Claude Code does not have to run on your own computer. With Claude Code on the web you open claude.ai/code, pick a GitHub repo, describe a task, and Claude works in a cloud machine while you close the laptop.
When you come back, from your PC or your phone, there is a branch waiting for review. This guide covers setup, environments and network access, the terminal commands that connect both worlds, limits and the errors people hit.
- Where: claude.ai/code, the Code tab in the Claude mobile and desktop apps, or
claude --cloud "task"from your terminal. - Who: Pro, Max, Ultra and Team plans, plus Enterprise premium seats. It uses the same usage limits as the rest of Claude.
- Needs: a GitHub repo. Private repos need the Claude GitHub App installed.
- Machine: a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 VM per session with about 4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM and 30 GB disk, plus Python, Node 22, Go, Rust, Java, Docker and Postgres pre-installed.
- Bring it home:
claude --teleportpulls a cloud session into your terminal. - Best for: parallel, well-defined tasks and auto-fixing pull requests. Not for work that needs your local tools or secrets.
What Claude Code on the Web Is
A cloud session runs the same Claude Code agent you use in a terminal, but on an Anthropic-managed virtual machine. Each task gets its own VM and its own git branch.
- Clone and prepare: your repo is cloned and your setup script runs.
- Configure network: internet access is set by your environment’s access level.
- Work: Claude edits code, runs tests and checks its work. You can watch and steer, or leave.
- Push: Claude pushes a branch. You review the diff, comment inline, open a PR or ask for more.
Sessions follow you across devices, so a task started on your laptop can be reviewed on your phone at lunch.
Cloud vs Local vs Remote Control
| Cloud session | Local session | Local + Remote Control | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code runs on | Anthropic cloud VM | Your machine | Your machine |
| Start from | claude.ai/code, mobile, desktop (Cloud), claude --cloud |
Terminal, IDE, desktop (Local) | Terminal, VS Code, desktop |
| Chat from | Browser, mobile, desktop | Where you started it | Browser and phone too |
| Uses your local config and tools | No, repo only | Yes | Yes |
| Needs GitHub | Yes (or bundle a local repo via --cloud) |
No | No |
| Keeps running if you disconnect | Yes | No | While your machine stays on |
| Permission modes | Accept edits, Plan, Auto | All modes | Manual, Accept edits, Plan, Auto |
Tip: if a task needs your GPU, local database or signed-in tools, use Remote Control instead. It lets you steer a session running on your own PC from your phone.
How to Set It Up (Step by Step)
- Open claude.ai/code and sign in with your Claude account (Pro or higher).
- Connect GitHub. Follow the prompt to GitHub’s authorisation page and approve it. Public repos work straight away.
- Install the Claude GitHub App on each account or organisation whose private repos you want to use. An org owner may need to approve it.
- Check your environment. Pro, Max and Ultra users get one called Default automatically. Team and Enterprise users click Create & finish on the first-environment form.
- New project? Create a GitHub repo with a README first; cloud sessions only work with existing repos.
Shortcut for GitHub CLI users: /web-setup
If you already use gh, connect from your terminal instead:
gh auth login
claude # then inside Claude Code:
/login # must be a claude.ai account, not an API key
/web-setupClaude Code reads your gh token, asks you to confirm, stores it encrypted with your account and prints Connected as <username>. Remove it later at claude.ai/customize/connectors.
Note: on Team and Enterprise plans an Owner must first turn on the GitHub connector in Organization settings, Connectors. Organisations with Zero Data Retention or the HIPAA setup cannot use cloud sessions.
Run Your First Cloud Task
- Pick a repository and branch from the selector under the input box. You can add more than one repo.
- Choose a permission mode. Auto lets a classifier approve actions, Accept edits works without stopping, Plan proposes an approach first.
- Describe the task precisely. “Fix the failing auth test in tests/test_auth.py” beats “fix tests”. Paste error output if you have it.
- Submit and walk away. Every task is its own session and branch, so start several at once.
- Review the Changes card, leave inline comments, then create a pull request from the same session.
Pre-fill a session from a link
You can build buttons in your issue tracker that open Claude Code with the task ready. Add query parameters to the claude.ai/code URL:
prompt(orq): the task text.prompt_url: a URL to fetch a long prompt from (must allow CORS).repositories(orrepo): comma-separatedowner/reposlugs.
Environments, Network Access and Setup Scripts
An environment is a saved configuration: network access, environment variables, secrets and a setup script. You can have several and choose one per session.
Network access levels
| Level | What sessions can reach |
|---|---|
| None | Nothing through the session network |
| Trusted (default) | Allowlisted domains: package registries, GitHub, cloud SDKs |
| Full | Any domain |
| Custom | Your own list (wildcards like *.internal.example.com), optionally plus the defaults |
GitHub (through its own proxy), MCP connectors you enable and the Anthropic API stay reachable at every level. Changing the level applies to running sessions within about a minute.
Add a setup script
A setup script is a Bash script that runs as root on Ubuntu 24.04 before Claude Code starts. Example:
#!/bin/bash
apt update && apt install -y shellcheck- Exit zero: a failing script stops the session. Add
|| trueto optional steps. - Finish in about five minutes, or the environment is not cached and every session pays the setup time again.
- Environment variables are not set yet while the script runs; define what it needs inside the script.
Warning: anyone who can use an environment can read its variables and setup script. Store API keys as network secrets, which the proxy attaches only to the hosts you list.
