How to Use Claude Code on Your Phone: 3 Methods That Actually Work

The easiest way to use Claude Code on your phone is the Code tab in the official Claude app for iPhone and Android. It does two jobs. Remote Control, which Anthropic shipped in February 2026, streams a session running on your computer to your phone. A cloud session runs Claude Code on Anthropic’s servers, so the task keeps going with your laptop closed. Both need a paid Claude plan.

Before Remote Control existed, developers were already hacking together SSH tunnels, Tailscale meshes, and Telegram bots to supervise long Claude Code runs from their phones. Two of those community methods still earn their place: the free Happy app, and SSH with Tailscale. This guide covers all three approaches, starting with the easiest, so you can pick the one that fits your setup. Back at your desk, you will also want Claude Code to read screenshots and mockups, which our guide on how to paste images into Claude Code covers for every OS.

The Key Takeaways

• The Claude app’s Code tab is the official route. Remote Control (February 2026) drives a session on your computer, and a cloud session runs with your computer switched off
• Remote Control works on Claude Pro ($20/month), Max ($100/month), Ultra ($200/month), Team, and Enterprise; on Team and Enterprise an Owner must switch it on first, and API keys are not supported
• Happy (formerly Happy Coder) is a free, open-source app with end-to-end encryption that works with a Claude subscription or an API key
• The SSH + Tailscale method gives you a full terminal: Tailscale’s Personal plan, Termux on Android, and Termius’s Starter plan are free, while Blink Shell on iPhone is paid after a 14-day trial
• Remote Control, Happy, and SSH all need your computer to stay on and online; only a cloud session keeps working with it switched off

Which Method Is Right for You?

*On Team and Enterprise, an Owner must turn on the Remote Control toggle in Claude Code admin settings first. **On Enterprise, cloud sessions need a premium seat or a Chat + Claude Code seat.

Method 1: The Official Claude App (Remote Control and Cloud Sessions)

The Claude app for iOS and Android is the official way to use Claude Code on your phone. Claude Code has no separate mobile app: everything lives in the app’s Code tab. The Code tab reaches two kinds of session. Remote Control connects to a Claude Code session running on your computer, so your filesystem, MCP servers, and project settings never leave your machine. A cloud session runs on Anthropic’s cloud infrastructure and keeps going after you lock your phone. In both, you can send messages from your terminal, browser, and phone interchangeably, and the conversation stays in sync across all connected devices.

How to start a Remote Control session

Open your project folder in a terminal and run:

claude remote-control

The first time, Claude Code asks you to confirm with Enable Remote Control? (y/n). Your terminal then displays a session URL. Press spacebar to show a QR code you can scan with the Claude iOS or Android app. You can also open the Claude app, tap Code, and pick the session from the list, where an online Remote Control session shows a computer icon with a green dot. The session also appears at claude.ai/code alongside your other sessions.

If you already have an active Claude Code session running, you do not need to start over. Type /remote-control, or the short form /rc, inside the session to continue it remotely with your conversation history intact. To have Remote Control on from the start, launch Claude Code with claude --remote-control.

You can also run /mobile inside any active session to show a QR code that opens the right app store for your phone, useful if you are setting up on a new phone.

What Remote Control can and cannot do

Once connected from your phone, you can read Claude’s output, send messages, and approve or reject actions, the same things you do at your desk. You can also attach photos and files from your phone, switch the model, and get push notifications when a task finishes or Claude needs a decision; turn those on with /config in your terminal. The execution itself always runs on your machine, which means file access, local tools, and environment variables all stay intact.

Key limitations to know:

• The claude process must keep running. If you close the terminal or stop Claude Code, the session goes offline until you bring it back; running claude remote-control again in the same folder restores a stopped server’s sessions for about four hours. If your machine sleeps or your network drops, Claude Code reconnects automatically when the machine is back online.
• One remote session per interactive session. A session started with /remote-control or claude --remote-control carries one remote session. Server mode, claude remote-control, can serve up to 32 sessions at once by default.
• API keys are not supported. Remote Control requires a claude.ai login on a Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise plan. It also does not work through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, Microsoft Foundry, or a custom API gateway.
• Team and Enterprise plan users need an Owner to enable Remote Control before it becomes available. Organizations with Zero Data Retention or the HIPAA configuration cannot turn it on.

Connecting without the Claude app

You do not need the Claude app installed. The session URL opens in any mobile browser at claude.ai/code, so it works on any device, including tablets.

Start a cloud session when your computer is off

A cloud session runs Claude Code on Anthropic-managed cloud infrastructure, so the task keeps running after you close your laptop. In the Claude app, tap Code, pick a GitHub repository and branch, describe the task, and submit it. Cloud sessions need GitHub connected. They are available on Pro, Max, Ultra, and Team, and for Enterprise users with premium or Chat + Claude Code seats. They count toward your plan’s usage limits, with no separate charge for the cloud machine.

Use Remote Control when the work needs your local files, tools, or MCP servers. Use a cloud session when your code is on GitHub and the task should keep running after you put your phone away. From your terminal, claude --cloud "your task" starts a cloud session you can then follow from your phone.

Method 2: Happy, Formerly Happy Coder (Free, Open-Source App)

Happy is a community-built mobile client for Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex, available on both iOS and Android. It is an independent project, not affiliated with Anthropic. Sessions are end-to-end encrypted, and the Happy CLI uses the TweetNaCl cryptographic library. Your encryption keys stay on your devices, so Happy’s relay server stores only encrypted data and cannot read your prompts, responses, or code. Happy is MIT-licensed and you can audit the code on GitHub before installing. Its CLI used to ship on npm as happy-coder; the package is now called happy.

