Claude Code doesn’t run on an iPhone. It runs on your computer, and your phone is a window onto it: you read what it’s doing, answer when it asks, and send the next prompt. There are three ways to open that window, and which one fits depends on how many agents you run and on how many computers.
Updated . We make Hako, the third way.
At a glance
| Remote Control | SSH and tmux | Hako | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agents | Claude Code | Any | Any, in herdr |
| On your phone | The Claude app’s chat view | A terminal | A list of agents, and a terminal |
| Several computers | One session list across them | One host at a time | Every Mac in one list |
| Knows when an agent asks | Push notifications | No | Lock Screen questions and answers |
| Needs | A Claude subscription, not an API key | Remote Login and Tailscale | Hako for Mac and Tailscale |
| Available | Now | Now | Coming soon |
1. Anthropic’s Remote Control
Remote Control is built into Claude Code. It connects a session running on your computer to the Claude app on your iPhone, or to claude.ai/code in a browser. The code keeps running on your machine; the app is a view onto the conversation.
- Sign in to Claude Code with a paid Claude plan, such as Pro or Max. API keys don’t work.
- In your project, run
claude --remote-control, or type/remote-controlin a session that’s already open. - Scan the QR code, or open the session from the list in the Claude app.
It’s the quickest start if Claude Code is all you run: no SSH, no VPN, and you get the app’s chat view, attachments and push notifications. The catches are that it’s for Claude Code only, that the conversation goes through Anthropic’s servers, and that your computer and the claude process have to stay running. Hako vs Remote Control compares the two in detail.
2. SSH, tmux and Tailscale
The do-it-yourself way works for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini or anything else that runs in a terminal. tmux keeps the agent running while your phone is away; Tailscale lets your phone reach the Mac from anywhere without opening a port.
- On the Mac, turn on Remote Login in System Settings → General → Sharing.
- Install Tailscale on the Mac and the iPhone, signed in to the same account.
- On the Mac, start the agent inside tmux:
tmux new -s claude, thenclaude. - On the iPhone, connect with an SSH app (Termius, Blink Shell, Secure ShellFish or Moshi) to the Mac’s Tailscale name, then run
tmux attach -t claude.
Nothing leaves your network but encrypted SSH, and it costs nothing beyond the apps. But you see one session at a time, nothing tells you when an agent is waiting, and with five agents on two Macs you spend your time reconnecting and switching windows to find the one that’s stuck. Mosh, where your app supports it, survives the phone changing networks better than plain SSH. SSH into your Mac from iPhone walks through the setup, keys included.
3. Hako
Hako is built for running several agents across several Macs. Your agents run in herdr, an open-source runtime that keeps their terminals alive and marks each one working, blocked or idle. Hako puts every pane on every Mac in one native list on your iPhone, iPad and Mac, sorted by who needs you. Running several agents at once covers giving each its own worktree.
- Install Hako for Mac on each Mac. It sets up its bridge and herdr in your user account.
- Turn on Tailscale, and iCloud Keychain so your Macs pair on their own. Without it, pair with a QR code.
- Open Hako on your iPhone. Allow notifications, and an agent that stops to ask shows its question on your Lock Screen, where you can answer it.
Each pane is a real terminal, over SSH or Mosh, so Claude Code looks and behaves as it does on your Mac. Hako is coming soon to the App Store; it suits you if you run more than one agent and want to see at a glance which one is waiting. See how it works.
Keep your Mac awake
Whichever way you choose, the agent runs on your Mac, so a sleeping Mac stops it and takes it out of reach. On a desktop Mac, turn on “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off” in System Settings → Energy. On a laptop, run long jobs plugged in, or start them with caffeinate -i claude to hold off idle sleep until the agent exits.
Questions
Can Claude Code run on the iPhone itself?
No. Claude Code needs macOS, Linux or Windows. Claude Code on the web runs sessions in Anthropic’s cloud instead of on your computer, and the Claude app can start and follow those too, but they work on a cloned GitHub repository, not your Mac’s files and tools.
Does this work on an iPad?
Yes, all three. Remote Control works in the Claude app on an iPad as on a phone, or at claude.ai/code in its browser. The SSH apps above run on iPad too, and Blink Shell is built around long sessions at an iPad keyboard. Hako runs on iPad with iPadOS 17 or later, with the same list of agents, and Handoff carries the pane you have open between your iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Does this work for Codex too?
SSH with tmux and Hako work with any agent that runs in a terminal, Codex included. Remote Control is for Claude Code only; Codex has its own in the ChatGPT app. Codex on iPhone compares the ways to reach it.
How do I get a notification when Claude Code needs me?
Remote Control sends push notifications through the Claude app. Without it, a Claude Code hook can send one through a push app such as ntfy, and Hako puts an agent’s question on your Lock Screen. Claude Code notifications on iPhone sets up each.
Is it safe to reach my Mac from my phone?
With Tailscale, your Mac is only reachable from your own devices, and SSH encrypts the session. Hako adds no account and no server that sees your panes: they go straight from your phone to your Mac. See what leaves your devices.