54  54. Claude Code Beyond the Terminal

This course uses Claude Code in the terminal, but Claude Code also runs in code editors, a desktop app, the cloud, your phone, GitHub, and Slack. This page is a tour: what each place is good for, what it needs, and which of your settings come along.

54.1 Same engine, many surfaces

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Platforms and integrations · Claude Code overview

Each place where you can use Claude Code is called a surface. In the docs’ words, Claude Code “runs the same underlying engine everywhere, but each surface is tuned for a different way of working.” For any surface, ask: where does the work run, and where do you watch and steer it?

WHERE CLAUDE CODE RUNS        WHERE YOU WATCH AND STEER IT
----------------------        ------------------------------------------
Your computer          <----  terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, Desktop app
                       <----  your phone or any browser (Remote Control)

Anthropic's cloud      <----  claude.ai/code, Desktop app, phone app,
                              terminal (claude --cloud), Slack

GitHub's servers       <----  @claude comments on issues and pull requests

Surface	Runs on	How you use it	Best for	Needs
Terminal (CLI)	Your computer	Type in a terminal	Everything, including scripting	Paid plan, API key, or cloud provider
VS Code / JetBrains	Your computer	Inside your code editor	Coding with files and changes in view	Same as the CLI
Desktop Code tab	Your computer (or cloud, or SSH)	A graphical app	Parallel sessions, visual review	Paid plan
Cloud sessions	Anthropic’s cloud	claude.ai/code, phone, Desktop, claude --cloud	Long or parallel tasks	Pro, Max, Team, some Enterprise seats; GitHub
Remote Control	Your computer	Your phone or any browser	Steering local work from elsewhere	Paid plan sign-in (no API key)
Chrome integration	Your computer and browser	claude --chrome	Testing web apps	Paid plan, /login
GitHub Actions	GitHub’s servers	@claude in issues and pull requests	Repository chores	API key or subscription token
Code Review	Anthropic’s cloud	Automatic on pull requests	Reviewing every pull request	Team or Enterprise (research preview)
Routines	Anthropic’s cloud	Schedule, API call, or GitHub event	Unattended recurring jobs	Paid plan (research preview)
Slack	Anthropic’s cloud	@Claude in a channel	Chat requests to pull requests	See In Slack

54.2 In your code editor: VS Code and JetBrains

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Use Claude Code in VS Code · JetBrains IDEs

• VS Code extension: a Claude Code panel inside VS Code (also in editors built on VS Code, such as Cursor), with inline diffs, @-mentions of files, and plan review. It bundles its own copy of Claude Code (typing claude in a terminal still needs the normal install), offers a subset of the slash commands, and shares conversation history with the CLI: claude --resume in a terminal can continue an extension conversation.
• JetBrains plugin (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, and others; still labeled beta in the JetBrains Marketplace): it runs the claude command in the editor’s built-in terminal and shows Claude’s changes in the editor’s diff viewer. It does not include Claude Code, so install the CLI first.
• From a separate terminal, the /ide command connects a running Claude Code session to your editor.

54.3 The Desktop app’s Code tab

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Desktop application · Get started with the desktop app

The Claude Desktop app (Mac and Windows; Linux in beta) has a Code tab: Claude Code with buttons and panels instead of a terminal. It needs a paid plan, and you don’t have to install the CLI separately. Highlights:

• Several sessions at once, listed in a sidebar, each optionally in its own copy of the project (a Git worktree; see Git Worktrees and Parallel AI Agents).
• A visual diff view where you can comment on Claude’s changes, a preview pane for your running web app, a built-in terminal and file editor, and pull-request status.
• For each session you choose Local (your computer), Cloud, or SSH (another computer you manage).

Typing /desktop in the terminal moves your session into the app (Mac and x64 Windows); /resume in the Code tab picks up terminal sessions. The app has no scripting mode (claude -p), and some terminal-only commands, such as /permissions, don’t work there.

