Remote Task

Remote Task Skill

Launch Claude tasks on remote kube-coder workspace pods, check their status, or view output.

Prerequisites

This skill requires:

1. kubectl access to the cluster
2. A running workspace pod (deployed via make deploy-<user>)
3. An API token generated on the pod

How It Works

The workspace pod runs a Python HTTP server on port 6080 that exposes a Claude Task API. Tasks launch as interactive tmux sessions running claude — users can attach to approve permissions and provide input.

Commands

Based on $ARGUMENTS, perform ONE of the following:

1. If $ARGUMENTS is "status" — List all tasks

# Port-forward if needed
kubectl port-forward -n coder svc/ws-imran 6080:6080 &
PF_PID=$!
sleep 2

TOKEN=$(kubectl exec -n coder $(kubectl get pods -n coder -l app=ws-imran -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}') -c ide -- cat /home/dev/.claude-tasks/.api-token 2>/dev/null)

curl -s "http://localhost:6080/api/claude/tasks" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" | python3 -m json.tool

kill $PF_PID 2>/dev/null

Display the results as a formatted table showing: task_id, status, prompt (truncated), and created_at (as relative time).

2. If $ARGUMENTS starts with "attach" — Show how to attach to a task

Extract the task ID from the arguments. Then tell the user:

• Open the dashboard at the workspace URL and click "Attach" on the task
• Or run: kubectl exec -it -n coder <pod> -c ide -- tmux attach-session -t claude-<task_id>

Also show recent output:

kubectl exec -n coder <pod> -c ide -- tmux capture-pane -t claude-<TASK_ID> -p -S -30

3. If $ARGUMENTS starts with "output" — Show task output

Extract the task ID from the arguments. Run:

kubectl exec -n coder <pod> -c ide -- tmux capture-pane -t claude-<TASK_ID> -p -S -50

4. If $ARGUMENTS starts with "kill" — Kill a task

Extract the task ID from the arguments. Run:

kubectl port-forward -n coder svc/ws-imran 6080:6080 &
PF_PID=$!
sleep 2

TOKEN=$(kubectl exec -n coder $(kubectl get pods -n coder -l app=ws-imran -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}') -c ide -- cat /home/dev/.claude-tasks/.api-token 2>/dev/null)

curl -s -X DELETE "http://localhost:6080/api/claude/tasks/<TASK_ID>" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" | python3 -m json.tool

kill $PF_PID 2>/dev/null

5. Otherwise — Launch a new task

The $ARGUMENTS is the prompt to send to the remote Claude. Execute:

# Ensure port-forward is active
lsof -ti:6080 | xargs kill 2>/dev/null
kubectl port-forward -n coder svc/ws-imran 6080:6080 &
PF_PID=$!
sleep 2

# Get the API token from the pod
POD=$(kubectl get pods -n coder -l app=ws-imran -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
TOKEN=$(kubectl exec -n coder $POD -c ide -- cat /home/dev/.claude-tasks/.api-token 2>/dev/null)

# If no token exists, create one
if [ -z "$TOKEN" ]; then
  TOKEN=$(kubectl exec -n coder $POD -c ide -- python3 -c "
import secrets, os
d = '/home/dev/.claude-tasks'
os.makedirs(d, mode=0o700, exist_ok=True)
t = secrets.token_urlsafe(36)
with open(os.path.join(d, '.api-token'), 'w') as f: f.write(t)
os.chmod(os.path.join(d, '.api-token'), 0o600)
print(t)
")
fi

# Create the task
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:6080/api/claude/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d "$(python3 -c "import json; print(json.dumps({'prompt': $(python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.dumps(sys.argv[1]))" "$ARGUMENTS"), 'workdir': '/home/dev'}))")" \
  | python3 -m json.tool

kill $PF_PID 2>/dev/null

After launching, wait a few seconds and check the tmux pane to confirm the task started:

sleep 8
kubectl exec -n coder $POD -c ide -- tmux capture-pane -t claude-<TASK_ID> -p -S -20

Report the task_id and tmux_session name back to the user so they know how to attach.

API Reference

All endpoints are under http://localhost:6080/api/claude/ (via port-forward) and require Authorization: Bearer <token> header.

Notes

• Tasks run as interactive Claude sessions in tmux. The user can attach to approve file writes or provide input.
• The workspace must have Claude authenticated (run claude then /login in the pod terminal if needed).
• GitHub App credentials are auto-configured if set in the Helm values — private repo access works out of the box.
• The default workspace is ws-imran in the coder namespace. Adjust pod labels/names for other users.

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