Claude Code cloud sessions: set up GitHub and use your credit before it expires

Claude Code cloud sessions are out of research preview, and Anthropic gave existing Pro and Max subscribers a one-time credit to try them. If you have that credit, it is sitting in your account with an expiry date. This guide shows how to connect GitHub, set up a private repository and run your first cloud session. It also explains what the credit does and doesn’t pay for, so you can spend it on real work before it runs out.

What Claude Code cloud sessions are

Normally, Claude Code runs in a terminal on your own computer. A cloud session runs the same agent on a virtual machine that Anthropic manages. Claude clones your GitHub repository into that VM, makes changes, runs tests and pushes a branch for you to review.

The practical difference is that the session keeps going after you close your laptop. You can start a task in the browser at claude.ai/code, check on it from the Claude mobile app and review the result later on your desktop. Each task gets its own session and its own branch, so you can run several at once without juggling local copies of your code.

Cloud sessions are available on Pro, Max and Team plans, and for Enterprise users with the right seat. According to Anthropic’s documentation, there is no separate charge for the VM itself. Instead, usage counts toward your plan limits, just like local Claude Code.

Wondering what running code in someone else’s cloud means for privacy? We covered the trade-offs in local vs cloud AI: what actually stays private.

How the cloud session credit works

When cloud sessions launched on September 23, 2026, Anthropic offered existing subscribers a one-time bonus credit. The details below come from the official Claude Help Center article.

• Amount: $100 on Pro, $250 on Max. One credit per account.
• Who qualified: individual Pro and Max subscribers whose subscription was active when the promotion started. Team and Enterprise plans, free trials and past-due accounts were not eligible.
• Claiming: closed on October 7 at 11:59 PM PT. Some accounts received the credit automatically; others claimed it with /claim-credit in the CLI or on the claim page.
• Expiry: November 4 at 11:59 PM PT. In Central European Time, that is 08:59 on November 5.
• Sign-in: you must use a claude.ai account. The credit doesn’t work through Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI or an API key.

What the credit pays for

The credit is spent automatically on cloud session usage, whether you start the session from the browser, the desktop app, the CLI or the mobile app. While you have a balance, that usage comes out of the credit instead of your plan limits.

However, it does not cover everything with Claude’s name on it. These are excluded:

• Projects and Routines
• Remote Control sessions, because those run on your own machine
• Chat and Cowork conversations
• Local Claude Code in your terminal or IDE

You can check your balance in the usage section of your Claude settings. A “Cloud session credits” card shows how much is left and when it expires.

What happens when it runs out

Once the credit is used up or expires, cloud sessions simply count toward your normal plan limits, the same as local sessions. You won’t be billed extra unless you have turned on usage credits and go past those limits.

There are two exceptions worth knowing. On Pro, choosing the Fable model requires usage credits with a balance: the bonus credit is used first, then Fable draws on your usage credits. In addition, changing plans adjusts the credit to the new plan’s amount, minus what you have already used. Upgrading doesn’t give you a second credit.

What you need before you start

• A Claude Pro or Max subscription, signed in at claude.ai
• A GitHub account, because cloud sessions clone from GitHub and push branches back there
• Optional: the Claude Code CLI and the GitHub CLI (gh), if you want to start sessions from your terminal

You don’t need a powerful computer. Everything heavy happens on the cloud VM, so a phone or a basic laptop with a browser is enough to start and review tasks.

Step 1: connect GitHub

There are two ways to give cloud sessions access to your repositories. Pick one.

Option A: the Claude GitHub App (browser)

1. Go to claude.ai/code and sign in with your Claude account.
2. Follow the prompt to connect GitHub, and approve the authorization on GitHub’s page.
3. Install the Claude GitHub App on your personal account, or on the organization that owns your code, and choose which repositories it may access.

The third step matters more than it looks. Without the GitHub App, a session can clone public repositories but not your private ones. The app also enables Auto-fix, which lets Claude respond to failing CI checks and review comments on a pull request. On a GitHub organization, an owner may need to approve the installation.

Option B: /web-setup (terminal)

If you already use the GitHub CLI, you can reuse your gh login instead. First, authenticate the GitHub CLI:

gh auth login

Then start claude, make sure you’re signed in with your claude.ai account (run /login if not), and type:

/web-setup

Claude Code sends your gh token to your Claude account, where it is stored encrypted. Cloud sessions you start can then reach every repository that token can reach, private ones included. If it warns about a missing workflow scope, run gh auth refresh -s workflow and try again. Otherwise, GitHub may reject pushes that change GitHub Actions workflow files.

Either way, Pro and Max accounts automatically get a cloud environment called “Default”. It uses Trusted network access: sessions can reach common package registries and other allowlisted domains, but not the open internet. That is enough for a first project, and you can change it later.

Step 2: create a private repository

Cloud sessions work on existing GitHub repositories. To try them on something new, create a small private repository first.

1. On GitHub, go to github.com/new.
2. Give the repository a name and set it to Private.
3. Tick Add a README file, so the repository starts with one commit.
4. Click Create repository.
5. If you used the GitHub App in step 1 with “Only select repositories”, add the new repository to the app. On GitHub, go to Settings → Applications → Installed GitHub Apps → Claude → Configure.

