Choosing and comparing tools
A desktop app can reach your own files. A browser tab cannot.
That jump is worth making this week, and it costs one download.
The surface
Where you meet it
What it can reach
ChatGPT or Claude in a browser
Claude Desktop or the ChatGPT app, one download away
An assistant inside a tool you already have open
Where Claude Code and Codex started
What you paste or upload, plus accounts you connect. Not the files on your computer
Files on your own machine, with your permission
Whatever that tool can see, such as your browser or your email
The folder you point it at, and nothing outside it