Everything DashCode does, and what comes next.

Install and requirements

• macOS 13 Ventura or later. There are separate builds for Apple silicon (download) and Intel (download).
• Open the disk image and drag DashCode to Applications. The app is signed and notarized by Apple.
• Sign in from inside the app. New accounts get 4 weeks free, no card needed. After that, updates arrive on their own.
• On first launch DashCode opens Setup, which shows what's installed and installs the rest.

Tools it uses, but doesn't bundle

DashCode runs the tools already on your Mac. If one is missing, only the feature that needs it is affected, and Setup can install most of them for you.

Coming from Mission Control

DashCode used to be called Mission Control. Version 2.0 can't update itself to the new name, so install DashCode fresh. Your projects and settings are copied over the first time it opens, and you sign in once.

The registry: apps.json

Every project lives in one file, apps.json, in ~/Library/Application Support/DashCode/. The app writes it when you add or edit a project in Settings, and you can edit it by hand. Changes on disk are picked up live. Sidebar and board order is kept separately in apps.order.json, and each project's roadmap in its own folder, at .dashcode/roadmap.json.

{
  "apps": [
    {
      "id": "rover-api",
      "name": "Rover API",
      "emoji": "🤖",
      "tag": "FastAPI + Vite",
      "accent": "#a855f7",
      "cwd": "/Users/you/Projects/rover-api",
      "openUrl": "http://localhost:5173",
      "procs": [
        { "name": "api", "cmd": "uvicorn", "args": ["main:app", "--reload", "--port", "8000"], "upPort": 8000 },
        { "name": "web", "cmd": "npm", "args": ["run", "dev"], "cwd": "/Users/you/Projects/rover-api/web", "upPort": 5173 }
      ],
      "links": [ { "label": "Railway", "url": "https://railway.com/project/…" } ],
      "folderId": "side"
    }
  ],
  "folders": [ { "id": "side", "name": "Side projects", "emoji": "🧪" } ]
}

A project

A process

No port can belong to two projects. The app refuses the clash when you save, rather than letting two dev servers fight over it later.

DashCode's skills

Four Claude Code skills come with DashCode. Install them from Setup. Each one is linked into ~/.claude/skills, so app updates reach it without a reinstall. Use them in any Claude Code session: ask in plain words, or type the skill's name as a slash command. Skills turns each one on or off.

dashcode-project

Changes a project's DashCode settings, or creates a new project, from a prompt. Claude works through DashCode itself, so a change is checked before it's saved and shows up at once.

• Settings: name, emoji, accent, stack tag and notes, the dev processes (command, port, environment), the Open link, Info-tab links and the sidebar folder.
• New projects: a fresh folder, optionally with the starter app you describe, or an existing folder added as it is.
• Running it: start, stop and restart, and read the logs to check it came up.

make Start run npm run dev on port 5173
add the Vercel deploy link to this project
new project called Potluck, a Vite + React app

dashcode-roadmap

Works on a project's Roadmap, which is saved in the project at .dashcode/roadmap.json.

• Refine a todo or idea: Claude asks a few questions, one at a time, then writes a short spec and the steps. Refine with Claude on a roadmap row does the same.
• Add items or steps, or break a feature down into steps.
• Claude ticks off each step as it finishes it, but checking off the item is up to you.

refine "offline mode" on the roadmap
break the export feature down into steps

dashcode-prd

Turns a rough product idea into a PRD.md that you and Claude can build from, one phase at a time: a proof of concept, then an MVP, then later phases, each with its features and tech stack.

• It questions the idea before writing anything: one question at a time, each with a recommended answer.
• It starts wherever you are: a one-line idea, a clear plan, existing notes, or a PRD to revise after a phase ships.

/dashcode-prd an app that helps people split potluck dishes

dashcode-design-system

Builds a design system in your project, at design-system/<name>/. It contains DESIGN.md (the feel, the values and the reasons for them), tokens.json and tokens.css, and specimen.html, a page that shows every token. It has three commands: type /dashcode-design-system <command>, or just ask.

/dashcode-design-system extract https://example.com
/dashcode-design-system explore a color palette using sky blue, navy blue and Yves Klein blue
/dashcode-design-system update go with b
/dashcode-design-system update make the corners rounder

• It only writes to design-system/. Applying the tokens to your app is a separate step, which it offers and does only when you say so.
• If you edit tokens.css by hand, update moves your edits into the system instead of overwriting them.
• Measuring a live site uses Playwright, which Claude installs in the project the first time. Screenshots need no extra tools.

Keyboard shortcuts

The same list is in Dashboard settings.

Closing a tab is ⌘⇧D, so ⌘W is never taken from a console. ⌘P never opens a print dialog.

Account and plans

New accounts get 4 weeks free, no card needed. The trial starts the first time you sign in to the app, and ends on time even if the Mac is offline. When it ends, the app asks you to subscribe, and nothing is charged automatically. One trial per account and per Mac.

After that, DashCode needs an active subscription. There is one plan, Pro, paid monthly or yearly. You subscribe from inside the app, during the trial or after it; billing starts the day you subscribe.

Prices are in US dollars, and sales tax or VAT is added where it applies. Promotion codes are accepted at checkout.

• Sign-in is with Google or GitHub. Account… in the app menu opens the macOS sign-in window, with "Use my browser instead" as a fallback. The app never sees your password.
• Up to 3 Macs per account. Signing in again on the same Mac doesn't use another one. You can see and remove your Macs on your account page.
• Offline, DashCode keeps working for up to 14 days between checks. It warns you after 7 days without one.
• Manage billing opens Stripe's billing portal, where you can change the card, get invoices or cancel. Signing out leaves your running projects running.

Privacy and usage reporting

Your projects, code, files and terminals stay on your Mac. While you're signed in, the app reports how much it is used: counts and durations, sent at launch, about every 30 minutes, and at quit. Reporting can't be switched off.

The server accepts a fixed list of numbers and rejects any report that holds anything else. Day-by-day usage is kept for 400 days, and deleting your account deletes all of it. The full statement is on the privacy page.