Desktop application changeddesktop
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Upstream edited this page at 14 Oct 2026 21:51 UTC, give or take a minute or two: the time comes from Anthropic’s own sitemap rather than from a commit. This site recorded the change at 14 Oct 2026 22:07 UTC.
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##### Use variables from your shell in a `ProxyCommand` ##### Forwarding settings that Desktop leaves off #### Reach a port on the remote machine ##### End one session's process ##### See who connected to the remote machine
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113113
114114The Browser pane can also open static HTML files, PDFs, images, and videos from your project. Click an HTML, PDF, image, or video path in the chat to open it there.
115115
116<Note>
117 In an [SSH session](#ssh-sessions), Claude can't open your app in the Browser pane, because it doesn't have the pane's tools there. To look at the app yourself, [forward its port to your computer](#reach-a-port-on-the-remote-machine).
118</Note>
119
116120From the Browser pane, you can:
117121
118122* Interact with your running app directly in the Browser pane
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186190
187191<Note>
188192 PR monitoring requires the [GitHub CLI (`gh`)](https://cli.github.com/) to be installed and authenticated on your machine. If `gh` is not installed, Desktop prompts you to install it the first time you try to create a PR.
193
194 In an [SSH session](#ssh-sessions), set up `git` and `gh` on the remote machine before you click **Create PR**, because Claude pushes the branch and runs `gh pr create` there. Install `gh` there yourself, because Desktop doesn't prompt you to in an SSH session. Then check there that `git push` works and that `gh auth status` reports that you are logged in.
189195</Note>
190196
191197## Arrange your workspace
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695701
696702### Local sessions
697703
698The desktop app does not always inherit your full shell environment. On macOS, when you launch the app from the Dock or Finder, it reads your shell profile, such as `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`, to extract `PATH` and a fixed set of Claude Code variables, but other variables you export there are not picked up. On Windows, the app inherits user and system environment variables but does not read PowerShell profiles.
704The desktop app does not always inherit your full shell environment. On macOS, when you launch the app from the Dock or Finder, it reads your shell profile, such as `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc`, to give Claude Code `PATH` and a fixed set of Claude Code variables, but not other variables you export there. On Windows, the app inherits user and system environment variables but does not read PowerShell profiles.
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700706To set environment variables for local sessions and dev servers on any platform, open the environment dropdown in the prompt box, hover over **Local**, and click the gear icon to open the local environment editor. Variables you save here are stored encrypted on your machine and apply to every local session and preview server you start. You can also add variables to the `env` key in your `~/.claude/settings.json` file, though these reach Claude sessions only and not dev servers. See [environment variables](/docs/en/env-vars) for the full list of supported variables.
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777783Enter `devbox` in the **SSH host** field.
778784
785##### Use variables from your shell in a `ProxyCommand`
786
787To use an environment variable of your own in a `ProxyCommand` or `Match exec` command, export it in a shell startup file, such as `~/.zshrc`, then quit and reopen Desktop. When Desktop starts, it reads what your login shell exports, and it keeps those values until you quit.
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789This requires Claude Desktop v2.37337.0 or later and an `env` command that accepts `-0`, which you can check by running `env -0` in a terminal on your computer.
790
779791##### Raise the SSH connection timeout
780792
781793If your SSH configuration sets no `ConnectTimeout` for the host, Desktop gives `ssh` 30 seconds to connect. Through a jump host or a `ProxyCommand`, that time includes the time the route takes to connect. If your route needs longer, add a higher value to the entry:
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790802
791803`ssh` uses the first value it finds for a host, so keep the entry above any `Host *` entry that sets `ConnectTimeout`. To confirm, run `ssh -G devbox` in a terminal on your computer. Its output includes `connecttimeout 120`. After you change the value, quit and reopen Desktop.
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805##### Forwarding settings that Desktop leaves off
806
807On its connection to the remote machine, Desktop leaves `ForwardAgent`, `ForwardX11`, `LocalForward`, `RemoteForward`, `DynamicForward`, and `Tunnel` off, even where your SSH configuration turns them on. In the [terminal](#run-commands-in-the-terminal) or a `!` command, expect your forwarding settings to apply [only sometimes](#limits-while-desktop-is-disconnected), because Desktop can start a separate `ssh` there that follows them.
