Remote Control: drive your local Claude Code session from your phone

You hand Claude Code a long refactor and then have to go to a meeting. Half an hour later it stops to ask a confirmation question and just waits until you're back at your desk. Remote Control solves exactly this: it connects claude.ai/code or the Claude app on your phone to the Claude Code session running on your machine. You answer, approve permissions and send new requests from your phone, while code, files and MCP servers stay on your machine.

How is Remote Control different from cloud sessions?

The conversation syncs across all devices: you can type in the terminal, browser and phone interchangeably. From your phone you can also send images and files; Claude Code downloads files to your machine and passes them in as @ references.

Three ways to start

# 1. Server mode: waits for remote connections, with a QR code (press space)
claude remote-control --name "API project"

# 2. A normal interactive session that can also be driven remotely
claude --remote-control "API project"     # or --rc

# 3. Already in a session? Type
/remote-control                            # or /rc

Then open the session link, scan the QR code with the Claude app, or go to Code in the app to find the session by name. No app yet? Type /mobile to show a QR code for downloading it.

Notable server mode options

• --spawn worktree: each remotely opened session gets its own git worktree, so two sessions don't overwrite the same files (the default same-dir shares the folder).
• --capacity N: maximum concurrent sessions, default 32.
• --permission-mode acceptEdits: the starting permission mode for sessions.
• --chrome: lets sessions use Chrome on your machine while you drive them remotely.
• -c/--continue: brings back the previous session after stopping the server.

Requirements

• A Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan, signed in through claude.ai with /login. API keys aren't supported. Team/Enterprise need an Owner to enable it in admin settings.
• Unavailable when ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL points to another gateway/proxy, or when feature flags are turned off with CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC.

Security: no ports opened on your machine

The local session only makes outbound HTTPS requests and never opens inbound ports. It registers with the Anthropic API and polls for work; all messages travel through the API over TLS, using several short-lived credentials, each scoped to one purpose. A corporate network only needs to allow outbound port 443 to the Anthropic API.

Risks and caveats

• Your phone becomes a key to your dev machine: anyone who can open your Claude account on the phone can command your machine. Use a screen lock and two-factor authentication.
• Hasty approvals on a small screen: it's easy to tap "Allow" without reading the command. For dangerous operations, wait until you're back at your machine.
• The machine must be awake and online: server mode gives up after about 10 minutes without network; you have to rerun the command.
• Untrusted folders: the first run asks you to trust the folder; don't trust your home directory for convenience.

How to apply it

• Dev: For long tasks, turn on /rc before leaving your desk so you can approve permissions or answer questions from your phone instead of leaving the session stuck.
• Tech Lead: Run server mode with --spawn worktree on a shared build machine so several people can open remote sessions without overwriting each other's code.
• PM: Use the Claude app on your phone to follow progress and answer requirement-clarification questions while the agent works.