Connect Claude Desktop to a sandbox
Claude Desktop can run Claude Code on a remote machine over SSH. Point it at a sandbox so the agent works inside the isolated environment instead of on your host.
NoteThis page covers Claude Desktop connecting to a sandbox over SSH. To run the Claude Code CLI inside a sandbox directly, see Claude Code.
Prerequisites
- SSH access set up. See Editor and app integrations.
- An existing named sandbox. See Create or identify a sandbox.
- Claude Desktop installed.
Connect
Confirm that you can connect to the sandbox from a terminal:
$ ssh demo.sbx
In Claude Desktop, open the environment drop-down before starting a session and
select + Add SSH connection. Enter a name for the connection and enter the
sandbox hostname, such as demo.sbx, in SSH Host. Leave SSH Port and
Identity File empty because the managed SSH config supplies them.
Select the connection from the environment drop-down, then use the remote
folder picker to
select the mounted workspace. The
picker might initially open at /home/agent.
For more connection options, see the Claude Desktop instructions for SSH sessions.
Troubleshoot SSH connection timeouts on Windows
Claude Desktop requires Git on Windows. If an SSH connection times out and the
Claude Desktop logs include ProxyCommand error: spawn sh ENOENT, install
Git for Windows.
If Git is already installed, verify that sh.exe is available on your PATH:
PS> where.exe shIf the command doesn't find sh.exe, add the Git bin directory to your user
Path. The default directory is C:\Program Files\Git\bin. Quit and restart
Claude Desktop after updating Path.
Related
- Editor and app integrations — how SSH access works and how to set it up
- Claude Code — run the Claude Code CLI inside a sandbox