claire / desktop app
DESKTOP PRODUCT SYSTEM / CONCEPT 01

All your people.
One window.

Claire Desktop is a complete messaging client with the speed, density, and keyboard fluency expected on macOS. Companion features—device setup, handoff, and local bridges—are built into the same product rather than shipped as a lesser utility.

DESKTOP INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Everything the desktop client needs.

01 / WORK

Unified workspace

Network rail, inbox, chat, context inspector.

02 / ORIENT

Desktop home

Daily brief, device handoff, bridge health.

03 / FIND

Command search

Global semantic search with keyboard control.

04 / CONNECT

Accounts

Cloud and on-device networks in one view.

05 / AUTHORIZE

Local setup

iMessage permissions and Instagram authentication.

06 / REMEMBER

People & memory

Relationship prompts with live reply preview.

07 / FOCUS

Compact chat

A small companion window for active threads.

08 / CONTROL

Settings

Shortcuts, notifications, privacy, sync, updates.

09 / RECOVER

Bridge health

Auth expiry, retries, logs, reconnect flows.

10 / NATIVE

macOS surfaces

Menu bar, Dock badge, share extension, notifications.

HIGH-FIDELITY DESKTOP MOCKUPS

Designed for a real workday.

Each surface uses Claire’s warm, modular language while adopting desktop-native density, hover states, keyboard shortcuts, resizable panes, and contextual inspectors.

01 / UNIFIED WORKSPACEDEFAULT WINDOW · 1440 × 900
Claire — Maya Kim
MK
Maya KimWhatsApp · active now
✦
QUICK CONTEXTProduct review tomorrow · deck still open
Today
Hey! Are we still good for the product review tomorrow?9:12
Absolutely. I’ll send the updated deck before 10.9:14 · ✓✓
✦
PROMISE FOUNDSend Maya the updated deck tomorrow before 10
Perfect. I’ll add comments tonight. Thank you!9:15
Write a message…

The main workspace uses a four-column model at wide widths and collapses the context inspector first. Network filtering lives in the rail; people and conversations remain the primary hierarchy.

02 / DESKTOP HOME + HANDOFFCOMPANION AND STANDALONE STATUS
Claire — Home
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13

Good morning, Luc.

Three quick actions, then your morning is clear.

CONTINUE FROM MOBILE

Pick up where
you left off.

Draft to Maya

Edited on iPhone · 2 minutes ago

Launch timing search

5 results open on mobile

CONNECTION HEALTH
WhatsApp

Cloud bridge

HEALTHY
i
iMessage

On this Mac

LOCAL
I
Instagram

Needs re-auth

ACTION
T
Telegram

Cloud bridge

HEALTHY
NEEDS A REPLY
MK
Maya Kim

Can you send that deck?

SO
Sofia

That place looks perfect ✨

OPEN PROMISES
○
Send Q3 deck

Due today · 10:00

○
Confirm dinner

Due today · 17:00

Companion value is additive: handoff, local bridge health, and cross-device drafts. The same home screen still works when the desktop app is the user’s only active Claire client.

03 / ASK CLAIRE WORKSPACE⌥⌘A FROM ANYWHERE
Claire — Ask Claire
MAYA KIM · WHATSAPP

Ask Claire

Use the conversation, relationship context, and open promises to make the next move easier.

READ ONLY
SUGGESTED REPLY · WARM + DIRECT

“Yes—we’re all set for tomorrow. I’ll send the updated deck by 10, and we can use the first few minutes to cover your comments.”

MORE WAYS I CAN HELP

Ask Claire brings the mobile copilot to a full desktop workspace: a selected chat, reversible suggested actions, a natural-language composer, and always-visible context. Global semantic search remains one of its tools, not the entire product surface.

04 / CONNECTIONSCLOUD + ON-DEVICE NETWORKS
Claire — Connections
ACCOUNTS & BRIDGES

Connections

Four active networks · two available on this Mac

This Mac can host on-device connections. iMessage is available only while Claire Desktop and Messages are running.