808
809* **To reach a port on the remote machine**: [forward it yourself](#reach-a-port-on-the-remote-machine)
810* **To use your own keys from the remote machine**: set up a credential on the remote machine itself, for example for `git push`
811
812To keep Desktop from forwarding your SSH agent or a port, run `ssh -G devbox` in a terminal on your computer. Then run it again as Desktop can run it, with the `hostname` and `user` values that it prints, as in `ssh -G -o HostName=devbox.internal.example.com -l alice devbox`. The second output can show settings from a `Match` block that the first skips.
813
814Look in both outputs for a `forwardagent` line that says anything but `no`, and for lines that begin with `localforward`, `remoteforward`, or `dynamicforward`. If you find one, remove that setting from your SSH configuration. Do the same for a host that your `ProxyCommand` reaches with `ssh`.
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816#### Reach a port on the remote machine
817
818To open a server that runs on the remote machine, such as a dev server on port 3000, forward the port yourself. In a terminal on your computer, run `ssh` with `-L` and the host you connect to, such as `devbox`:
819
820```bash theme={null}
821ssh -N -L 3000:localhost:3000 devbox
822```
823
824If you filled in **SSH port** or **SSH key (optional)** on the connection, add `-p` or `-i` with the same value. Leave that command running, and open `http://localhost:3000` in a browser on your computer to reach port 3000 of the remote machine. If `ssh` prints `open failed: administratively prohibited`, ask the machine's administrator to allow TCP forwarding, which `AllowTcpForwarding` in the SSH server's `sshd_config` controls.
825
793826#### Windows remote machines
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795828A Windows remote machine requires Claude Desktop v2.31226.0 or later.
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9851018 </Step>
9861019
9871020 <Step title="End the processes">
988 Logged in as that user on the remote machine, run `kill` with each process ID that [`pgrep`](#files-and-processes-on-the-remote-machine) lists, which stops any task that is still running.
1021 Logged in as that user on the remote machine, run `kill` with each process ID that [`pgrep`](#files-and-processes-on-the-remote-machine) lists.
9891022 </Step>
9901023
9911024 <Step title="Delete the folder">
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9931026 </Step>
9941027</Steps>
9951028
1029##### End one session's process
1030
1031To end one session's Claude Code process, [archive the session](#work-in-parallel-with-sessions) in Desktop while Desktop is connected to the remote machine. The process keeps running after its task is done and after you quit Desktop.
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1033Before you archive a session that has a worktree, see [Work in parallel with sessions](#work-in-parallel-with-sessions).
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1035##### See who connected to the remote machine
1036
1037To find out who connected to a remote machine, read the SSH server's log on that machine, where a login from Desktop looks like one from a terminal. With Desktop on macOS or Linux, expect an entry each time Desktop connects, not one for each session.
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9961039#### Use MCP servers set up on the remote machine
9971040
9981041To use an [MCP server](/docs/en/mcp) from `~/.claude.json` or a project's `.mcp.json` in an SSH session, set it up in those files on the remote machine. Claude Code starts their stdio servers there, so install the commands those servers run on the remote machine. For servers from `claude_desktop_config.json`, see [Limits while Desktop is disconnected](#limits-while-desktop-is-disconnected).
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11201163* **Cowork**: none of the keys applies to [Cowork](https://claude.com/docs/cowork/overview) sessions or Cowork scheduled tasks
11211164* **Cloud sessions**: none of the keys changes whether [cloud sessions](#cloud-sessions) are available. To turn them off, use the **Cloud sessions** setting under [Admin console controls](#admin-console-controls).
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1123When you adapt the example, check the hostnames and the Desktop version:
1166When you adapt the example, check the hostnames, the Desktop version, and the file's permissions:
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11251168* **Hostnames**: make sure that a pattern in `sshHostAllowlist` matches the hostname of each `sshConfigs` entry, without `user@`, or developers can't connect to it. For how Desktop matches a hostname, see [Restrict which SSH hosts users can connect to](#restrict-which-ssh-hosts-users-can-connect-to).
11261169* **Version**: `disableDesktopLocalSessions` requires Claude Desktop v1.37937.0 or later
1170* **File permissions**: make sure that each developer's account on the computer can read the managed settings file. Desktop doesn't apply the keys in a file that the account can't read, and Claude Code [starts without them](/docs/en/managed-settings#find-entries-claude-code-dropped) too.
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11281172Put the three keys in one [managed source](/docs/en/managed-settings#how-claude-code-combines-managed-sources), the highest-ranked one that you deliver. If you deliver [server-managed settings](/docs/en/server-managed-settings), also keep a copy of the three keys in the highest-ranked MDM policy or managed settings file on each computer. Desktop fetches server-managed settings at launch, and the copy on the computer applies until a fetch succeeds.
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