7 min · +120 XP
Claude Code in your pocket
Start a session on your computer and keep writing to it from the Claude app.
By the end of this lesson
You will be able to leave Claude Code running on your computer and send it requests from your phone, like messages in a chat.
Your computer can keep working while you are away, and you can write to it from your phone the way you write in a messenger. This feature is called Remote Control, and it lives in the Code tab of the Claude app for iPhone and Android. The work still happens on your computer, with your files; the phone is a window into that session.
You send a message, the person at home does the job and replies. Here the one at home is Claude Code on your computer. It reads your message, works on the files in your project and answers in the same chat.
What you need
Before you start
- 1A Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan. Remote Control does not work with an API key. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner has to switch it on first.
- 2Claude Code on your computer, signed in with your claude.ai account.
- 3The Claude app on your phone, signed in with the same account. Inside Claude Code you can type /mobile to show a QR code that opens the right app store.
- 4The computer switched on, with the terminal window where Claude Code runs left open.
Connect the phone
Step by step
- 1On the computer, open the terminal in your project folder and start claude as usual.
- 2Type /remote-control (short form /rc) and press Enter.
- 3The first time, a dialog explains what it does. Choose Enable Remote Control.
- 4When it connects, Claude Code shows an /rc active indicator. Type /remote-control again to open a panel with the session link and a QR code.
- 5On the phone, scan the QR code with the camera. Or open the Claude app, tap Code and choose the session: sessions on your computer have a computer icon with a green dot when they are online.
- 6Write your request in the chat on the phone and send it. Claude works on your computer and answers there.
claude --remote-control "My project"
Starts a normal session that you can also use from the phone; the name appears in the session list in the app. claude remote-control, written without the two hyphens, starts server mode instead: it only waits for connections from other devices, asks Enable Remote Control? (y/n) the first time, and shows a QR code when you press the spacebar.
“Keep this computer awake for the next four hours while I am away, even if nobody touches it. Tell me how to cancel that, and remind me what else must stay on.”
Claude uses your system's own way to stop sleep for a while. On many laptops closing the lid still puts the computer to sleep, so leave it open and plugged in.
What must stay on
While you are away
- 1Keep the computer on and plugged in, and in the system settings set it not to sleep. On many laptops, closing the lid puts the computer to sleep.
- 2Leave the terminal window open. If you close it or stop Claude Code, the session goes offline.
- 3If the computer sleeps or the internet drops, Claude Code reconnects by itself when the computer is back online.
- 4Messages from the phone and from the keyboard go into one conversation. When you are back, everything is in the terminal.
›If the session does not appear on the phone
Check that you signed in with the same account on the computer and on the phone. In the terminal, type /remote-control again: the panel shows whether it is connected. If you see "Remote Control requires a claude.ai subscription", Claude Code is not signed in with your Claude account; type /login and choose it. If the app has no Code tab, your plan or organisation may not include these features.
When the computer will be off
Remote Control needs your computer. If it will be switched off, start a cloud session instead: in the Code tab of the app, choose a repository and branch, describe the task and send it. A cloud session runs on Anthropic's machines and keeps going after you put the phone away, but it works with your code on GitHub, not with the files on your computer.
While Remote Control is active, Claude can send a push notification when a long task finishes or when it needs your decision. Turn this on in Claude Code with /config: Push when Claude decides, Push when actions required, or both. You can also ask for it in the request: "notify me when the tests finish".
/config → Enable Remote Control for all sessions (or "remoteControlAtStartup": true in ~/.claude/settings.json) connects every interactive session automatically. Server mode serves several sessions from one process; --spawn worktree gives each on-demand session its own git worktree, and w toggles the mode while it runs. After Ctrl+C, claude remote-control --continue in the same folder brings the session back for about four hours. The connection is outbound HTTPS only, with no inbound ports, and the transcript is stored on Anthropic's servers while connected. Local-only commands such as /plugin and /resume do not work from the phone; /compact, /context, /usage, /model and /effort with an argument do. On a remote machine over SSH, run claude inside tmux or screen. Dispatch (Pro and Max) sends a task from the phone to the desktop app, and Channels can bring messages from Telegram, Discord or iMessage into a session. On Pro and Max you can also turn on Require trusted devices for Remote Control: then only devices you have approved can connect to your sessions (see the Remote Control docs).
A safe practice terminal. Claude is running in your project folder; you are about to leave the house.
1Turn on remote control: type /rc
You ran /remote-control and left the house. What will take the session away from your phone?
Your laptop will be off all weekend, but you want Claude to work on your project, which is on GitHub. What do you use?
Facts checked against the official Claude Code docs October 24, 2026 · source
Author
Evgenii Arsentev
PhD · Chief Executive Officer, digital health