varie-workstation

Workstation

Control Claude Code from your phone. An agentic coding orchestrator with AI agent integration, voice control, and multi-session management.

Connect an AI agent like OpenClaw to dispatch commands, approve plans, and monitor progress from Telegram or WhatsApp — while your Mac codes autonomously. Pair with native voice control for a completely hands-free coding experience.

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• macOS Permissions
• Agent Integration (OpenClaw)
  • Quick Start
  • How It Works
  • Remote Mode & Notifications
  • Interacting from Your Phone
  • On-Demand Screenshots
  • Troubleshooting
• Voice Control
• Session Management
• Skills Reference
• Privacy
• Configuration
• Development

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Features

AI Agent Integration

• Phone-first control — Dispatch commands, approve plans, and answer questions from Telegram or WhatsApp
• Auto-readiness tracking — Sessions wait for Claude to be ready before dispatching, so messages never get lost
• Live notifications — Get notified when Claude finishes, asks a question, or needs plan approval — with screenshots
• Natural language routing — "run tests in my-app" routes to the right session automatically

Voice Control

• Hands-free coding — Speak commands and they route to the right session
• WhisperKit + Apple Speech — Fast, offline speech recognition on Apple Silicon
• Project-aware vocabulary — WhisperKit biases transcription toward your project names for better accuracy
• LLM-powered routing — Gemini/Claude/GPT interprets intent and dispatches to the correct session

Session Management & Orchestration

• Multi-session terminals — Run multiple Claude Code sessions side-by-side
• Smart routing — Auto-dispatch commands by repo name, task ID, or context
• Manager session — Central terminal for cross-project commands
• Work reports — Generate summaries for standups, team syncs, and handovers
• Checkpoints — Save and resume structured work state across sessions

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Installation

Requirements: macOS 12+, Claude Code CLI

Option A: Download the app (recommended)

The desktop app bundles the plugin — no separate plugin install needed.

1. Download from GitHub Releases:

   • macOS (Apple Silicon): *-arm64.dmg
   • macOS (Intel): *-x64.dmg

2. Open the DMG and drag Workstation to Applications.

3. Launch the app. All Claude Code sessions started from Workstation automatically have the plugin skills available.

macOS Gatekeeper: If macOS blocks the app on first launch:

• macOS 14 and earlier: Right-click the app > Open > click Open
• macOS 15 (Sequoia): System Settings > Privacy & Security > "Open Anyway"

Option B: Install the plugin first

If you prefer to start with the Claude Code plugin (adds skills to standalone Claude Code sessions too):

/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/varie-ai/workstation
/plugin install varie-workstation@varie-workstation

Restart Claude Code. The Workstation app downloads and launches automatically on your next session. To disable: /workstation autolaunch off

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/varie-ai/workstation.git
cd workstation
npm install
npm run dev

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macOS Permissions

Workstation uses native macOS capabilities that require your explicit approval. macOS will show permission prompts on first use — here's what they are and why they're needed.

Permission	When prompted	Why it's needed
Accessibility	First launch	Required for Workstation to manage terminal sessions and capture keyboard shortcuts (voice control hotkey, etc.)
Microphone	First voice command	Voice control needs mic access for speech recognition. All audio is processed on-device.
Speech Recognition	First voice command	Apple Speech engine requires this system permission. Audio stays on your Mac.
Screen Recording	When using full-screen screenshots	Only needed if you want the agent to capture your entire display (not just the Workstation window). Session-mode screenshots use Electron's built-in capture and need no extra permission.

To manage permissions: System Settings > Privacy & Security > select the permission category > enable/disable Workstation.