54.4 Cloud sessions at claude.ai/code

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Use Claude Code in the cloud · Get started with Claude Code in the cloud

A cloud session runs Claude Code on a virtual machine that Anthropic manages, not on your computer, so it keeps working after you close your laptop. You can start one at claude.ai/code, from the phone app’s Code tab, from the Desktop app (choose Cloud), or from your terminal:

claude --cloud "Fix the failing test in tests/test_login.py"

• Claude clones your GitHub repository (the version on GitHub, not your local files, so push your commits first), works on a new branch, and pushes it. You review the changes and create a pull request.
• A cloud session uses only what is in the repository, such as a committed CLAUDE.md, not your personal settings in ~/.claude.
• Good for: parallel tasks, repositories you don’t have locally, and well-defined tasks that need little steering.
• claude --teleport brings a cloud session’s branch and conversation into your terminal.
• Plans: Pro, Max, Team, and some Enterprise seats. Cloud sessions use your normal plan limits; the virtual machine costs nothing extra.

54.5 From your phone: the mobile app and Remote Control

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Claude Code on mobile · Remote Control

There is no separate Claude Code phone app: use the Code tab in the regular Claude app for iPhone or Android (/mobile shows a QR code to get it). From your phone you can:

• start and check on cloud sessions, which run without your computer; or
• use Remote Control to drive a session that runs on your own computer. Your files, tools, and MCP servers stay on your machine, and the phone (or any browser at claude.ai/code) is just a window into the session.

To turn on Remote Control, type /remote-control (or /rc) in a running session, or start with claude --remote-control. Your computer must stay on, with Claude Code running. It requires a paid plan sign-in (API keys don’t work); on Team and Enterprise plans an admin must enable it. Claude can send push notifications to your phone when it finishes or needs a decision.

54.6 Driving your browser: the Chrome integration

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Use Claude Code with Chrome

With the Claude in Chrome extension installed, Claude Code (in the terminal or in VS Code) can open tabs, click, type, and read the browser’s console errors, which is perfect for testing the web app you’re building. Start with claude --chrome; /chrome changes its settings. It works with Chrome and Edge (not inside WSL), and it uses your real browser and your logins, so it can act on any site where you are signed in. You’ll try it in Letting Claude Use a Browser.

54.7 On GitHub: GitHub Actions and Code Review

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Claude Code GitHub Actions · Code Review

• GitHub Actions: a workflow file in your repository runs Claude Code on GitHub’s servers when someone mentions @claude in an issue or a pull-request comment (or on a schedule). Claude can answer, write code, push commits, and open pull requests. Set it up with /install-github-app inside Claude Code (you need admin access to the repository). Runs use GitHub Actions minutes plus Claude usage (an API key or a subscription token).
• Code Review (research preview, Team and Enterprise): a managed service in which several agents review every pull request and comment on the lines where they find problems. It is billed separately from the plan’s included usage. On any plan, /code-review reviews your changes locally.

More in Pull Requests and Code Review.

54.8 In Slack

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Claude Code in Slack · Claude Tag

• Claude Tag (Team and Enterprise, beta): @Claude in a channel acts as the organization’s shared teammate, for coding and non-coding work.
• Claude Code in Slack (the earlier version, Pro and Max): mention @Claude with a coding task, and it starts a cloud session under your own account. It works only in Slack workspaces that are not connected to Claude Tag.

54.9 Automation: routines, scheduled tasks, and /loop

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Automate work with routines · Run prompts on a schedule · Desktop scheduled tasks

A routine (research preview, paid plans) is a saved prompt plus repositories and connectors that runs in the cloud on a schedule, when called through an API, or when something happens on GitHub. Create one at claude.ai/code/routines, in the Desktop app, or with /schedule in the CLI. Two other options run on your own computer:

	Cloud routine	Desktop scheduled task	/loop
Runs on	Anthropic’s cloud	Your computer	Your computer
Computer must be on?	No	Yes (with the app open)	Yes
Session must be open?	No	No	Yes
Your local files?	No (fresh copy of the repository)	Yes	Yes
Shortest interval	1 hour	1 minute	1 minute

For example, /loop 5m check whether the deploy finished repeats a prompt every five minutes while the session stays open. Every run uses your plan’s usage, like any other session.

