Run Claude Code in the cloud: your options
Updated
Where to run Claude Code so it keeps working with your laptop closed (a Prized box, Claude Code on the web, a VPS with tmux, GitHub Codespaces, Replicas, boxes.dev, Aether, Cloudroom, Northflank or a self-hosted environment), with when each fits, each fact from the vendor's own pages, checked November 5, 2026.
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A sleeping laptop runs nothing, so closing the lid stops Claude Code mid-task; to keep it working, it has to run on a machine that stays on. If your code is on GitHub and Claude Code is the only agent you use, Anthropic's own cloud sessions are the shortest path. The other options give you a machine of your own that keeps its disk, another git host, other agents beside Claude Code, or tasks started from Linear.
Pick one
- Your own Claude Code on a cloud machine that stays on and keeps its disk: a Prized box. A box is a Linux VM with Claude Code preinstalled; one command syncs your project folder both ways, copies your sign-in, and starts Claude Code in a tmux session that keeps working with the laptop closed, with no maximum run time (Keep Claude Code running). Run several, a git worktree each, on one box, or a box each on a plan (Parallel agents). What it lacks: an app of its own for agent chats, Slack or Linear triggers, and a phone app; you use Claude Code in your terminal, your editor over SSH or the box's terminal in a browser, and follow it from the Claude app with Remote Control.
- Nothing to set up, on your Claude plan: Claude Code on the web. Start a cloud session from claude.ai/code, the Claude app, the desktop app,
claude --cloudor an @Claude mention in Slack, or set up a scheduled task that runs on a schedule, an API call or a GitHub event (research preview); each session runs in a fresh VM Anthropic manages, keeps running after you close your laptop, and costs nothing beyond your plan's usage. Cloning and pull requests need GitHub, and a session starts from a fresh clone, so what isn't in the repo or the environment's setup script is gone next time. - Full control: a VPS with tmux. Rent a Linux VM from any cloud, install Claude Code, and run it in a tmux session over SSH so it outlives your connection; the machine's setup, security and upkeep are yours.
- A dev container per repo, on your GitHub bill: GitHub Codespaces. A codespace stops after its idle timeout (30 minutes by default, at most 4 hours; terminal output counts as activity) and after 12 hours however busy it is, so a longer run stops and has to be restarted.
- Agents for a team, started from Slack, Linear, GitHub or GitLab, with pull requests back: Replicas. Each task boots its own Linux VM in the cloud and runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode and others on your own subscriptions or API keys. A workspace sleeps after 30 minutes without activity and wakes with its branch and agent session when you send it a message. It has desktop and iOS apps, a CLI and SSH, and agents can drive a desktop and browser and send back recordings.
- A fresh cloud computer per agent, from a snapshot of your dev setup: boxes.dev. Each agent gets a devbox started from your template box's snapshot, filesystem and memory, and keeps working with your laptop closed; it runs Claude Code and Codex on your own subscription or API key, with desktop, iOS and Android apps, SSH, and Slack, Linear, schedule and API triggers.
- A microVM per task that you can watch, with proof on the pull request: Aether. Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode run on your own subscription or API key in a Firecracker microVM per task, started from the web, a CLI, Slack, Linear, GitHub or its phone apps, and you can SSH into any devbox. The devbox is destroyed when its pull request merges or closes, or after 48 hours of inactivity.
- One open-source app for agents on your computer or in its cloud: Cloudroom. For macOS, Windows and Linux; cloud threads keep working with your laptop closed, each agent in its own sandbox, on your own Claude, ChatGPT and other plans. Open source (Apache-2.0), and its Core runs on your own Ubuntu 24.04 server.
- A workspace in Northflank's cloud or your own cloud account: Northflank Cloud Harnesses. A Cloud Harness runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode and others until you pause or delete it, and keeps the files in its home folder through pauses and restarts unless you turn persistence off when you create it.
- Cloud sessions on your company's own machines: Claude Code self-hosted environments. On Team and Enterprise (public beta, off by default), sessions started from claude.ai/code, the Claude app or
claude --cloudrun on runners your organization operates instead of Anthropic's machines (Run the Claude Code self-hosted runner on Prized).
Run it on a Prized box
- Get a box: sign up; the tour starts one on $30 of free credit, with no card (Quickstart).
- Start Claude Code on it: in your project folder,
prized setup --sync --agent claude --attachsyncs the folder with the box, copies your sign-in, MCP servers and settings, and starts Claude Code in a tmux session namedclaude(Keep Claude Code running). - Add agents as you need them: give each task a
git worktree addand its own session, such asprized agents run claude --session claude-auth --dir code/myproject-auth(Parallel agents, Agents).
Claude Code runs on your Claude plan or Anthropic API key, as on your laptop. Prized bills the box: a Small (4 vCPU, 16 GB) is $0.137 an hour awake, $1.37 for a 10 hour run overnight, and only its disk while it sleeps (Billing).
