the code that uses it.

PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite, including through an SSH tunnel.
SQL editor: run everything or just the selection (⌘⏎), results in a table, query history.
Claude writes your queries based on the database schema: describe the result you want; it also fixes a failing query or explains it.
Export to CSV or JSON, copy as a Markdown table.

Your projects

A home page to get back to any project in one click.

Project list with groups and subgroups, each with its own color and icon.
Open tabs, expanded folders and panels restored when you reopen a project.
Projects and settings synced via iCloud Drive across your Macs, in French, English and Spanish.

In pictures

Claude in Pelican — **Claude at work**: the request, the steps and the answer; changed lines are marked in the gutter and the files touched are listed above the input field.

Reviewing Claude's changes — **Change review**: each of Claude's changes, hunk by hunk, to keep or discard.

**Edit with Claude (⌘K)**: an instruction on the selection, Claude's proposal as a diff, accepted with one key.

Claude subscription usage — **Claude usage**: your plan and your limits (5-hour session, week) always visible, with their reset time.

**Python debugger**: stopped at a breakpoint, with the call stack and current variables.

Tests panel — **Tests**: pytest results test by test, and the details of a failure to hand to Claude.

**Partial commit**: stage or discard a single hunk from the diff.

Resolving a merge conflict — **Merge conflicts**: keep your version, the incoming one or both, hunk by hunk.

SQL query written by Claude — **SQL written by Claude**: describe the result you want, and Claude writes the query based on the database schema.

Markdown preview and git annotations — **Markdown preview and blame**: the rendered output next to the text, and the author of each block of lines in the gutter.

A file's local history — **Local history**: every saved version, compared with the current content and restorable.

**Command palette**: every command and its shortcut, right at your fingertips.

A coffee for what's next

Pelican is free, ad-free, and will stay that way. I develop it in my spare time: every coffee helps fund the next versions, fixes and new features, and tells me the app is useful to you.

Buy Me a Coffee

Installation

Download the .zip fileIt unzips on its own in the Downloads folder.
Drag Pelican to ApplicationsIn the Finder, into your Mac's Applications folder.
Open PelicanThe app is signed and notarized by Apple: it opens without a warning.

Requirements

Free (Claude Code requires a Claude subscription or an API key).
Available in French, English and Spanish: the app follows your Mac's language, or the one chosen in its settings.
macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on a Mac with Apple silicon or Intel.
Claude Code installed and a Claude subscription (Pro or Max) or an Anthropic API key.
For remote projects: SSH access to the server.