54.10 Sharing your results: artifacts

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Share session output as artifacts

Claude Code can publish an artifact: a live web page on claude.ai built from your session, such as a walkthrough of a code change with notes, or a dashboard. Just ask (“make an artifact that…”). It stays private until you share it. Artifacts need a paid plan and a session signed in with /login (not an API key), in the CLI or the Desktop app. An artifact is one page with no back end, not a way to host an app.

54.11 What carries over between surfaces

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Platforms and integrations · Desktop: shared configuration · Compare ways to run Claude Code

• Local surfaces share your setup. The terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, and local Desktop sessions read the same files: CLAUDE.md files, settings (~/.claude/settings.json and the project’s .claude/settings.json), MCP servers, hooks, and skills (see The .claude Folders and Settings Files).
• Remote Control keeps everything local available, because the session still runs on your computer.
• Cloud sessions use the repository only. If the cloud should follow a rule, commit it to the repository (for example in the project’s CLAUDE.md).
• Conversations can move: VS Code and the CLI share history (claude --resume); /desktop moves a terminal session into the app; claude --teleport copies a cloud session to your terminal.
• Usage is shared: with a subscription, the terminal, editors, Desktop, cloud sessions, and your claude.ai chats all draw from the same plan limits (see Claude Models, Plans, and Usage Limits).
• Not everything is identical: slash commands and permission modes differ between surfaces.

Deeper dive: More ways to run several sessions or work remotely

As of Oct 6, 2026 · Official docs: Agent view · Projects · Platforms: work away from your terminal

• Agent view (research preview): claude agents shows all your background sessions on this computer and which ones need you (see Subagents).
• Projects (public beta, rolling out to some Pro and Max users): one conversation in which Claude starts and tracks many cloud sessions.
• Dispatch (Pro and Max): message a task from your phone, and it can start a Code session in the Desktop app. The Help Center says it isn’t available to new users of the new combined Claude experience.
• Channels (research preview): push events, such as a failed test run, into a running session so Claude can react.

54.12 Key takeaways

• Claude Code is one engine with many surfaces; the main difference is whether it runs on your computer or in the cloud.
• Local surfaces share your configuration; cloud sessions see only your repository.
• With a subscription, all your surfaces share the same plan limits.

Practice Questions

Easy

Question 1 · Short answer

What is a surface in Claude Code? Name three surfaces.

Suggested answer

A surface is a place where you use Claude Code. Each surface connects to the same Claude Code engine. Examples: the terminal (CLI), the VS Code extension, the JetBrains plugin, the Desktop app’s Code tab, cloud sessions at claude.ai/code, and the Code tab in the mobile app.

Question 2 · True or false

Claude Code has its own separate mobile app that you download from the app store.

Suggested answer

False. You use the Code tab in the regular Claude app for iPhone or Android. From there you can start and check on cloud sessions or steer a session on your computer with Remote Control.

Question 3 · Matching

Match each surface with its description.

Surface		Description
1. VS Code extension		A. Responds to @claude comments in issues and pull requests
2. Desktop Code tab		B. A graphical app with parallel sessions and a visual diff view
3. Cloud session		C. Steer a session running on your computer from your phone
4. Remote Control		D. A Claude Code panel inside your code editor
5. GitHub Actions		E. Runs on a virtual machine Anthropic manages and keeps going after you disconnect

Suggested answer

1 → D, 2 → B, 3 → E, 4 → C, 5 → A.

Question 4 · True or false

The JetBrains plugin includes its own copy of Claude Code, so you don’t need to install the CLI.

Suggested answer

False. The JetBrains plugin runs the claude command in the editor’s terminal, so you must install the CLI first. (The VS Code extension, by contrast, bundles its own copy for its panel.)

Question 5 · Write the command

Write the command that starts Claude Code with the Chrome integration turned on.

Suggested answer

claude --chrome

Inside a session, /chrome changes the Chrome settings.

Question 6 · Multiple choice

Which of these keeps working after you shut down your laptop?

1. A session in the terminal (CLI)
2. A Remote Control session
3. A cloud session
4. A session in the VS Code extension

Suggested answer

c. A cloud session runs on a virtual machine managed by Anthropic. The other three run on your own computer, so they stop when the computer is off (Remote Control is only a remote window into a session on your computer).

