Claude Projects can run local tasks: sleeping computers pause, and 200 threads is not concurrency

Who has Projects, and what can run locally now?

As of October 10, Projects documentation explains local threads through Remote Control, which lets web or mobile operate Claude Code on your computer. Files and local tools stay there. The September 17 launch described this as a future plan; current documentation establishes present capability.

Projects remains Pro/Max public beta with gradual rollout and a waitlist. Team and Enterprise are not yet available. Ordinary Claude Code cloud sessions support more plans, which does not establish organizational Projects access. Check your own sidebar.

The coordinator divides goals, dispatches threads, reads results, and arranges subsequent work. Cloud threads share project instructions and memory but have separate task contexts. Local threads receive project instructions at startup without loading project memory files. Small isolated fixes may not need a project; sustained related work can benefit more.

When should a task run locally rather than in the cloud?

Choose local threads for a local database, development tools, or an environment reachable only from that machine. Cloud threads do not inherit those resources. Cloud repositories still need official GitHub access conditions; folder authorization cannot replace cloud repository permissions.

Hypothetical example: send a bug reproducible only in a local development database to a local thread while an independent documentation task stays in the cloud. This was not executed. Define read and modification boundaries and delegate a small independently reviewable task.

Cloud threads can continue with the laptop shut. Local threads require an awake computer and active Remote Control: sleep pauses them, and exiting the desktop app or terminal process stops the connection. Viewing from a phone does not move execution to the cloud.

Three steps to give a task the correct directory

Before starting, check Require trusted devices. Current documentation says Projects cannot run local threads with that setting. This is a device-trust boundary; do not disable it without authorization merely to try the feature.

First confirm Claude Code 2.1.280 or newer. In desktop Settings > Claude Code, enable Use this computer from your phone and claude.ai and add allowed folders. Alternatively run claude remote-control in the intended directory and leave the process active.

Second, select Work locally through the plus menu beside the project conversation input and describe the task and acceptance criteria. You can also explicitly request local execution. Sending a local path to a cloud thread does not make it accessible.

Third, select the correct folder on the Allow Claude to work in a folder on your device card and choose Allow once. Threads editing one directory may overwrite each other. For Git repositories, enable Worktree in folder options for separate working copies.

Local threads use auto mode for commands and edits without individual prompts. If auto mode is unavailable or disabled on the computer, permission prompts wait for handling in the specific thread. Inspect folder scope before authorizing; one coordinator reply does not replace every thread's permission.

200 new threads does not mean 200 free concurrent jobs

The official limit is 200 new threads per day across all projects. No fixed concurrency is promised. Asking to run only two simultaneously is an instruction preference, not a hard system limit, and the number grants no 200 extra free tasks.

Project conversations and full running threads consume plan usage shared with other Claude Code sessions. Idle PR-monitoring threads can wake for CI failures or review comments and resume consumption. No current output does not mean permanently stopped.

Project settings > Usage breaks down consumption by thread, model, and project conversation. Reduce concurrent work, use a smaller model or lower effort, or stop finished threads monitoring PRs to constrain it. effort controls reasoning investment, not a fixed-price guarantee.

Why can work resume after the allowance is exhausted?

Ordinary threads and project conversations wait after five-hour or weekly limits and resume automatically after reset, potentially consuming the next window. Stop the thread or pause the project if continuation is unwanted. Routine-started threads are different: documentation says that run ends at the limit and needs another message after reset. A routine is a scheduled or otherwise regularly triggered workflow.

Work can continue beyond plan limits with usage credits only when you already enabled them; threads cannot enable them for you. A model or context outside the plan can also require credits. These are extra-use credits, not a known fixed cost per job; no account bill or measured task cost was obtained here.

Verify the connection and result before expanding scope

Use the laptop icon in a local thread title to see connection and directory. For Lost contact with your folder, wake the computer, check the desktop app or claude remote-control process, and confirm the folder remains allowed. Losing contact does not mean repository work completed.

After receiving results, inspect file differences, test evidence, and PR changes. Pausing the coordinator does not undo pushed branches or other side effects. Project instructions and local memory have different sources; do not assume previous local constraints automatically cover every new thread.