# Claude Code on your phone: Remote Control, the Claude app and cloud sessions

Two ways in, both in the Claude app: drive the session on your own computer, or start one in the cloud. How to set each up and why Remote Control drops out.

Published 2026-10-07 by Richard Kaminsky and Mitchell Lipyansky, the co-founders of Poly. Canonical: https://usepoly.co/claude-code-remote-control
Poly is a multiplayer AI coding workspace: a shared room where your team works with one AI agent, together. Free to start: https://usepoly.co/

**There's no separate Claude Code app: you use it from the Code tab of the Claude app for iOS and Android, in two ways. Remote Control connects your phone to a Claude Code session running on your own computer, which you start with `claude remote-control`, `claude --rc` or `/remote-control` inside a session; your code and tools stay on your machine, and the computer has to stay on. Cloud sessions run on Anthropic's machines against a GitHub repository and keep going with your laptop shut. Both need a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan and a claude.ai sign-in; API keys aren't supported.**

## Key takeaways

- **Remote Control:** your phone is "a window into that local session," in Anthropic's words. Out of research preview since August 2026.
- **Start it:** `claude remote-control` for a dedicated server, `claude --rc` for a normal session you can also drive remotely, or `/rc` in a session you've already started. Press the spacebar for a QR code.
- **Always on:** turn on "Enable Remote Control for all sessions" in `/config`, or the same setting in the desktop app.
- **Approvals:** permission prompts reach your phone as push notifications and stay open until you answer.
- **Team and Enterprise:** an Owner has to switch Remote Control on first; it's off by default.

*Ways to use Claude Code from a phone, from Anthropic's docs, October 7, 2026.*

|  | Remote Control | Cloud session |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where it runs | Your own computer | Anthropic's virtual machine |
| Your files and tools | All of them, locally | A GitHub repository |
| Computer must stay on | Yes | No |
| How to start | claude remote-control, --rc or /rc | The Code tab in the Claude app |
| Modes from the phone | Manual, Accept edits, Plan | Accept edits, Plan, Auto |
| Plans | Pro, Max; Team and Enterprise once an Owner enables it | Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise |
| API key sign-in | No | No |

## How do you set up Remote Control?

From Anthropic's docs ([Anthropic](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/remote-control)):

1. Sign in to Claude Code with your claude.ai account (`/login`), not an API key.
2. Start a session one of three ways:
   - `claude remote-control`: a server that waits for connections, and can start new sessions in the same folder or in worktrees.
   - `claude --remote-control` (or `--rc`): an ordinary terminal session you can also drive from your phone.
   - `/remote-control` (or `/rc`) inside a running session, which keeps its history.
3. The first time, confirm "Enable Remote Control?"
4. On your phone, open the Claude app, go to the Code tab and pick the session, or scan the QR code (press the spacebar to show it). On a computer, open claude.ai/code.

Don't have the app? `/mobile` in Claude Code shows a QR code for the App Store or Google Play. Running `claude remote-control` also puts your computer in the app as a device card, so you can start a new session on it from your phone.

## Can you turn Remote Control on by default?

Yes. Set **Enable Remote Control for all sessions** in `/config`, or `remoteControlAtStartup` in your settings. In the Claude desktop app it's **Settings > Claude Code > Connect new sessions to Remote Control**, and the desktop app can also keep your computer awake for it. A project's own settings can turn it off but not on.

## What can you do from your phone?

- Send prompts and attach photos or files.
- Answer permission prompts and Claude's questions; these "stay open until you answer them."
- Change the model and effort.
- Switch between Manual, Accept edits and Plan. Auto mode can't be chosen for a Remote Control session from the app ([Anthropic](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mobile)).

Commands that only make sense on the computer, such as `/resume` and `/plugin`, don't work from the phone.

**Push notifications:** in `/config`, turn on **Push when actions required** for permission prompts and questions, and **Push when Claude decides** for anything else Claude thinks you should see. If it says "No mobile registered," open the Claude app once. Focus modes on iPhone and battery saving on Android can hold notifications back.

## Why is Remote Control not working?

The documented causes ([Anthropic](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/remote-control)):

- **Signed in with an API key,** or with a `setup-token` login. Remote Control needs a full claude.ai sign-in.
- **Your organization hasn't turned it on.** On Team and Enterprise an Owner enables it in Claude Code's admin settings. Organizations with HIPAA settings or zero data retention can't use it.
- **A third-party provider:** Bedrock, Google Cloud, Microsoft Foundry or a custom base URL.
- **An old version:** "unexpected server response" means run `claude update`.
- **Telemetry switched off** with `CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC` also disables it.

`claude doctor` names the check that failed.

## Why does Remote Control disconnect?

Because the session lives on your computer. If the laptop sleeps or the network drops, Claude Code reconnects when the machine is back online; closing the terminal or the app ends it. A `claude remote-control` server gives up after about 10 minutes without a network and exits, while an interactive session keeps retrying. Version 2.1.287 (October 1, 2026) fixed Mac sessions stopping mid-turn when the machine idled to sleep, so update first.

## Is Remote Control secure?

Your machine makes outbound connections only and "never opens inbound ports"; messages travel over TLS through Anthropic's API with short-lived credentials. Execution and files stay on your computer, but the transcript (your messages, Claude's replies and tool activity) is stored on Anthropic's servers while you're connected, so it isn't end-to-end encrypted, whatever some coverage says. A session appears only in your own account and "grants no one else access." Admins can require a trusted device, and `disableRemoteControl` blocks it on a machine.

## How do you run Claude Code in the cloud from your phone?

In the Code tab, pick a GitHub repository and branch and describe the task. The session runs in a virtual machine on Anthropic's servers and keeps going with your phone and laptop off; you review the diff and open a pull request when it's done. Cloud sessions offer Accept edits, Plan and Auto. Details in [Claude Code on the web](/claude-code-on-the-web).

## What about Codex on your phone?

Codex works the same two ways in the ChatGPT app: tasks in OpenAI's cloud, or on a Mac or Windows PC you connect from the ChatGPT desktop app's **Settings > Connections > Control this Mac or PC**. The computer has to stay awake ([OpenAI](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/remote-connections)). More in [How to use Codex](/how-to-use-codex).

## Approving from your phone, as a team

Remote Control and Codex's phone access both connect your devices to your own session; nobody else can see it or approve its changes. In Poly (usepoly.co), a team works with one agent in a shared browser room, and any member can approve a change from their own laptop or phone. Free to start. [What is Poly?](/what-is-poly)

## Common questions

**Is there a Claude Code mobile app?**

No separate one. Claude Code lives in the Code tab of the Claude app for iOS and Android, where you can start cloud sessions or drive a session on your own computer through Remote Control.

**How do I use Claude Code from my phone?**

Run claude remote-control, claude --rc, or /rc inside a session on your computer, then pick the session in the Code tab of the Claude app or scan the QR code. Or start a cloud session from the same tab against a GitHub repository.

**Why is Claude Code Remote Control not available?**

Usually because you signed in with an API key, your Team or Enterprise Owner hasn't enabled it, you use Bedrock, Google Cloud or Foundry, or your version is old. Run claude doctor to see which check failed.

**Does Remote Control work when my laptop is asleep?**

No. The session runs on your computer, so it has to stay on with Claude Code running. When the laptop wakes or the network returns, Claude Code reconnects automatically.

**Can someone else approve my Claude Code session from their phone?**

No. Remote Control connects only your own devices and grants no one else access. For a team that approves changes together, a shared room such as Poly lets any member approve.

More guides: https://usepoly.co/guides · Security: https://usepoly.co/security · Pricing: https://usepoly.co/pricing