Claude Code Now Runs With Your Laptop Closed, Plus Up to $250 Free to Try It
Cloud sessions are out of research preview: who gets the one-time credit ($100 on Pro, $250 on Max), how to claim it before October 7, and the first task to give a cloud session.
What actually changed
On September 23 Anthropic moved Claude Code cloud sessions out of research preview. A cloud session runs Claude Code on a virtual machine Anthropic manages instead of on your computer. You give it a GitHub repository and a task, and it clones the repo, does the work, runs the tests and pushes a branch for you to review.
The part that matters is that it keeps going when you close your laptop. The session lives on Anthropic's machine, so you can start a task, shut the lid, and review the result later, even from your phone. If you hit your usage limit locally, a cloud session keeps going on the credit until the credit runs out.
To get people trying it, existing Pro and Max subscribers get a one-time credit, and it has a deadline.
- Pro: $100 of cloud session credit
- Max: $250 of cloud session credit
- Claim by 11:59 PM PT on October 7. It expires at 11:59 PM PT on November 4.
Who actually gets the credit
In the video I said everyone gets $250. The honest version: it is for existing Pro and Max subscribers, and the amount depends on your plan. Pro gets $100 and Max gets $250. It is a one-time credit, and it only pays for cloud sessions, not normal chats or Claude Code running on your own machine.
It sits on top of your plan and outside your usage limits. Anthropic says your cloud sessions spend the credit first, and when it runs out they fall back onto your normal plan usage, like the rest of Claude Code.
- One-time, for existing Pro and Max subscribers
- Cloud sessions only
- Claim by October 7, spend by November 4
- Terms apply, so check the claim page for your own account
Free, for your email
Get the full setup steps + the copy-paste setup prompt
The rest of this guide (5 more sections, 5 copy-paste prompts) opens right here. The setup prompt, one paste into Claude that sets it all up, comes by email only. Use your real address.
Unlocks: Step 1: connect GitHub · Step 2: claim the credit · Step 3: start your first cloud session · What to give it first · Good to know before you start
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