TL;DR Press ⌥⌘0, pick Cloud, keep network access on Trusted and put your
npm installin the setup script. Long tasks you start there keep going with the laptop closed.
The environment picker in the Code tab of Claude Code Desktop has changed: an environment is no longer just "Local" or "Cloud", it's a named starting point you save once. Local ones get a shortcut (⌥⌘1, ⌥⌘2…), and ⌥⌘0 opens New environment, with four tabs: Local, Cloud, SSH and Remote Control.
Here's the picker with two saved local environments:
Choose environment
Local
Default ⌥⌘1
wmedia ✓ ⌥⌘2
More 1 >
Cloud
Default
+ New environment ⌥⌘0
You don't have to create them by hand: the first time you open the new picker, Desktop saves one environment per folder you were already working in, and also lists them above Choose environment. Open two sessions in a row on another folder later and it offers to save that one too.
The four tabs
| Tab | What it saves | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Local | A name, one or more folders and their environment variables | Your usual projects, one shortcut away |
| Cloud | A name, network access, network secrets, a setup script and variables | An Anthropic machine that keeps working without your laptop |
| SSH | A name, a host, folders on that host and variables | A server of yours; Desktop installs Claude Code there the first time you connect |
| Remote Control | Nothing | Tells you to run claude rc on the machine you want to drive from here |
Create your first cloud environment
1. Open the dialog
Press ⌥⌘0 (or Cloud > Add cloud environment… in the picker) and pick the Cloud tab.
2. Name it and keep network access on Trusted
Trusted lets through npm, PyPI, GitHub and the usual registries, and nothing else. If your project calls an API of your own, switch to Custom and add its domain.
3. Write the setup script
#!/bin/bash
npm install
It runs before Claude Code starts, and if it finishes in under about five minutes, later sessions start with everything already installed.
4. Variables yes, keys no
Anyone who uses the environment can read its environment variables. API keys go in Network secrets (Pro and Max): they're added to requests outside the machine, and Claude never sees them.
5. Click Add environment
The repo isn't part of the environment: you pick it when you start each session, so one environment covers several projects on the same stack.
What the cloud gets you
- It keeps working with the laptop closed. The session runs on an Anthropic machine, not yours (where the loop runs).
- It comes equipped. Python, Node 20 to 22, Ruby, PHP 8.3, Java 21, Go, Rust, Docker, PostgreSQL 16 and Redis 7, on about 4 vCPUs, 16 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk.
- No separate bill. It counts toward your plan's limits, like the rest of Claude Code.
- Same environment everywhere. claude.ai/code, the mobile app,
claude --cloudfrom the terminal and routines all use it.
Two things it doesn't have: bypass permissions mode and plugin installs.
Remote Control runs the other way: the session stays on your machine and you drive it from somewhere else, as in controlling Claude Code from your phone.
Official docs: Configure cloud environments · Desktop: SSH sessions
Requirements
- Seen in Claude Desktop v2.37337.1 on October 14, 2026. The docs don't cover saved local environments or the four-tab dialog yet.
- For the cloud: a Pro, Max or Team plan (or Enterprise with a premium seat) and GitHub connected.