Claude Code Remote Control: continue a local session from your phone or browser

What is Claude Code Remote Control?

Remote Control connects claude.ai/code, or the Claude app for iOS and Android, to a Claude Code session that runs on your machine. You start a task at your desk, then steer it from your phone or from a browser on another computer.

The key point is where the work happens. Claude keeps running locally the entire time. The web and mobile screens are a window into that local session. So your computer has to stay on, and the claude process has to keep running. In return you keep:

• Your full local environment: filesystem, MCP servers, tools and project configuration. Typing @ autocompletes file paths from your local project.
• Both surfaces at once: the conversation and the progress of subagents and workflows stay in sync across the terminal, browser and phone.
• Files and photos from your phone: attach a photo or file in the Claude app or on claude.ai/code. Claude sees photos directly; other files are downloaded to your machine and passed on as @ file references.
• Recovery from interruptions: if your laptop sleeps or the network drops, Claude Code reconnects automatically when the machine is back online.

Remote Control is a Claude Code feature. It is separate from chat in other Claude products.

What do you need before you can use Remote Control?

The endpoint rule surprises people who route Claude Code through a proxy. If you use a router such as the one described in Claude Code Router, unset ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL before you try Remote Control. Plan prices change, so as of October 2026 check Claude Code pricing for what each plan includes.

How do you start a Remote Control session?

There are four ways in. Pick by what you want the session to do.

cd ~/projects/my-app
claude remote-control --name "my-app" --permission-mode acceptEdits

claude --remote-control "my-app"

The first time, Claude Code explains what Remote Control does and asks you to confirm: Enable Remote Control? (y/n) in server mode, or a dialog from /remote-control. In the VS Code extension, the command does not accept a name argument or show a QR code; the session title comes from your conversation.

Server mode takes more flags. The ones to know:

Run claude remote-control --help to print the flags for your version. In worktree mode, press w while the server runs to toggle between same-dir and worktree; the mode you switch to becomes the default for that project. Worktree mode needs a git repository. Read Claude Code worktrees if you want parallel sessions that cannot overwrite each other.

How do you connect from your phone or another computer?

1. Start Remote Control on the computer that has your code.
2. Open the session URL it prints in any browser. It goes straight to the session on claude.ai/code.
3. Or scan the QR code with your phone to open the session in the Claude app. In server mode, press spacebar to toggle the QR code. In an interactive session, run /remote-control again to open the status panel with the URL and QR code.
4. Or open claude.ai/code or the Claude app and find the session by name. In the mobile app, tap Code. Online sessions show a computer icon with a green dot.

If you do not have the Claude app, run /mobile inside Claude Code to show a QR code for claude.ai/mobile, which opens the right app store.

The session title is chosen in order: the name you passed with --name, --remote-control or /remote-control; the title you set with /rename; the last meaningful message in the history; then an auto-generated name such as myhost-graceful-unicorn, where myhost is your hostname. In an interactive session, the terminal shows an /rc active indicator while connected, which links to the session.

A connected device shows the conversation as it happens, including compaction progress and /clear. It also shows a diff pane when the directory is in a git repository. Choosing a model or effort level on the device applies it to the session on your machine. Messages you type from any surface go to the same session.

Which commands work from your phone?

Commands that only exist in the terminal interface, such as /plugin or /resume, work only from the local CLI. These work from mobile and web:

• Text-output commands: /compact, /clear, /context, /usage, /exit, /recap and /reload-plugins (the last only if the session runs in an interactive terminal).
• Commands that take an argument: /model sonnet, /effort high, /fast, /color, /rename.
• /mcp, with a text summary on mobile; /config, where key=value sets a setting.
• /focus on or /focus off, /output-style concise, /autocompact 500k, /advisor opus, on recent versions.

Permission prompts and AskUserQuestion questions stay open until you answer them, wherever you are. Other forwarded dialogs expire after five minutes by default and continue with their no-action default.

What is Remote Control good for?

It suits steering work that is already running, not starting a heavy new task from a phone keyboard. Four patterns come up:

Which step are you on, and what are you waiting for? If a test is failing, show me the failing assertion and your proposed fix before you change anything.

