diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 77488b6..e53aed1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -19,13 +19,15 @@ a detached tmux session on the remote so the work survives the SSH drop.
   creates) a per-user tmux session on `<host>` named `claude-$(whoami)`.
   Detach with `Ctrl-b d`; transport drops don't kill the shell.
 
-- **`bin/rclaude <host> [dir]`** — Remote, durable Claude Code session.
-  Stacks two resilience layers: tmux survives transport drops, and
-  `claude --continue` resumes the per-directory session from
+- **`bin/rclaude <host> [dir]`** — Durable Claude Code session, local or
+  remote. Stacks two resilience layers: tmux survives terminal/transport
+  drops, and `claude --continue` resumes the per-directory session from
   `~/.claude/projects/` after anything kills the host itself. Re-running
   with the same `<host>` + `<dir>` always lands back in the same
-  conversation. Defaults to `--dangerously-skip-permissions`; override with
-  `RCLAUDE_PERMS=default` (or any other `--permission-mode` value).
+  conversation. `<host>` can be any ssh target, or `local`/`localhost`/the
+  local hostname to skip ssh and use a local tmux session (still detachable
+  for terminal/network resilience). Defaults to
+  `--dangerously-skip-permissions`; override with `RCLAUDE_PERMS=default`.
 
 ## Install
 
diff --git a/bin/rclaude b/bin/rclaude
index 50e04f9..edd87a9 100755
--- a/bin/rclaude
+++ b/bin/rclaude
@@ -1,38 +1,43 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 # rclaude <host> [dir]
 #
-# Remote, durable Claude Code session. Two layers of resilience stacked:
+# Durable Claude Code session, local or remote. Two layers of resilience:
 #
-#   1. tmux on <host> survives transport drops (network, lid close, ssh kill)
+#   1. tmux on <host> survives terminal/transport drops (network, lid close,
+#      ssh kill, terminal crash) — works even when <host> is the local box
+#      because the local terminal can also die independently.
 #   2. `claude --continue` resumes the per-directory session from disk after
-#      anything kills the host itself (reboot, crash, OOM)
+#      anything kills the host itself (reboot, crash, OOM).
 #
-# Re-running with the same <host> + <dir> always lands you back where you
-# were: tmux reattaches if alive, claude --continue picks up the conversation
-# from ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/ otherwise.
+# Re-running with the same <host> + <dir> always lands you back in the same
+# conversation: tmux reattaches if alive, claude --continue picks up from
+# ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/ otherwise.
+#
+# <host> can be:
+#   - any ssh-reachable target (Host alias, user@hostname, IP)
+#   - "local", "localhost", or the local short/long hostname → no ssh,
+#     just a local tmux session (still detachable with Ctrl-b d)
 #
 # Permission mode: --dangerously-skip-permissions is on by default — these
-# are remote sessions on hosts you own. Override with RCLAUDE_PERMS=default
-# (or any other --permission-mode value) if you want prompts back.
+# are sessions on hosts you own. Override with RCLAUDE_PERMS=default (or any
+# other --permission-mode value) if you want prompts back.
 #
 # Usage:
-#   rclaude apricot                          # remote home dir
-#   rclaude apricot ~/Code/@projects/foo     # specific dir
-#   rclaude apricot @proj/lilith             # alias from project-paths.md
-#                                            # works if remote shell expands it
+#   rclaude apricot                          # remote home dir on apricot
+#   rclaude apricot ~/Code/@projects/foo     # remote, specific dir
+#   rclaude local ~/Code/@projects/foo       # local tmux-wrapped session
+#   rclaude $(hostname) ~                    # same — detected as local
 
 set -eu
 
 if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
-    echo "usage: $0 <host> [dir]   (dir defaults to remote \$HOME)" >&2
+    echo "usage: $0 <host> [dir]   (dir defaults to remote/local \$HOME)" >&2
     exit 2
 fi
 
 host=$1
 dir=${2:-\~}
 
-# tmux session name unique per (user, dir) so multiple Claude sessions on the
-# same host don't collide. Slug is the path with non-alnum collapsed.
 slug=$(printf %s "$dir" | sed -e 's|^[~/]*||' -e 's|[^A-Za-z0-9]|-|g')
 [ -z "$slug" ] && slug=home
 session="claude-$(whoami)-${slug}"
@@ -43,8 +48,22 @@ case $perms in
     *)      flag="--permission-mode $perms" ;;
 esac
 
-# cd then exec claude. exec replaces the shell so the tmux pane dies cleanly
-# when claude exits (instead of leaving a stray shell behind).
-inner="cd ${dir} && exec claude --continue ${flag}"
+is_local() {
+    case $1 in
+        local|localhost|127.0.0.1|::1) return 0 ;;
+    esac
+    [ "$1" = "$(hostname)" ] && return 0
+    [ "$1" = "$(hostname -s 2>/dev/null)" ] && return 0
+    return 1
+}
 
+if is_local "$host"; then
+    # No ssh hop — just local tmux. eval expands ~ and env vars in dir.
+    eval "cd ${dir}"
+    exec tmux new-session -A -s "$session" "exec claude --continue ${flag}"
+fi
+
+# Remote: tmux on the other side of an ssh -t. exec replaces the shell so
+# the tmux pane dies cleanly when claude exits.
+inner="cd ${dir} && exec claude --continue ${flag}"
 exec ssh -t "$host" "tmux new-session -A -s '${session}' \"${inner}\""