WhatsApp

+52 ••• 0419
CONNECTED

Cloud bridge · synced 10s ago

Telegram

@lucmedina
CONNECTED

Cloud bridge · synced 8s ago

iMessage

Luc’s MacBook Pro
LOCAL
ON-DEVICE · MAC ONLY

Uses Messages and macOS permissions.

Instagram

@luc.design
RE-AUTH
DESKTOP AUTH

Session expired · reconnect in browser.

Discord

Available

Requires a future mautrix bridge.

Slack

Available

Requires a future Matrix bridge.

The connection model distinguishes cloud bridges, desktop-authenticated sessions, and truly on-device bridges. “Connected” never hides where a credential lives or what must stay running.

05 / IMESSAGE ON-DEVICE SETUPNATIVE PERMISSION WIZARD
Connect iMessage
STEP 2 OF 4

Give Claire access to Messages.

macOS keeps these permissions separate. Claire will open the correct System Settings page for each one and verify access when you return.

Accessibility

Interact with the Messages interface

REQUIRED
☺
Contacts

Show names instead of addresses

REQUIRED
Messages data

Read local iMessage history

REQUIRED
↗
Automation

Send only messages you request

REQUIRED
◈Local by design. Claire reads Messages on this Mac and publishes normalized events through your encrypted Matrix account. The UI must clearly distinguish local permission from cloud account access.

The iMessage flow is desktop-native and permission-led. It reflects the real macOS requirement: Accessibility, Contacts, Messages data, and Automation access before the local connector can operate.

06 / RELATIONSHIP MEMORYPEOPLE + LIVE AI PREVIEW
Claire — People
MK

Maya Kim

WhatsApp · maya@north.studio

BusinessClientColleagueMentorFriendOther
Maya is my product lead. Be concise and warm. Avoid over-explaining, and always surface open launch decisions.
Warm + direct

Clear, human, confident

Professional

Polished and concise

Casual

Relaxed and natural

Playful

Light and expressive

Desktop gives relationship settings room for a live AI preview, making the effect of a custom prompt understandable before the user saves it.

07 / COMPACT CHATRESIZABLE COMPANION WINDOW
Claire — Compact mode
MK
Maya KimWhatsApp · active now
Are we still good for tomorrow?
Absolutely. I’ll send the deck before 10.
✦
PROMISE FOUNDSend the deck tomorrow before 10
Perfect—thank you!
Write a message…

Compact mode supports “companion” behavior without fragmenting the product into a separate app or menu-bar-only utility.

DESKTOP COMPONENT REFERENCE

One rail. Deliberate states.

These reference components are the shared source for desktop mockups and the macOS client: fixed icon sizes, the collapsible rail, composable actions, and contact details.

PRIMARY RAILOPEN + COLLAPSED

Selected destinations use a quiet graphite surface with lime icon and label. Ask Claire is a standard destination in the same system.

ICON + ACTION SCALE16 · 18 · 22 PX
Utility
Navigation
Primary

Use outline icons at a single optical weight. Icons never carry color alone; labels and accessible names remain available.

CONTACT DETAILCHAT HEADER DISCLOSURE
MK
Maya KimIndividual conversation · WhatsApp
RELATIONSHIPBusiness · Product lead

Warm and direct. Surface open launch decisions.

LAST ACTIVE2 minutes ago

The chat header opens a lightweight detail disclosure; the full relationship editor lives in People.

NEW CONVERSATIONSYNCED CONTACT PICKER
New conversationChoose someone from your synced chats.

Claire never manufactures a chat. Start a new thread in its source app and it becomes available here after sync.

DESKTOP PRODUCT PRINCIPLES

Native where it matters.
Claire everywhere else.

01

Keyboard first, never keyboard only

Every high-frequency action receives a shortcut, while visible controls preserve discoverability.

02

Show where connections live

Cloud, desktop-authenticated, and on-device connections have distinct status and recovery language.

03

AI belongs beside the work

Context inspectors, inline promises, and search answers replace a disconnected chatbot destination.

04

Desktop is not stretched mobile

Resizable panes, hover, menus, multi-select, drag-and-drop, and native notifications are product requirements.