Run Claude Code on Windows without WSL

For a long time, WSL was the usual way to use Claude Code on Windows. Today there are alternatives. For working with agents, one of them is particularly practical: the agent runs on a Linux machine that you control from Windows over SSH.

Three options on Windows

Natively on Windows. Claude Code now runs directly on Windows. You install it in PowerShell with:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Git for Windows is optional. The agent then works on your Windows computer with your permissions, though, and the Claude Code sandbox is not available on native Windows.

With WSL. Claude Code runs in a Linux environment on your computer. This works well, but takes setup and disk space. And the agent only works while your computer is running.

On a Linux machine over SSH. The agent runs on a server, and you connect to it from Windows. It is separated from your Windows files and keeps working when you shut down your computer. For working with agents, we recommend this approach, and it is what the rest of this guide covers.

Create an SSH key

Windows ships with an OpenSSH client. Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and check with ssh -V whether it is installed. If not, add “OpenSSH Client” under “Optional features” in the Windows settings.

Then create a key and confirm the suggested location:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

Display the public part of the key like this:

Get-Content $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub

Add this text on the server, for example to the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys or in your provider’s customer area.

Save the connection in your SSH config

So that you do not have to type the address and user every time, create a file named config in the .ssh folder of your user directory, without a file extension, and enter:

Host meinserver
  HostName 203.0.113.10
  User dev

Replace the address and user with your own values. From now on, this is enough:

ssh meinserver

VS Code with Remote-SSH

If you prefer to work in an editor, install the “Remote - SSH” extension from Microsoft in VS Code. Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P and select “Remote-SSH: Connect to Host...”. VS Code reads your SSH config; you select meinserver and from then on work with files and the terminal directly on the server.

Claude Code on the Linux machine

Install Claude Code on the server:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Then start it with claude and sign in with your Claude account or an API key. To keep the agent running when you shut down Windows or the connection drops, start it in a tmux session. The guide Keep Claude Code running with your laptop closed shows how.

Summary

You do not need WSL to use Claude Code on Windows. With the built-in SSH client, Windows Terminal and VS Code, you can work comfortably with an agent on a Linux machine, cleanly separated from your computer. If you would rather skip setting up the server: the euhost Box is exactly that kind of machine, ready to use and hosted in Germany.