Install the agents

Install GitHub CLI, Claude Code, and Codex on the server, and log in to each one from your laptop's browser.

The server has no browser, so each login gives you a link. You open it on your laptop, approve the login, and the tool on the server receives the result. Your laptop's own logins do not carry over, because the server is a separate machine.

Install

GitHub CLI comes from Ubuntu's packages, which need root. Run this once:

ssh root@agent-cloud
apt-get update && apt-get install -y gh
exit

Claude Code and Codex have their own installers. Run these as developer, so each tool lands in that user's home folder:

ssh agent-cloud
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh

If an installer asks you to update your PATH, follow its instruction or reconnect. Then check all three:

gh --version
# gh version 2.46.0

claude --version
# 2.1.280 (Claude Code)

codex --version
# codex-cli 0.156.1

You do not need Node.js for any of these. Your own projects may still need it, or Python, so install those per project.

How the logins work

Log in to one service at a time. Leave the server terminal waiting, copy the link it prints, and open it in your laptop's browser. The code goes a different way for each service:

Service	Where the code goes
GitHub	Copy the code from the terminal into the browser page
Codex	Copy the code from the terminal into the browser page
Claude	If the browser shows a code, paste it into the terminal prompt

GitHub

gh auth login --hostname github.com --git-protocol https --web
gh auth setup-git
gh auth status
# Logged in to github.com account <you>

gh auth setup-git lets git clone and git push use this login. Then set the name and email for your commits:

git config --global user.name "YOUR NAME"
git config --global user.email "YOUR GITHUB COMMIT EMAIL"

The server has no keyring, so GitHub CLI may store its token in a file in your home folder. Never commit that file.

Claude Code

claude auth login
claude auth status --text

Pick the Claude account with your subscription. The --console flag logs in to Anthropic Console instead, which bills API usage.

Codex

Codex logs in with a device code, which your ChatGPT account must allow first. On your laptop, open ChatGPT, then Settings, then Security and login, and turn on Enable device code authorization for Codex. On a work account, an admin may need to allow it.

codex login --device-auth
codex login status

If the browser says to enable device code authorization, turn on the setting and run codex login --device-auth again. The old code no longer works, so use the new one.

Check

Each status command reports that you are logged in. Start claude and codex once, send a short prompt such as "What is in this folder?", and quit.