Run Claude Code Anywhere With a Single Command

I wanted the real Claude Code from anywhere: phone, random PC. Not the web version with its limitations—the actual CLI with plan mode, autonomous agents, and persistent workspace.

So I built a quick thing. One command, max ~$18/month, full VS Code + Claude Code accessible from anywhere.

The Problem

Claude Code on claude.ai is nice for quick stuff, but it's not the same beast as the CLI:

• No plan mode
• No long-running agents that can iterate autonomously
• Ephemeral filesystem
• Etc.

The good stuff lives in the terminal. I wanted that on my phone.

The Solution

+-------------+      HTTPS/443   +-----------------------------+
|   Browser   | ---------------> |  EC2 Instance               |
+-------------+                  |  +-- nginx (reverse proxy)  |
                                 |  +-- code-server (VS Code)  |
+-------------+      SSH/22      |  +-- Claude Code CLI        |
| SSH Client  | ---------------> |                             |
+-------------+                  +-----------------------------+
                                           |
                                           v
                                 +-----------------------------+
                                 |  Route 53 (optional)        |
                                 |  dev.yourdomain.com -> IP   |
                                 +-----------------------------+

One EC2 instance. ARM64 because it's cheaper. code-server for VS Code in the browser. Claude Code CLI pre-installed. Done.

Why the T4g instance?

The t4g.small runs on AWS Graviton2:

• around $12/month on-demand (if always on)
• 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM
• Perfect for this use case (Claude Code is mostly API calls, not local compute)

Could go even cheaper with t4g.micro at ~$6/month if you're feeling adventurous with the RAM, or upgrade to t4g.small to get double the RAM.

The Setup

Prerequisites

• AWS CLI configured
• Node.js 18+
• CDK (`npm install -g aws-cdk`)
• An EC2 key pair
• A domain you control
• 5 minutes

1. Store your password in SSM

aws ssm put-parameter \
  --name "/claude-server/code-server-password" \
  --type SecureString \
  --value "your-actual-strong-password"

This is a one-time thing. Password stored securely, not floating around in CloudFormation templates or EC2 user-data logs.

2. Clone and configure

git clone https://github.com/ThomasHoussin/claude-server
cd claude-server
npm install
cp config/config.example.ts config/config.ts

Edit config/config.ts:

export const config: Config = {
  region: 'us-east-1',
  domain: 'dev.yourdomain.com',
  hostedZoneId: 'ZXXXXXXXXXXXXX',  // optional, for auto DNS
  useElasticIp: true,
  email: 'you@email.com',
  keyPairName: 'your-keypair',
  instanceType: 't4g.small',
  volumeSize: 30,
};

3. Deploy

cdk bootstrap  # first time only
cdk deploy

That's it.

4. Wait a few minutes

The init script does the boring stuff:

• Installs nginx, node, code-server
• Grabs your password from SSM
• Sets up HTTPS with Let's Encrypt (automatic)
• Installs Claude Code CLI

If you want to have a look or to debug:

ssh ec2-user@dev.yourdomain.com
tail -f /var/log/user-data.log

Using It

Browser: https://dev.yourdomain.com → enter password → VS Code

SSH: ssh ec2-user@dev.yourdomain.com → claude

If you enabled SSH password auth in the config, the instance reuses your SSM password. No keys to manage on mobile, just password and go. I use WebSSH on iOS for SSH, tabby for terminal, but any other should work.

When using claude for the first time you'll need to authenticate (works on ssh with challenge/response). GitHub CLI is also installed ; use gh auth login to login; I created a classic token on https://github.com/settings/tokens with repo, workflow and read:org. Paste in terminal when asked and you're good to go.

After that my workflow is: start Claude in Plan mode; have it plan the requested changes, but make it work on a new branch, commit and create a PR at the end. This allows to review the modifications in the browser (and it triggers the review if configured on the repo).

What's Actually Happening

DNS management

I use an Elastic IP so CDK can create the Route 53 record at deploy time:

if (config.useElasticIp && config.hostedZoneId) {
  new ARecord(this, 'DevServerDNS', {
    zone: hostedZone,
    recordName: config.domain,
    target: RecordTarget.fromIpAddresses(eip.attrPublicIp),
  });
}

You could do it on the instance with a script, but then you need to give EC2 Route 53 permissions. I don't love that.

Password flow

1. You create a SecureString in SSM (once)
2. CDK gives the EC2 role permission to read it
3. Init script fetches it at boot via aws ssm get-parameter --with-decryption
4. Password never touches user-data or logs

Cost Breakdown

Stop the instance when you're not using it, and it's basically just storage and IP costs.

Why not Codespaces/Gitpod/other solution?

There are probably many other solutions that could do the same thing. I liked the idea of having a simple solution that I can deploy and delete easily, and where I am completely in control. So, here we are.

Cleanup

cdk destroy

Everything gone. Don't forget to delete your SSM parameter if you're truly done:

aws ssm delete-parameter --name "/claude-server/code-server-password"

That's It

Claude Code in your pocket. Plan mode, agents, persistent workspace, the works.

Code's on GitHub. It's like 200 lines of CDK and a bash script. Nothing fancy, but it works.