Setting Up on a Server

Same operating system, same diagnostic, same everything. The only difference is where it lives.

Which guide should you be reading?

Your computer — fastest way to start. Nothing to rent, nothing to configure. Your agent is available whenever your laptop is open. This is the right choice for most people, and you can move to a server later without losing anything.

A server — a computer you rent that is always on. Your agent is reachable from any device you own, it keeps running when your laptop is closed, and more than one person can share it. Roughly $55–65 a month, and about two hours to set up once.

Choose the server if any of these are true: you want your agent reachable from your phone, you want it doing scheduled work while you sleep, or more than one person on your team needs it.

You do not need to be a developer. You need about two hours, a credit card, and a willingness to copy and paste into a black window.

One warning before you start

Do not reorder the steps

There is exactly one way to seriously hurt yourself here: locking yourself out of your own server. It happens when someone turns off password logins before confirming their key works.

This guide is ordered specifically to prevent that. When a step says to keep a window open, keep it open.

Before you start

A credit card, an email address you control, and a terminal on your laptop.

Mac: Command+Space, type Terminal, press Enter. Windows: Start menu, type PowerShell, press Enter.

Everything shown in code below is something you type or paste into that window.

The steps

Part One — build the server

1. What You Are Actually Building
2. Make Your Key
3. Create the Server
4. First Login and Swap
5. Create Your Own Account
6. Lock the Front Door
7. Join the Private Network
8. Close the Public Door
9. Install Claude Code on the Server

Part Two — connect and install

10. Connect Your Editor
11. Daily Routine and Maintenance
12. Before You Call It Done
13. Server Troubleshooting
14. What It Costs