Summarize what changed since the last commit, run the test suite, and tell me whether it is safe to commit. Do not commit yet.

notify me when the tests finish

Continue the CSV export work. Read SPEC.md first, then pick up at the next unchecked item.

Pair it with a task that has a pass-or-fail check, such as the ones in the Claude Code workflow guide. A run with a clear definition of done is easy to steer from a small screen. If you are choosing something to build, the board has ideas with ready build prompts that make good long-running sessions.

How do mobile push notifications work?

While Remote Control is active, Claude can push to your phone. It typically sends one when a long task finishes or when it needs a decision. You can request one in a prompt, for example notify me when the tests finish. To set it up:

1. Install the Claude app on iOS or Android and sign in with the same account and organization you use for Claude Code.
2. Allow notifications when the operating system asks.
3. In your terminal, run /config and turn on Push when Claude decides for proactive notifications, Push when actions required for permission prompts and questions, or both.

If /config shows No mobile registered, open the Claude app so it can refresh its push token. On iOS, Focus modes can delay pushes. On Android, battery optimization can delay delivery. Claude Code skips pushes while you are typing in or focused on the connected terminal.

How do you auto-connect, stop, and resume?

Remote Control only starts when you ask for it. To connect every interactive session automatically, run /config and set Enable Remote Control for all sessions. You can also set remoteControlAtStartup to true in your user ~/.claude/settings.json. In project or local settings Claude Code honors a false but ignores a true, so a checked-in file cannot turn Remote Control on for everyone who opens the repository.

When you stop server mode with Ctrl+C, its sessions stop responding from your phone. Run one of these in the same directory within about four hours to bring them back:

For a session started with claude --remote-control or /remote-control, resume the conversation with claude --continue or claude --resume. If you resume it in a second terminal while the first still has Remote Control on, the second prints Remote Control not started here and leaves it off; run /remote-control there to move it.

Is Remote Control secure?

The docs describe the model this way. Your local session makes outbound HTTPS requests only and never opens inbound ports on your machine. It registers with the Anthropic API and polls for work. All traffic goes through the Anthropic API over TLS, using several short-lived credentials, each scoped to one purpose. Code execution and filesystem access stay on your machine.

One trade-off to know: while Remote Control is connected, the session transcript, including your messages, Claude’s responses and tool activity, is stored on Anthropic’s servers so the devices stay in sync and the session can reconnect. Stored transcripts are retained under Anthropic’s data usage policy. Organizations with Zero Data Retention or the HIPAA configuration cannot enable Remote Control. To turn it off entirely, use the disableRemoteControl setting.

For stricter control there is Trusted Devices, currently in beta and off by default. When on, viewing or steering a Remote Control session requires an enrolled device and a sign-in no more than 18 hours old, refreshed with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or a passkey. You can review and remove enrolled devices under claude.ai account settings.

What are the limits of Remote Control?

• One remote session per interactive process. Use server mode to run several from one process.
• The local process must keep running. If you close the terminal or quit the app, the session goes offline until you bring it back. On a remote machine over SSH, start Claude Code inside tmux or screen.
• Network outages. In server mode, Claude Code gives up after roughly 10 minutes and the process exits. In an interactive session it retries for as long as the outage lasts and reconnects on its own.
• HTTP 403 refusals. After a VPN or network change, Claude Code retries for up to three minutes before it disconnects.
• Some commands stay local. See the list above.
• Sandbox flags are gone. The --sandbox and --no-sandbox flags for claude remote-control were removed in v2.1.300; turn on sandboxing in a settings file instead.

How does Remote Control differ from cloud sessions and other options?

Both Remote Control and cloud sessions use the claude.ai/code interface. The difference is where the session runs. The docs compare several ways to work when you are away from the terminal:

Use Remote Control when you are in the middle of local work and want to keep going. Use a cloud session when the task should not depend on your laptop being on.

What do the common Remote Control errors mean?

The docs list more messages and their fixes under the Remote Control troubleshooting section.