# Push before cloud, commit before idle

> A Claude Code cloud session clones from GitHub and its idle VM is reclaimed, so push before claude --cloud and commit before you walk away.

URL: https://bartlomiejkrupa.dev/notes/push-before-cloud-commit-before-idle/
Category: rule | Updated: 2026-10-26
Summary: A Claude Code cloud session clones from GitHub and its idle VM is reclaimed, so push before claude --cloud and commit before you walk away.

Push your branch before `claude --cloud`, and commit before the session goes idle. Unpushed commits never reach the VM, and an idle VM is reclaimed with anything uncommitted on it.

## Why

- `claude --cloud` clones your GitHub remote at your current branch.
- Reopening a reclaimed session restores the conversation on a fresh machine, not the files.
- One user report (#100853) describes about 2.5 hours of finished work that could not be retrieved after a reclaim. That is a single report, not a rate.

## Checklist

1. `git push` the current branch.
2. Tell the agent to commit as it goes on long tasks.
3. Finish background shells before you leave; a turn that ends with tests still running is a reclaim risk.

Full guide: [claude --cloud: the GitHub token never enters the VM](/articles/claude-code-cloud-sessions).

Sources:
- Claude Code in the cloud: a field guide to cloud sessions: https://claude.dev/blog/claude-code-in-the-cloud/
- --cloud: finished work stranded (#100853): https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/100853