Medium

Question 7 · Scenario

Maria wants Claude Code to work on a long refactoring task while she goes to class with her laptop closed. Which surface fits, what does it need, and what should she do first if she has commits that exist only on her laptop?

Suggested answer

A cloud session (claude.ai/code, or claude --cloud "..." from her terminal). It needs a plan that includes cloud sessions (such as Pro or Max) and her repository on GitHub. The cloud copies the repository from GitHub, not her laptop’s files, so she should push her local commits first.

Question 8 · Scenario

Sam is in a local Claude Code session that uses a database and an MCP server that exist only on his computer. He wants to keep steering the session from his phone while he is at the gym. Which feature should he use, how does he turn it on, and what must stay true while he’s away?

Suggested answer

Remote Control. He types /remote-control (or /rc) in the running session and then opens it from the Code tab of the Claude app. His computer must stay on with Claude Code running, because the session (and his database and MCP server) still runs there. He must be signed in with a paid plan, not an API key. A cloud session would not work here: it couldn’t reach his local database.

Question 9 · Write the command

1. Start a cloud session from your terminal with the task “Update the README”.
2. Later, bring a cloud session into your terminal to continue working on it locally.

Suggested answer

1.    claude --cloud "Update the README"

2.    claude --teleport

   This opens a list of your cloud sessions; pick one, and Claude Code fetches its branch and conversation. Run it inside a clone of the same repository; if you have uncommitted changes, it asks you to stash (set aside) them first.

Question 10 · Predict

Sam’s personal ~/.claude/settings.json allows some commands without asking, and his repository contains a committed CLAUDE.md with project rules. He starts a cloud session on that repository. Which of the two does the cloud session use, and why?

Suggested answer

It uses the repository’s committed CLAUDE.md but not his personal ~/.claude/settings.json. A cloud session clones the repository and uses only what is in it; files that live only on his computer don’t come along. Local surfaces (terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, Desktop local sessions) would use both.

Question 11 · Scenario

Choose a routine, a Desktop scheduled task, or /loop for each job, and explain:

1. Every weekday at 8 a.m., summarize new GitHub issues, even when your laptop is off.
2. While you work, check every 5 minutes whether a deployment has finished.
3. Every night, process files that exist only on your computer.

Suggested answer

1. Routine: it runs in the cloud, so the computer can be off.
2. /loop, for example /loop 5m check whether the deployment finished: quick repeated checks inside the open session.
3. Desktop scheduled task: it runs on your computer, so it can read your local files, and it doesn’t need an open session (but the computer must be awake, with the Desktop app open).

Question 12 · Multiple choice

Which of these requires signing in with a claude.ai subscription and does not work with an API key?

1. The terminal CLI
2. The VS Code extension
3. Remote Control
4. The JetBrains plugin

Suggested answer

c. Remote Control requires a paid plan sign-in; API keys aren’t supported. The CLI, the VS Code extension, and the JetBrains plugin all work with a subscription or a Console API key (and with cloud providers).

Question 13 · Compare

What is the difference between Claude Code GitHub Actions and Code Review?

Suggested answer

GitHub Actions is a workflow you add to your own repository. It runs Claude Code on GitHub’s servers when someone mentions @claude (or on events and schedules you choose), and Claude can answer, write code, push commits, and open pull requests. You set it up with /install-github-app.

Code Review is a managed service (research preview, Team and Enterprise) that automatically reviews pull requests with several agents and posts comments on problem lines. It doesn’t need a workflow file, and it is billed separately from the plan’s included usage.

Hard

Question 14 · Scenario

Sam has a Pro plan. His university’s Slack workspace has been connected to Claude Tag by the university’s Enterprise organization. When Sam mentions @Claude with a coding task, he gets a notice instead of a new cloud session under his account. Explain why, and what his options are.

Suggested answer

The earlier Claude Code in Slack (which runs sessions under each user’s own Pro or Max account) works only in Slack workspaces that are not connected to Claude Tag. This workspace is connected, so @Claude there is the organization’s Claude Tag, run with the university’s settings and billing. Sam can use Claude Tag in channels where the university allows it, or use his Pro plan directly (for example a cloud session at claude.ai/code).

