Cloud Workflows & GitHub Actions

~16 min · remote, cicd, github-actions, cloud, spot-instances

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Local prototype, cloud execution, no context loss

Remote shines in CI/CD by inverting the usual pattern. You don't push raw prompts to a CI runner; you prototype with full context locally, then hand off the established session to the runner. Heavy work runs where compute is cheap; thinking happens where iteration is fast.

The pattern: claude locally, iterate until the task is well-shaped, claude remote handoff ci-runner, the CI runner finishes the heavy task with the established context, results pulled back. Or fully unattended: cron + claude exec with --output-last-message.

Cost lever: use Spot/Preemptible VMs as Remote targets. Sessions can be handed back to local before preemption, so 60–90% cost savings come with no workflow disruption. Combine with Docker for reproducible target environments and you're at production-grade economics.

Code

Provision an EC2 Remote target·bash

aws ec2 run-instances \
  --image-id ami-0abcdef1234567890 \
  --instance-type c6i.2xlarge \
  --key-name my-key \
  --security-group-ids sg-0abc123 \
  --tag-specifications 'ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Purpose,Value=claude-remote}]' \
  --user-data '#!/bin/bash
    apt-get update -y
    curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash -
    apt-get install -y nodejs git
    npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
  '

# Add to SSH config
echo "
Host claude-ci
    HostName \$(aws ec2 describe-instances ...)
    User ubuntu
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/my-key.pem
" >> ~/.ssh/config

claude remote add claude-ci

Overnight cron + Spot instance·bash

# crontab -e (on the always-on Remote target)
0 23 * * 1-5 /usr/local/bin/claude exec \
  --path /workspace/myproject \
  "Run full test suite, fix failures you can, update deps, \
   write a summary report." \
  --output-last-message \
  >> /var/log/claude-nightly.log 2>&1

# Or trigger from your local machine
claude remote handoff --resume claude-ci
# Walk away. Job runs on Spot. Comes back on local hand-back.

External links

Exercise

Provision a small cloud VM (free tier or cheapest Spot). Install Claude Code, configure SSH, register as a Remote target. Hand off a real handoff-worthy task (e.g., long test suite) and verify the savings on your local machine while it runs remote.

Progress

Progress is local-only — sign in to sync across devices.

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