Side by side
| Where Claude Code runs | What stops it | Your files between runs | Free use, then | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prized | A box: a Linux VM that keeps its disk, with Claude Code in tmux | No maximum run time; auto-pause is off by default on a plan, and on the free credit a box pauses after 2 idle hours | Kept on the box's disk | $30 of credit once, no card; then a plan from $10 a month or a top-up, spent by the hour awake, and only disk while paused |
| Claude Code on the web | A fresh VM per session that Anthropic manages: about 4 vCPU, 16 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk | After a few idle minutes the VM pauses with its files saved, and a paused VM can later be reclaimed | A fresh clone each session; a setup script that finishes in about five minutes is cached | No free plan; Claude Pro, $20 a month, with no separate charge for the VM |
| A VPS with tmux | A VM you rent | Nothing, while the VM runs | Kept on its disk | Your cloud's price |
| GitHub Codespaces | A dev container on a cloud VM | The idle timeout (at most 4 hours), and 12 hours of running | Kept while stopped; deleted after 30 days inactive, by default | 120 hours of compute a month on GitHub Free, used at twice the rate on 2 cores; then $0.18 an hour for 2 cores, and storage at $0.07 per GB-month |
| Replicas | A Linux VM per task, 2 to 8 vCPU | Sleeps after 30 minutes without activity | Kept while it sleeps; after 7 days with no activity it is archived, then deleted | $100 of usage, no card, no time limit; Developer $50 a month, $50 of usage included |
| boxes.dev | A devbox per agent from your template box's snapshot: 4 vCPU, 8 GB, 100 GB disk | Sleeps when idle | Kept, with memory, while it sleeps, until you destroy it; sleeping devboxes cost nothing | A trial with 20 hours of compute; Starter $19 per user a month, 50 hours |
| Aether | A Firecracker microVM per task; Small is 1 vCPU and 4 GB | Suspends when idle | Kept while suspended; destroyed when the pull request merges or closes, or after 48 hours of inactivity | 20 credits a month, about 4 hours on Small; Starter $30 a month |
| Cloudroom | A sandbox per agent in Cloudroom's cloud, or your computer | Sleeps after 5 idle minutes on Free, 20 on Pro; never while the agent works | Kept through sleep; unused threads deleted after 7 days on Free, a year on Pro | 3,000 Cloud Credits every 30 days, about 100 for a typical hour; Pro $50 a month |
| Northflank Cloud Harnesses | A workspace in Northflank's cloud or your own cloud account | Runs until you pause or delete it | Its home folder survives pauses and restarts, with persistence on | One harness on a free project; then pay as you go, billed by the second |
Every option except Claude Code on the web runs Claude Code on your own Claude plan or Anthropic API key, which bills the model as on your laptop, and the host bills the machine. Claude Code on the web needs a Claude plan and adds no charge for its VM. A self-hosted environment runs on machines you pay for. Prices are list prices for one person, billed monthly.
Common questions
Can Claude Code keep running with my laptop closed?
Not while the laptop sleeps, which by default it does when you close the lid. It keeps running on a machine that stays on: Anthropic's cloud sessions, any server or box with Claude Code in a tmux session, or one of the hosted options above (Keep Claude Code running).
Isn't Remote Control the same thing?
No. Remote Control lets you follow and steer a Claude Code session from the Claude app or claude.ai/code, but the session runs on your own computer, which has to stay on. Run /remote-control in a session on a box or a VPS, signed in with a Claude subscription, and you get both: the machine stays on, and the Claude app shows the session.
Is Claude Code on the web included in my plan?
Yes, on Pro, Max, Ultra and Team, and for Enterprise users with premium or Chat + Claude Code seats. The VM costs nothing extra, and sessions count toward your plan's usage limits with the rest of your Claude use.
Which option runs several Claude Code agents at once?
All of them. On Claude Code on the web, each claude --cloud starts its own session, and parallel sessions draw on your plan's limits together. Replicas, boxes.dev and Aether give each task or agent its own machine, and so does Cloudroom on its cloud threads. On Prized, give each agent a git worktree and session on one bigger box, or a box each (Parallel agents).
Can I use a git host other than GitHub?
Anthropic-hosted cloud sessions clone and open pull requests on GitHub only; another host's repo can be uploaded as a bundle, but the session can't push back to it. A self-hosted environment's runners reach your git host with credentials you configure. Replicas works with GitHub and GitLab. On a Prized box or a VPS, Claude Code clones from any git remote you can reach.
Sources
Checked November 5, 2026:
- Claude Code: cloud sessions (plans, starting points, GitHub, expiry), cloud environments (VM size, idle pause, setup script cache), Remote Control, self-hosted environments, Slack, scheduled tasks (triggers), pricing.
- GitHub Codespaces: lifecycle (12 hours, deletion), timeout (idle timeout, terminal activity), billing.
- Replicas: home page (VMs, agents, triggers, git hosts, free usage), pricing (sizes, plans, model accounts), workspaces (sleep, archive, deletion), billing (free usage), desktop app, iOS app, CLI, SSH access.
- boxes.dev: home page (devboxes, snapshots, agents, apps, SSH, triggers, pricing), sleep and wake, manage devboxes (destroy).
- Aether: home page (microVMs, agents, starting points, SSH, devbox lifetime, pricing), workspaces (suspend), support (iOS and Android apps).
- Cloudroom: home page (cloud threads, plans and keys, license), pricing (credits, storage, plans), FAQ (platforms, laptop closed, self-hosting), cloud threads (sleep, deletion).
- Northflank: Cloud Harness quickstart (managed or your own cloud, agents, run time, persistence, free projects), pricing, How to run Claude Code in the cloud (agent sign-in).
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