Short answer: Claude Code cloud sessions are the better pick for a task you can hand off on a GitHub repo. There is nothing to set up, and they are included in your Claude plan. An always-on Claude Code computer is the better pick when something has to keep running between your messages: a dev server, a database, a long job, or files that don't live in a repo. Plenty of people use both: cloud sessions for one-off repo tasks, an always-on machine for the project that has to stay up.
Everything we say about cloud sessions below comes from Anthropic's own docs, linked inline.
What Claude Code cloud sessions are
Anthropic's docs put it plainly: "A cloud session is a Claude Code session that runs on cloud infrastructure instead of on your machine." You start one from claude.ai/code, the Claude apps, or the terminal with claude --cloud "your task". Each session gets a fresh Ubuntu VM with your GitHub repo cloned into it. It "keeps running after you close your laptop", and you can check on it or steer it from any device.
Cost is simple. A session "counts toward your plan's usage limits alongside the rest of your Claude and Claude Code usage, and there's no separate charge for the cloud VM." Cloud sessions are available on Pro, Max and Team plans, and on Enterprise for users with premium seats or Chat + Claude Code seats. Source: Use Claude Code in the cloud.
What cloud sessions do well
- Zero setup. Connect GitHub, pick a repo, type a task. No server, no SSH, no install.
- Parallel work. Each
claude --cloudcommand starts its own session, so you can run several tasks side by side. - Isolation. Each session runs in its own Anthropic-managed VM. In Anthropic-hosted environments your GitHub credentials stay encrypted on Anthropic's servers and never enter the VM.
- Pull request work. Auto-fix can watch a PR and respond to CI failures and review comments.
- A way back to your terminal.
claude --teleportpulls a cloud session and its branch into your local checkout. - Scheduled runs. Anthropic's cloud scheduled tasks run each scheduled or triggered run as a cloud session.
For a "fix this bug and open a PR" job, that is hard to beat.
Where cloud sessions stop
A cloud session is a session, not a computer you keep. The docs are clear about what that means:
- Idle VMs pause, then get reclaimed. "After a few minutes without activity, a session's VM pauses with its files saved, and a paused VM can later be reclaimed" (Cloud environments). And: "Cloud sessions stop after a period of inactivity and the session's VM is reclaimed."
- What comes back after that. When you reopen a reclaimed session, your conversation history is restored. Background work that was still running is not: shell commands, subagents, and session-scoped scheduled tasks or a
/loop. - Services start fresh each time. The environment cache "keeps what the setup script writes to disk and loses anything that was only running." A database or a
docker compose upstack has to be started again in each session. - Resource ceilings. Roughly 4 vCPUs, 16 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk per session, which "may change over time". For bigger workloads the docs themselves point you to Remote Control on your own hardware.
- Time limits on long commands. A command that hits its timeout moves to the background and "can keep running for up to 30 more minutes" before Claude Code stops it, unless you raise the limits.
- GitHub first. Cloning and creating pull requests need GitHub. Other hosts work only as an uploaded bundle that can't push back.
None of this is a flaw. It is what a session is designed to be: start, do the task, go away.
What an always-on Claude Code computer is
The other way to use Claude Code from your phone is Remote Control. Here Claude Code runs on a machine you choose, and the Claude app is a window into it. The docs spell out the catch: "your computer has to stay on and the claude process has to keep running."
So an "always-on Claude Code computer" is just that: a machine that never sleeps, with Claude Code running on it and Remote Control turned on. You can build one yourself on a VPS (we wrote up the VPS + tmux route, with its trade-offs), or use a Podway pod.
A Podway pod is Claude Code on its own always-on cloud computer. You open it from the Claude app on your phone or desktop through Remote Control. It runs on your own Claude Pro or Max plan. On Team and Enterprise plans, the org Owner has to turn Remote Control on first. Your files get nightly encrypted backups to separate storage, kept as 7 daily and 4 weekly copies. The first pod is free with no card, and pods start at $4/month.
Side by side
| Claude Code cloud session | Always-on computer (e.g. a Podway pod) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where Claude Code runs | A fresh Anthropic-managed VM per session | One machine that stays on |
| Setup | Connect GitHub, pick a repo | Create the machine and sign in to Claude on it (Podway warns you before the login expires) |
| When you go idle | The VM pauses after a few minutes and can later be reclaimed | Nothing pauses; the machine stays on |
| Things you started (dev server, database, a long job) | Stop when the VM is reclaimed; you restart them | Keep running while the pod runs; after a pod restart, what you set to start on boot comes back |
| Your files | Your repo, cloned fresh; setup-script output is cached | Stay on the machine's disk between sessions |
| Code hosting | GitHub (other hosts as a bundle that can't push) | Whatever you install, like any Linux machine |
| Parallel tasks | Easy: one VM per task | Limited by the one machine |
| Steer from your phone | Yes, Claude app or claude.ai/code | Yes, via Remote Control in the Claude app |
| Plan needed | Pro, Max, Team, or eligible Enterprise seats | Pro or Max (Team/Enterprise: Owner enables Remote Control) |
| Price | No separate VM charge; usage counts toward your plan | Podway: first pod free, then from $4/month; usage counts toward your plan |
When cloud sessions are the better pick
- The work is a task with an end: a bug fix, a refactor, a test pass, a PR.
- The code is on GitHub.
- You want several tasks running in parallel without thinking about machines.
- You don't want to pay for or look after anything beyond your Claude plan.
When an always-on computer is the better pick
- Something has to keep running while you're away: a dev server you check from your phone, a database, a worker, a long build.
- You want to come back tomorrow to the same machine, with the same files, tools and half-finished work, not a fresh clone.
- Your project isn't on GitHub, or isn't in a repo at all.
- You hit the session's resource or time limits.
FAQ
Do Claude Code cloud sessions keep running when I close my laptop?
Yes. The docs say a session "keeps running after you close your laptop." The limit is idle time, not your laptop: after a few minutes without activity the VM pauses, and a paused VM can later be reclaimed.
What do I lose when a cloud session's VM is reclaimed?
Your conversation comes back. Background work that was running does not: shell commands, subagents, and session-scoped scheduled tasks or loops. You ask Claude to rerun what you still need.
Can cloud sessions run on a schedule?
Yes. Anthropic's cloud scheduled tasks run each scheduled or triggered run as its own cloud session. What doesn't survive a reclaim is a /loop or a task scheduled inside one session.
Does an always-on computer need a Claude plan?
Yes. Remote Control needs a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan and doesn't work with API keys. A Podway pod uses your own Pro or Max plan. On Team or Enterprise, the org Owner turns Remote Control on in the Claude Code admin settings first.
Is Podway part of Anthropic?
No. Podway is an independent product. It runs the official Claude Code on your own Claude account.
If your work needs a machine that stays on, start a free pod. If it's a one-off repo task, start a cloud session instead. That's the honest answer.
Last reviewed October 25, 2026, against Anthropic's docs. Spot something out of date? Email support@podway.io and we'll fix it.