How to install and pair Happy Coder

Step 1: Install the CLI on your desktop:

npm install -g happy

Step 2: Download the app on your phone from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) and create an account. Happy does not ask for an email address or a password.

Step 3: Start a session using happy claude instead of claude:

happy claude

Step 4: Scan the QR code displayed in your terminal to pair your phone. You are connected.

What Happy offers

From your phone, Happy lets you start a new session or pick up one you began at your desk. It sends push notifications when an agent needs input or finishes, lets you approve or deny permission requests, pick the model and reasoning effort, review colored diffs, and attach screenshots. Happy works with a Claude subscription or an API key, which Remote Control does not accept. The app is free; its voice assistant is free for one hour, then needs the Happy Plus subscription ($19.99 a month on the App Store).

The trade-off: Happy routes sessions through its own relay server, whereas Remote Control routes them through the Anthropic API over TLS and stores the session transcript on Anthropic’s servers while connected. Happy’s relay only sees encrypted data, and you can host your own Happy server. Users who prefer no relay at all may prefer the SSH method below.

Method 3: SSH + Tailscale (Free, Works on Any Plan)

SSH with Tailscale is the method developers were using before Remote Control existed, and it still makes sense if you want a real full terminal on your phone rather than a chat interface. It works however you sign in to Claude Code, including with an API key. If you already use Claude’s desktop client on your Mac, you can SSH into that same machine from your phone to run Claude Code sessions remotely.

What you need

• Tailscale installed on both your desktop and phone (the Personal plan is free for up to 6 users)
• Termux on Android, or Blink Shell or Termius on iPhone
• tmux installed on your desktop (keeps the session alive when your phone locks)
• Mosh for stable connections on mobile networks (optional but strongly recommended)

Setting it up

Step 1: Install Tailscale on your desktop and phone. Sign in with the same account. Tailscale creates a private WireGuard network between your devices, with no port forwarding and no router configuration.

Step 2: Enable SSH on your desktop. On Mac, go to System Settings > General > Sharing and turn on Remote Login. On Linux, ensure openssh-server is running.

Step 3: Install your SSH client on your phone. Blink Shell on iPhone supports Mosh natively; it is a free download that costs $19.99 a year after a 14-day trial. Termux on Android gives you a full Linux environment with SSH. Termius runs on both platforms and has a free Starter plan with SSH.

Step 4: SSH in from your phone using your Tailscale IP address:

ssh youruser@your-tailscale-ip

Step 5: Start tmux before launching Claude Code:

tmux new -s claude

Then start Claude Code as normal. When you need to disconnect, close the app, do not exit tmux. When you reconnect later, reattach with:

tmux attach -t claude

Your session will be exactly where you left it.

Why Mosh beats standard SSH for mobile

Standard SSH connections drop when you switch between WiFi and mobile data, or when your screen locks. Mosh (Mobile Shell) keeps you logged in when you roam between networks and when the device sleeps, and it resumes once the network comes back. Install Mosh on both your phone client and your desktop. Blink Shell with Mosh and Tailscale is a common setup for long Claude Code sessions on an iPhone.

Approving Claude Code Actions from Your Phone

All three methods let you approve or reject Claude Code’s file edits and tool calls remotely. The most useful real-world application: start a long refactor at your desk, step away, and approve each step from your phone as Claude works through it. In the Claude app, Remote Control sessions offer the Manual, Accept edits, Plan, and Auto permission modes, and cloud sessions offer Accept edits, Plan, and Auto. Bypass permissions cannot be selected from the app.

Remote Control and Happy both support push notifications that alert you when Claude needs a decision. For Remote Control, run /config and turn on Push when actions required. The SSH method requires you to check manually, or set up a notification tool like ntfy to push alerts to your phone when Claude outputs a specific prompt. If you want Claude to run multi-step work that is not code, our Claude Cowork guide covers the agent mode Anthropic began merging into the regular Claude chat on September 16, 2026.

What About Using Claude on Your Phone Without Claude Code?

If you want Claude on mobile but do not need the agentic terminal capabilities of Claude Code, the regular chat in the Claude app for iOS and Android handles writing, research, and analysis, no desktop required. If you recently moved over from ChatGPT, our guide on switching from ChatGPT to Claude covers what to expect across plans and features.

When a Claude answer on your phone looks off, you can ask Gemini, Grok, or ChatGPT’s models the same question in the same app, without a second subscription: Fello AI puts Claude alongside ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Conclusion

The Claude app’s Code tab is the fastest path for Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, and Enterprise subscribers: Remote Control for a session on your computer, a cloud session when the computer is off. One command and you are coding from your phone in under a minute. Happy is the best free alternative, with push notifications, end-to-end encryption, and support for API keys. The SSH + Tailscale route takes more setup but gives you a full terminal and works regardless of how you pay for Claude Code. Each of these still needs a paid plan or API access behind the scenes, so if you are weighing the cost first, our guide on whether Claude Code is free covers what you actually pay for.

Remote Control, Happy, and SSH all require your desktop to stay on and online. That is the trade-off of running Claude Code on your own machine, and also why your code and data stay there. Cloud sessions are the exception: they keep running with your computer off because the work moves to Anthropic’s infrastructure.

Start with claude remote-control if your plan includes Remote Control. If not, npm install -g happy gets you running in minutes.

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