Question 15 · Compare

Explain the difference between claude --cloud, claude --remote-control, and claude --teleport.

Suggested answer

• claude --cloud "task" creates a new cloud session: the work runs on Anthropic’s virtual machine.
• claude --remote-control starts a local session that you can also steer from your phone or a browser; the work runs on your computer.
• claude --teleport brings an existing cloud session to your terminal: it fetches the session’s branch and conversation so you can continue locally.

A memory aid: --cloud sends new work up, --teleport brings cloud work down, and --remote-control keeps the work at home while you leave.

Question 16 · Long answer

A four-person student team wants the same project rules (for example “run the tests before every commit”) to apply whether a member uses the terminal, VS Code, the Desktop app, or a cloud session. Each member also has personal preferences. How should they organize their setup?

Suggested answer

• Put shared project rules in files that are committed to the repository: the project’s CLAUDE.md and .claude/settings.json. Local surfaces read them, and cloud sessions see them because cloud sessions clone the repository.
• Keep personal preferences in each person’s own files (~/.claude/...). These apply on that person’s local surfaces only and never reach cloud sessions or teammates.
• Remember that cloud sessions use only what is in the repository, so anything the cloud must follow has to be committed.

(Details on which files to commit are in The .claude Folders and Settings Files.)

Question 17 · Compare

A classmate says, “The Desktop app’s Code tab is just a nicer terminal, so I’ll never need the CLI.” Give two reasons to use the Desktop Code tab and two things that are available only in the CLI.

Suggested answer

Desktop strengths: several sessions side by side in one window (each optionally in its own worktree); a visual diff view where you can comment on changes; a preview pane for your running app; no terminal knowledge needed.

CLI-only: scripting with claude -p (Desktop is interactive only); the dontAsk permission mode; agent teams; terminal commands that open dialogs, such as /permissions. The CLI is also the most complete surface, and it works with API keys and cloud providers.

Question 18 · Long answer

Why is the Chrome integration both powerful and risky? Describe two precautions.

Suggested answer

Powerful: Claude can test your web app in a real browser, read console errors, fill in forms, and work with sites where you’re already logged in, without any extra setup.

Risky: it acts with your logins, so a mistake could send an email, change data, or buy something. A web page can also contain prompt injection: hidden text that tries to give Claude instructions.

Precautions: watch what Claude does, especially on sites involving money, email, or private data; limit which sites Claude may use (site permissions are managed in the Chrome extension’s settings); for sensitive work, use a permission mode in which you approve actions yourself (see Permissions, Modes, and Safety); prefer a test account or a local development site; and don’t let it browse untrusted sites while you’re signed in to important accounts. (A separate, isolated browser is covered in Letting Claude Use a Browser.)

Question 19 · Scenario

Maria wants to show her professor, who doesn’t use Claude Code, a page that walks through the code changes Claude made, with notes. Which Claude Code feature fits, what does it require, and what can’t it do?

Suggested answer

An artifact: she asks Claude to make one, and Claude Code publishes a live page on claude.ai. It stays private until she shares it from the page header. It requires a paid plan and a session signed in with /login (not an API key), in the CLI or the Desktop app. An artifact is a single self-contained page with no back end, so it can’t host a real web application.

Question 20 · Hands-on

Try Claude Code on a second surface. For example, install the VS Code extension, open your practice project, and ask Claude a question about it. Then, in a terminal in the same folder, run claude --resume and look for that conversation. Write down: (1) which surface you tried, (2) whether the conversation appeared in the terminal, and (3) one thing that looked or worked differently from the terminal.

Suggested answer

Answers vary. A good answer names the surface; reports that the conversation from the VS Code extension does appear in the claude --resume list (the extension and the CLI share conversation history); and notes a real difference, for example inline diffs in the editor, a smaller set of slash commands, or no ! shell shortcut in the extension. If you tried the Desktop app instead, /desktop in the terminal (or /resume in the Code tab) moves the session between the two.