HB Code and Happy
Happy is a free and open-source project with three parts: Happy Desktop, the original Happy CLI, and a mobile and web app. Happy Desktop works with Claude, Codex, and Grok through its own runtime, Happy Agent. HB Code is a desktop app for Mac and Windows by helpful bits GmbH. It runs Claude Code and Codex on your own computer, and its iPhone and Android apps open the same sessions.
The main difference
Happy Desktop has its own agent runtime. Its docs say that the Happy Agent daemon holds the agent loop and the tools. They say that it reads the credentials that Claude Code, Codex, and the Grok CLI keep on the machine. Requests go to the vendor with these credentials. HB Code runs the agents themselves: the unchanged Claude Code executable of Anthropic's Claude Agent SDK, and its own build of OpenAI's open-source Codex app-server.
Happy is open source under the MIT License, and its maker states that the relay stores encrypted blobs and can't read their contents. HB Code isn't open source, and its phone connection through HB Code's relay server isn't end-to-end encrypted.
Side by side
| Topic | HB Code | Happy |
|---|---|---|
| License and source | HB CodeNot open source. The source isn't public. | HappyOpen source under the MIT License. The repositories of the mobile app, the original CLI, the relay server, Happy Desktop, and Happy Agent are public. |
| Price | HB CodeThe desktop app needs no payment. A phone gets a 10-day connected preview and then needs HB Code Pro from the App Store or Google Play. | HappyIts README says free and open source, and the Happy Desktop docs state no Happy plan for model access. The App Store lists the iOS app as free with in-app purchases. |
| Desktop | HB CodemacOS 12 or later on Apple silicon, and Windows 10 version 1809 or later on x64. No Linux app. | HappyHappy Desktop: macOS, Windows, and Linux. On Linux it needs a graphical session and FUSE. |
| Phone and web | HB CodeiPhone with iOS 18 or later and Android 8.0 or later. No web app. | HappyiOS and Android apps, and a web app. |
| Coding agents | HB CodeClaude Code and Codex. | HappyHappy Desktop: Claude, Codex, and Grok, plus Claude and GPT models through Amazon Bedrock. The original CLI: Claude Code and Codex. |
| Agent sign-in and billing | HB CodeClaude Code is the unchanged executable of Anthropic's Claude Agent SDK. Codex is HB Code's own build of OpenAI's open-source Codex app-server. Both run on your own Claude and ChatGPT sign-in, and HB Code includes neither plan. | HappyHappy Desktop reads the credentials that Claude Code, Codex, and the Grok CLI keep on the machine and sends requests to the vendor with them. The original CLI wraps the real claude or codex with your normal sign-in. |
| Account with the maker | HB CodeNone for work on the desktop. Remote access and the phone apps need an HB Code account. | HappyThe Happy Desktop docs state no hosted account for the app. Teams and shared servers use a Happy Social sign-in with an email. |
| Where the agent works | HB CodeIn your project folders on your own computer. HB Code creates no worktrees and lists the ones that the repository has. No cloud. | HappyOn your machine. In Auto mode, reads and workspace edits run freely, and the OS sandboxes everything else. Parallel work gets its own git worktree. A remote agent can run on another machine. |
| How the phone reaches the desktop | HB CodeThrough HB Code's relay server over TLS. The connection isn't end-to-end encrypted. The server passes the content and doesn't store it. | HappyThrough Happy's relay. The maker states that the relay stores and forwards encrypted blobs and can't read their contents. |
| Accounts and usage limits | HB CodeSeveral Claude accounts and ChatGPT subscriptions. Settings › Agents lists each one with its limit windows, and the phone apps show the same windows. | HappyHappy Desktop: several accounts of one provider as named instances, with optional automatic rotation between them. The app shows provider quotas. |
| Usage analytics in the app | HB CodeNo analytics or crash-report SDK in the desktop app or the phone apps. The desktop app sends one daily usage signal, with a random ID not linked to your account, only if you allow it. With remote access on, the server keeps device status data. | HappyThe Happy Desktop docs name product analytics from the app to PostHog, which you can turn off in Settings → Privacy. The privacy policy names pseudonymous product analytics through PostHog, which you can turn off in the app settings. |
Happy: when it fits better
- You want an open-source app under the MIT License that you can fork.
- You want a relay that stores and forwards only encrypted blobs.
- You use Grok, or Claude and GPT models through Amazon Bedrock, or you work on Linux.
- You want a git worktree for parallel work, or automatic rotation between accounts of one provider.
HB Code: when it fits better
- You want your sessions to run on the Claude Code executable of Anthropic's Claude Agent SDK and on a build of OpenAI's open-source Codex app-server.
- You want the agent to make speech audio or a short explainer video of its work. Both need your own Gemini API key.
- You want the agent to work in your own Chrome through the Browser Bridge extension.
Sources
- github.com/slopus/happy/blob/main/README.md
- github.com/slopus/happy/blob/main/LICENSE
- github.com/slopus/happy-desktop
- github.com/slopus/happy-agent
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/index.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/quick-start.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/how-it-works.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/models.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/workspaces.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/mobile.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/multiplayer.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/guides/remote-agents.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/desktop/guides/terminal.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/docs/quick-start.mdx
- github.com/slopus/slopus.github.io/blob/main/content/legal/privacy.md
- apps.apple.com/us/app/happy-claude-code-client/id6748571505
We read these pages on October 9, 2026. Prices and features can change after that date. If a statement on this page is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll correct it. Write to support