What Is Inside the Cloud Machine
| Category | Pre-installed |
|---|---|
| Python | 3.x with pip, poetry, uv, black, mypy, pytest, ruff |
| Node.js | 20, 21, 22 (22 on PATH) with npm, yarn, pnpm, bun, eslint, prettier |
| Other languages | Ruby 3.1-3.3, PHP 8.3, OpenJDK 21, Go, Rust, GCC/Clang |
| Services | Docker and compose, PostgreSQL 16, Redis 7.0 |
| Browser | Chrome for Testing at /usr/bin/google-chrome |
| Utilities | git, gh, jq, yq, ripgrep, tmux, vim, nano |
| Resources | About 4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, 30 GB disk |
Ask Claude to run check-tools in a session to see exact versions. Anything else, such as the .NET SDK, goes in your setup script.
Use It From Your Terminal: --cloud and --teleport
Send a task to the cloud
claude --cloud "Fix the authentication bug in src/auth/login.ts"The VM clones your GitHub remote at your current branch, not your local files, so push first. Run several --cloud commands to work in parallel.
Plan locally, execute in the cloud
- Start in plan mode:
claude --permission-mode plan - Save the plan to a file such as
docs/migration-plan.md, commit and push. - Hand it off:
claude --cloud "Execute the migration plan in docs/migration-plan.md"
Bring a cloud session back to your terminal
claude --teleport: pick a session interactively, or pass its ID./teleportor/tp: the same picker inside a running session./tasksthent: teleport into a background session.- From the browser: session menu, Open in, Terminal copies the command.
Teleport needs a clean git state, the same repository (not a fork), a pushed branch and the same claude.ai account. For more commands see my Claude Code commands cheat sheet.
Auto-Fix Pull Requests
Claude can watch a PR and react to CI failures and review comments. It pushes clear fixes, asks you about ambiguous ones and skips duplicates.
- PR made in a cloud session: open the Changes card, the menu next to the PR, and switch on Auto-fix.
- From your terminal: run
/autofix-pron the PR’s branch. - Any PR: paste its URL into a session and ask Claude to watch it.
Note: replies Claude posts on GitHub appear under your username, labelled as Claude Code. If comments trigger automation (Atlantis, Terraform Cloud, custom Actions), check that first. Merge conflicts are not detected automatically; ask Claude to rebase.
Price, Limits and What Does Not Carry Over
There is no separate price. Cloud sessions draw from the same usage limits as your chats and local Claude Code, and parallel tasks use them up proportionally faster. See my Claude Code pricing guide for plan limits.
| Item | In cloud sessions? |
|---|---|
| Repo CLAUDE.md, .claude/rules, skills, agents, commands | Yes (part of the clone) |
| Repo .claude/settings.json hooks, .mcp.json servers | Yes, in single-repo sessions |
| Plugins declared in the repo | No |
| Your user ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md, skills, plugins | No (commit them, or write them in a setup script) |
| MCP servers added at user/local scope | No; use claude mcp add --scope project |
| Interactive logins like AWS SSO | No |
- Command timeouts: 2 minutes by default, up to 10. Raise them with
BASH_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MSandBASH_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS. - Idle sessions: the VM pauses after a few minutes and can be reclaimed later. Conversation history comes back; running commands and subagents do not.
- Git host: Anthropic-hosted sessions need GitHub (GitHub Enterprise Server works on Team and Enterprise).
Troubleshooting
No repositories appear after connecting GitHub
Private repos need the Claude GitHub App installed on that account or organisation. Install it, approve it as org owner if asked, and reload claude.ai/code.
“Unable to get organization UUID” with --cloud or --teleport
You are signed in with an API key or Console account. Run claude auth login and pick your claude.ai account, then retry.
“Session creation failed” or stuck at provisioning
No VM could be allocated. Check status.claude.com, wait a minute and retry, and confirm GitHub can reach the repo.
Setup script failed
The script exited non-zero. Add || true to optional installs and make sure the network level allows the registries it needs.
“Branch <name> is not on GitHub”
Your local branch was never pushed (or was deleted after merge), so the session started elsewhere. Push the branch and start a new session.
“Environment expired”
The idle VM was reclaimed. Reopen the session to get a fresh VM with your conversation, then ask Claude to rerun stopped commands.
“cloud session is archived and cannot accept new messages”
Archived sessions are read-only. Start a new session for further work.
My Take
Cloud sessions shine for the jobs you would otherwise put off: updating docs, fixing a flaky test, bumping dependencies. Fire off three of them from your phone, review the branches later, done.
For anything that needs your own GPU, local models or private network, I still use a local session, often with Remote Control. If you have not installed the CLI yet, start with my Claude Code install guide.
FAQ
Is Claude Code on the web free?
No. It needs a Pro, Max, Ultra or Team plan (or an Enterprise premium seat) and counts toward that plan’s usage limits. There is no extra charge on top.
Do I need GitHub to use Claude Code on the web?
Yes for sessions started in the browser. From the terminal, claude --cloud can bundle a local repository without GitHub.
Can Claude Code on the web access my private repositories?
Yes, once you install the Claude GitHub App on the account or organisation that owns them.
How powerful is the cloud machine?
About 4 vCPUs, 16 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk on Ubuntu 24.04. There is no GPU, so it is not for running local AI models.
Can I use it on my phone?
Yes. The Code tab in the Claude mobile app starts and follows cloud sessions, and you can review diffs and create pull requests from it.
What is the difference between cloud sessions and Remote Control?
--cloud runs the task on Anthropic’s VM. --remote-control keeps it on your machine but lets you steer it from claude.ai or your phone.
Will my CLAUDE.md and skills work in the cloud?
Files committed to the repo do. Personal files in your home folder do not, unless you commit them or write them with a setup script.