Already have a project on your computer? Push it to GitHub instead. A cloud session clones what is on GitHub, not what is on your disk, so commit and push before you start a session.

Step 3: start your first Claude Code cloud session

From the browser or your phone

1. Open claude.ai/code, or the Code tab in the Claude app.
2. Click the repository selector below the input box and pick your repository. Change the branch if you don’t want to start from the default one.
3. Choose a permission mode. Plan makes Claude propose an approach and wait for your approval. Accept edits lets it change files and push a branch without stopping. Auto, when available, has a classifier review Claude’s actions instead of asking you.
4. Describe the task and press Enter.

Be specific. “Add a README with setup instructions” or “Fix the failing test in tests/test_auth.py” works far better than “fix tests”. A precise task finishes faster and uses less of your credit. Paste error output if you have it, and describe the behavior you expect.

Need an idea for a first project? Our guide your first coding project: build an AI tools dashboard is a good fit for a cloud session.

From your terminal

With the Claude Code CLI installed, run this from inside a checkout of your repository:

claude --cloud "Add a README with setup instructions"

The VM clones your GitHub remote at your current branch, so push first if you have local commits. You can fire off several tasks in a row, and each one becomes its own session:

claude --cloud "Fix the flaky test in auth.spec.ts"
claude --cloud "Update the API documentation"

You may see the older --remote flag in other guides. It still works, but it is deprecated in favor of --cloud.

Step 4: review the diff and open a pull request

When Claude reaches a stopping point, it pushes its branch to GitHub. A diff indicator such as +42 -18 then appears in the session. Click it to see every changed file.

• Comment inline: select a line in the diff and type your feedback. Comments are sent with your next message, so Claude knows exactly which line you mean.
• Create a PR: click Create PR at the top of the diff view to open a full or draft pull request.
• Keep going: the session stays live after the PR exists. Paste CI failures or review comments into the chat, or turn on Auto-fix if the GitHub App is installed.
• Continue locally: run claude --teleport in your terminal to pull the session and its branch onto your own machine.

Nothing lands on your main branch until you merge the pull request yourself. That makes cloud sessions safe to experiment with, because the worst case is a branch you delete.

How to get the most out of your credit

Because there is no separate charge for the VM, what you spend is Claude’s own work: reading code, reasoning and running tools. A few habits help you stretch the credit.

• Pick the backlog work. Tests you never wrote, documentation, small refactors, dependency upgrades and bugs you keep postponing are ideal. They are well defined and easy to review.
• Plan first for big jobs. Start in Plan mode, agree on the approach, then let Claude execute. A wrong turn caught early costs far less than a full run in the wrong direction.
• Run independent tasks in parallel. The total usage is about the same, but you get results sooner. Keep in mind that parallel sessions count toward your rate limits together.
• Check the meter after your first task. In our own test, a short first session took about $1 off a $100 balance. Look at the usage section after one real task to calibrate.
• Keep secrets out of the repository. If a session needs an API key, Pro and Max users can add it as a network secret on the cloud environment, where it stays outside the session’s sandbox.
• Set a reminder. Whatever is left after November 4 is simply gone, so put a date in your calendar a few days before.

Troubleshooting

My private repository doesn’t show up

If you connected through the browser, a private repository only appears when the Claude GitHub App is installed on the account or organization that owns it, and the app’s repository access includes it. Install the app or add the repository in its settings. If you used /web-setup, run gh repo view OWNER/REPO to confirm your GitHub CLI login can see it.

/web-setup says “Unknown command”

The command runs inside Claude Code, not in your shell, so launch claude first. If it is still missing, you are probably signed in with an API key instead of a claude.ai subscription. Run /login and try again.

The session works on old code

claude --cloud clones the branch as it exists on GitHub, so push your local commits first. If the repository has no GitHub remote, or the GitHub App isn’t installed on it, Claude Code uploads a bundle of your local repository instead. On native Windows, that upload includes uncommitted changes to tracked files as they are, so stash anything you don’t want in the cloud.

The session expired

After a period of inactivity, the VM is reclaimed. Reopen the session at claude.ai/code to get a fresh VM. Your conversation history comes back, but background work that was still running, such as a long shell command, does not.

My plan limits drop even though I have credit

Then the work probably isn’t running in a cloud session. Routines, Projects, Remote Control, chat and local Claude Code are paid from your normal plan instead. Check that the session appears in the sidebar at claude.ai/code.

What to do next

Cloud sessions turn Claude Code into something you can hand a task to and walk away from. Connect GitHub, make sure the GitHub App can see your private repositories, and start with one specific, reviewable task. The credit expires on November 4, so use it on the work you have been putting off. After that, the setup stays, and cloud sessions simply run on your normal plan.

Want Claude in your other tools too? See how to connect Hermes to Claude Code, or how to connect WordPress to Claude with MCP.

Sources: Claude Help Center: cloud sessions bonus credit promotion · Get started with Claude Code in the cloud · Use Claude Code in the cloud.