Markdown version of https://extraheadroom.com/headroom-desktop-vs-cli

# Headroom for desktop vs Headroom CLI: what's the difference?

Two tools share the name Headroom, and that's not an accident: they are the same engine in two packages. **The Headroom CLI** is the open-source project that compresses the context AI agents read. **Headroom for desktop** is the desktop menu bar app built on top of it, for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Here is how they relate and which one you want.

## Quick answer

**The Headroom CLI** ([headroomlabs-ai/headroom](https://github.com/headroomlabs-ai/headroom/)) is a free, open-source Python proxy created by Tejas Chopra. You install it with pip, point your coding agent at it, and it compresses bulky tool output before the model reads it. **Headroom for desktop** is a paid desktop app built on that same engine, with his endorsement, that adds a signed installer, automatic setup and updates, a menu-bar dashboard, and one-click add-ons. If you like configuring infrastructure yourself, use the CLI. If you want it working in two minutes and staying current, use the app.

## Side by side

| | Headroom CLI | Headroom for desktop |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Open-source Python proxy and library (Apache 2.0). | Menu bar app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, built on the CLI. |
| Price | Free. | Paid subscription, 7-day free trial. |
| Install & setup | pip install, then `headroom wrap` in each session, or `headroom deploy` for a background service and agent config you maintain. | Signed, notarized installer; the app manages the runtime, configuration, and updates. |
| Updates | Manual: run `headroom update` when the proxy reports a release, then restart. | Automatic. |
| Visibility | `headroom dashboard` in the browser while the proxy runs, plus logs and CLI output. | Menu-bar dashboard with live token savings and activity. |
| Add-ons | Bring your own. | One-click Ponytail, RTK, MarkItDown, Serena, Codebase Memory, Context7, Caveman, and Chisle. |
| Support | Community (GitHub, Discord). | Ongoing support from the app team. |

## Same engine, two packages

The desktop app is based on the open-source Headroom project created by Tejas Chopra, and is built with his endorsement and support; we also contribute improvements back upstream. Both do the core job the same way. They sit between your coding agent and the model as a local proxy and reversibly compress the bloated tool output, logs, and boilerplate in your context. The model can pull back any original on demand. The compression quality is the shared engine; nothing about the paid app makes the CLI a lesser version of that.

What you pay for in [Headroom for desktop](/) is everything around the engine. You install it without touching a terminal config, and a managed runtime stays up and stays current. A dashboard shows what you're actually saving, and [seven one-click add-ons](/docs/add-ons) are enabled from one screen.

## Which should you use?

Use the [CLI](https://github.com/headroomlabs-ai/headroom/) if you're comfortable managing a Python environment and a long-running proxy, want Apache-2.0 code you can read and modify, or are integrating compression into your own tooling. Use the app if you'd rather spend those hours on your own work: it is set up in about two minutes and stretches the Claude or ChatGPT plan you already pay for by up to 2x. The [install guide](/install-headroom-claude-code) walks through both paths in detail.