Support center

How can we help?

Start with the topic that fits. For step-by-step detail on publishing apps, custom domains, and what's installed, see the documentation. If the answer isn't in either, email us; a person reads it.

Getting started

Signing up, your first machine, and connecting your Claude account.

How do I sign up?

Put your email in on the home page and we'll send you a link to get started. Your first 7 days are free; the card comes in when the trial begins, and nothing is charged until day 8.

What happens after I sign up?

You sign in with the link we email you, so there's no password to choose. From your dashboard you start your machine, and about a minute later it's running at your own address on restful.host with Claude Code already installed.

How do I connect my Claude account?

Once during setup, your machine hands you off to claude.ai to sign in. That links your existing Claude Pro or Max subscription and drops the token onto your machine. It's the same one-time step as setting up Claude Code on a new laptop. If you'd rather pay per use, an Anthropic API key works instead.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. You need to be able to describe what you want clearly. You never have to configure a server, write a deploy script, or set up a database. That's the part we handle.

Your machine

What it is, what's on it, and how to reach it.

What exactly am I getting?

A dedicated Linux computer on the internet that's yours alone, not a container that resets or a preview sandbox. It runs Ubuntu with Claude Code, nginx, docker, git, and the usual tools already installed, and it stays on whether or not you're around.

How do I get to it?

Open the browser terminal from your dashboard. It works the same on a laptop or a phone. You can also drive the same session from the Claude app on iOS, Android, or Mac, and SSH in from a real terminal if you prefer.

Does my work keep running when I close the tab?

Yes. Your apps keep serving, background jobs keep running, and your AI keeps its memory of the project. Come back tomorrow from a different device and pick up the same conversation.

Can I install things myself?

Yes, you have root. Anything you can do on a Linux server you can do here, either by asking your AI or by opening a terminal and doing it yourself.

Publishing & domains

Getting a project online and putting your own domain on it.

How do I put a project online?

Ask. Your machine already knows the conventions, so it sets up the web server, picks a subdomain, and issues the certificate. Within seconds the project is live at something like my-app.your-name.restful.host with HTTPS working.

How do I use a domain I already own?

Add it under Domains in your dashboard, pick which project it points at, and paste the DNS record it gives you at your registrar. Once the record resolves, we issue the certificate and switch it over. The step-by-step guide walks through it.

My domain still says pending. What now?

DNS usually spreads within minutes but can take an hour or more. The common causes are the record being added to the wrong domain, an old A or CNAME record for the same name still in place, or the registrar's parking/redirect service sitting on top. Delete the conflicting record and turn off parking.

Do certificates renew on their own?

Yes, both for your restful.host subdomains and for your own domains. You never have to think about renewals.

Billing & trial

The free trial, what you're charged, and cancelling.

How does the free trial work?

Your first 7 days are free. We ask for a card when you start so nothing stops working the moment the trial ends, but you aren't charged until day 8. Cancel before then and you pay nothing.

What does it cost after that?

$59 a month per machine, flat, however many projects you put on it and however many people visit them. See pricing for the full breakdown. Your Claude Pro or Max subscription is separate and paid to Anthropic directly.

How do I update my card or cancel?

Both live in the Stripe billing portal, linked from your dashboard. Cancelling stops future charges; fees already paid aren't refunded, and your machine stays available until the end of the billing period you've paid for.

What happens if a payment fails?

Stripe retries for a while first. If it ultimately fails, your machine isn't destroyed. It keeps running, but the terminal and starting new machines are blocked until billing is sorted out. Update your card and everything comes back.

Your files & privacy

Who can see what, and how to take your work with you.

Can you see what I'm building?

We don't read your conversations or the projects on your machine. We keep provisioning and health logs so we can keep the machine running and help when something breaks, and that's it.

How do I get my projects out?

They're ordinary files on an ordinary Linux machine. Download them over SSH, push them to GitHub, or ask your AI to package everything up for you. Nothing is stored in a format that only works here.

What happens to my machine if I leave?

It stays available until the end of the period you've paid for, so take a copy of anything you want before then. If you need more time to get files off, email us.

When something breaks

The failures we see most often, and what fixes them.

The terminal won't connect

Reload the page first, since the connection can drop on a flaky network or when a phone sleeps. If it still won't connect, check your dashboard: if billing has lapsed the terminal is blocked on purpose. Otherwise email us and we'll look at the machine.

Claude says it's signed out

Claude sessions expire eventually, the same as on a laptop. Re-run the connect step from your dashboard to hand off to claude.ai again, and the new token lands on your machine.

My app was working and now the page won't load

Ask your AI. It can read the logs on the machine and usually finds it faster than you will. The most common causes are a process that crashed and needs restarting, or a change that didn't survive a reboot.

Something is wrong with the machine itself

That one's ours. Email hello@restful.host with what you were doing and roughly when, and we'll take a look.

Still stuck?

Email us with what you were doing and roughly when it happened. That's usually enough for us to find it in the logs.

hello@restful.host

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