What Claude Code Remote Control does
Claude Code Remote Control connects a Claude Code session running on your computer to the Claude app on your phone or to claude.ai/code in any browser. You start a task at your desk, walk away, and keep reading, answering and redirecting it from another device. The session never leaves your machine: Claude keeps running locally with your files, MCP servers, tools and project configuration, and the phone or browser is just a second screen into it.
This is the feature for the long task that does not need you every minute but does need you sometimes. A build that will ask for a permission halfway through, a refactor you want to check before it touches the next folder, or a test run you want to hear about the moment it fails. Without Remote Control, that session sits waiting at your desk until you come back. With it, you answer from wherever you are and it keeps going.
How to turn on Remote Control in the desktop app
- Open the Claude desktop app, go to the Code tab and start or open a local session on your project.
- Type /remote-control (or the short form /rc) in the prompt box and send it. The first time, a dialog asks you to confirm. Select Enable Remote Control.
- On your phone, open the Claude app, tap Code in the navigation and find the session in the list. Remote Control sessions show a computer icon with a green dot when they are online. In a browser, go to claude.ai/code instead.
- Send a message from the phone. It lands in the same conversation on your computer, and Claude's replies show up on both screens.
To turn it off for that session, run /remote-control again. In the desktop app you can also see whether a session is connected from the laptop icon before the session title in the toolbar: it is highlighted while the session is connected, and clicking it opens the session's Remote Control switch.
If you want every new session to be reachable from your phone without typing anything, turn on Connect new sessions to Remote Control in Settings, under Claude Code. My recommendation is to leave that off at first and turn Remote Control on per session. It keeps your session list on the phone short, and it makes you decide which work you actually want to be reachable. The Claude Code desktop app covers the rest of the app.
What you can do from your phone
The phone is not a reduced view. You can send messages, answer permission prompts and questions, and watch progress as it happens. Typing @ autocompletes file paths from the project on your computer. You can attach a photo or a file from your phone too: Claude sees photos directly, and other files are downloaded to your machine and passed in as file references. That makes it easy to send a screenshot of a bug you spotted on your phone straight into the session working on it.
- Change the model or effort for the session, for example /model sonnet or /effort high, with the value typed as part of the command.
- Run text commands such as /compact, /clear, /context and /usage. Claude Code clear vs compact explains which to reach for.
- See the diff of your changes when the project is in a git repository.
- Watch subagents and workflows the session already has running, and stop one from the phone, which stops it on your computer.
A few commands only work at the computer itself, including /plugin and /resume. If you need one of those, it waits until you are back at the desk.
Turn on push notifications
Remote Control is only half useful if you have to keep checking the app. With push notifications on, Claude sends a notification to your phone, usually when a long task finishes or when it needs a decision from you. You can also ask for one directly in your prompt, such as notify me when the tests finish.
- Install the Claude app on your phone and sign in with the same account and organization you use for Claude Code.
- Allow notifications when your phone asks.
- Run /config in the session and turn on Push when Claude decides, Push when actions required, or both. The second one covers permission prompts and questions, which is the one that saves the most waiting.
Remote Control vs cloud sessions vs Dispatch
Claude Code has a few ways to work when you are away from the desk, and they are easy to mix up. The difference is where Claude runs and what starts the work.
Ways to work with Claude Code away from your computer
| Option | Where Claude runs | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Remote Control | Your computer, in a session you already started | Steering work that is already in progress, with your local files and tools |
| Cloud session | Anthropic's cloud, not your computer | Starting a task with no local setup, or running several in parallel while your laptop is closed |
| Dispatch | Your computer, in a new desktop session it opens for you | Messaging a fresh task from your phone with minimal setup (Pro and Max only) |
| Scheduled tasks | Your computer or the cloud, on a timer | Recurring jobs like a daily review |
My rule: if the work depends on something only your computer has, such as a local database, a private MCP server or a client repo you have not pushed, use Remote Control. If the work can run anywhere and you want your laptop closed, use a cloud session. Claude Code on the web covers cloud sessions, and Claude Code scheduled tasks covers the timer option.
Requirements and limits to know first
- Plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise. API keys are not supported. On Team and Enterprise, Remote Control is off by default and an Owner turns it on in the Claude Code admin settings.
- Login: you need to be signed in with your claude.ai account. If an API key is set in your environment or settings, Remote Control refuses to start and names the key it found. Remove it, then sign in again.
- Your computer stays on: Claude runs locally, so if you quit the app or shut the laptop down, the session goes offline until you bring it back. If the laptop sleeps or the network drops, it reconnects on its own when the machine is back online.
- One remote session per session window: each open session connects as its own remote session. To run many from one place, the terminal's server mode is built for that.
- Gateways and other providers: Remote Control does not work through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, Microsoft Foundry or a custom API base URL. It has to talk to Anthropic's API directly.
If something does not connect, run claude doctor. It reports which eligibility check failed instead of leaving you to guess. Claude Code doctor walks through reading its output.
Is Claude Code Remote Control safe?
The connection is outbound only. Your computer makes HTTPS requests to Anthropic and never opens an inbound port, so nothing on the internet can reach into your machine through it. Traffic runs over TLS through the Anthropic API, using short-lived credentials that each do one job and expire on their own. A session that connects automatically uses your own claude.ai account, so it only appears in your own Claude apps.
Two things to weigh for client work. While Remote Control is connected, the session transcript is stored on Anthropic's servers so it can stay in sync across devices, under Anthropic's data usage policy. And a phone is easier to lose than a laptop. If you are on a Pro or Max plan, turn on Require trusted devices in your account settings, which makes each phone or browser enroll and ties access to a recent sign-in or a Face ID, Touch ID or passkey check. Is Claude Code safe for client work? covers the wider question.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Claude Code Remote Control?
It connects a Claude Code session running on your computer to the Claude mobile app or claude.ai/code, so you can keep working in it from your phone or another browser. Claude keeps running on your machine with your files and tools the whole time.
How do I use Claude Code Remote Control in the desktop app?
Open a local session in the Code tab and type /remote-control or /rc in the prompt box. Then open the Claude app on your phone, tap Code, and pick the session from the list, or open claude.ai/code in a browser.
Does Claude Code Remote Control work with an API key?
No. Remote Control needs a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan and a claude.ai login. If an API key is set in your environment or settings, remove it and sign in with your claude.ai account.
Does my computer need to stay on for Remote Control?
Yes. The session runs on your computer, so it goes offline if you quit the app or shut down. If the laptop sleeps or the network drops, Claude Code reconnects automatically when the machine comes back online.
What is the difference between Remote Control and Claude Code on the web?
Remote Control runs on your computer and gives you a remote window into it, with your local files, MCP servers and settings. A cloud session runs on Anthropic's infrastructure, so it keeps going with your laptop closed but does not see anything that only exists on your machine.
Last reviewed by David Iya on October 8, 2026
