Remote control sessions should persist without interactive re-login

[hpayettepeterson]

Problem

Remote control is designed for a common use case: leaving a machine running at home and controlling it from another device via claude.ai/code. But in practice, the OAuth token expires after a couple of days, killing the remote control session. Re-authenticating requires claude /login, which opens a browser on the host machine — defeating the purpose of remote access.

This makes remote control unreliable for its primary use case. Users end up needing SSH + Tailscale + launchd just to keep sessions alive, which is far too much setup for something that should work natively through the Claude account.

Expected behavior

• Remote control sessions should stay authenticated long-term (days/weeks, not hours)
• If a token does expire, it should refresh automatically without interactive login
• Alternatively, allow re-authentication from claude.ai/code itself — the user is already logged into the same account there

Current workaround

• SSH into the host machine and run claude /login to get a new token
• Requires the host machine to have SSH enabled and be reachable (same network or VPN)
• Not feasible when away from the home network without additional infrastructure (Tailscale, port forwarding, etc.)

Environment

• Claude Code v2.1.80
• macOS
• Pro plan, OAuth authentication

[IronsideXXVI]

I got tired of this and switched to using a setup-token so that I don't have to re-authorize multiple times a day...

Turns out Claude Code wrongly identifies using a setup-token as API based usage therefore blocking access to using certain features such as remote control.

[github-actions]

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.