Anthropic graphic reading “Keep going in the cloud”, showing the /claim-credit command and credits of $100 for Pro and $250 for Max

Anthropic’s announcement of the Claude Code cloud session credit. Image: Anthropic

Anthropic is giving Claude subscribers free credit to try one of Claude Code’s most useful features. Cloud sessions, which let Claude Code keep working on Anthropic’s servers even after you close your laptop, are now officially out of research preview, and existing subscribers get a one-time credit to use them: $100 on Pro and $250 on Max, Anthropic announced on Wednesday. But you have to claim it by October 7.

What are cloud sessions?

Normally, Claude Code runs on your own computer, so it stops when your laptop goes to sleep. Cloud sessions run on Anthropic-hosted infrastructure instead, so you can hand Claude a task, close your laptop and let it keep going.

Each session works on its own copy of your code on a separate branch, and you can start one from:

  • the web at claude.ai/code
  • the Code tab in the Claude mobile app
  • the Claude desktop app
  • the command line, with claude --cloud

How to claim your free credit

  1. Connect GitHub. You need a GitHub account connected to Claude to start a cloud session.
  2. Claim the credit by running /claim-credit in Claude Code, or through the claim link in Anthropic’s announcement.
  3. Start a cloud session. The credit applies automatically once you do.

The key dates, from Anthropic’s announcement:

  • Claim by 11:59pm Pacific time on October 7 (06:59 UTC on October 8)
  • Use it by 11:59pm Pacific time on November 4 (07:59 UTC on November 5), when it expires

It’s one credit per account, it’s only for cloud sessions, and terms apply.

The best part: it doesn’t count against your limits

The credit sits on top of your plan and outside your normal usage limits. That means if you hit your limit while working locally, you can move the work to a cloud session and keep going until the credit runs out.

The credit is separate from your usage limits, and it applies automatically once you start a cloud session.

Anthropic’s Claude Code team, on X

Once the credit is used up, cloud sessions carry on under your plan’s normal usage terms.

Is it worth using?

For long jobs, like big refactors, writing tests or working through a list of bugs, being able to walk away and let Claude finish is genuinely handy. But not everyone is convinced. In replies to the announcement, some developers pointed out that cloud sessions have been available in preview for a long time, others asked what the feature will cost once the credit is gone, and some said they’d rather control their own computer remotely than send work to the cloud. The GitHub requirement also rules it out for projects that don’t live on GitHub.

Still, free credit is free credit. If you’re on Pro or Max and use GitHub, it costs nothing to claim, so do it before October 7 even if you’re not sure when you’ll use it.

Source: Anthropic (@ClaudeDevs on X)

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