Table of Contents

What Claude Code Remote Control Does

Claude Code has a feature called Remote Control that lets you access and operate a Claude Code session running on your PC from a smartphone or another browser.

I knew the feature existed, but I had never really used it until recently. Once I tried it properly, it turned out to be much more useful than I expected.

Yamaguchi

Claude Code is incredibly useful, but it'd be even better if I could use it from my phone too.

Erii

You mean for times like when you're looking after your kid, or commuting on the train?

Yamaguchi

Exactly. I used to run it inside Termux on my phone, but that stopped working.

Erii

Then there's a feature called Remote Control — this might be a good time to try it.

I have wanted to do development work from my phone for quite a while. There are plenty of situations where I cannot sit in front of a PC, especially when I am looking after my child or traveling by train. One reason I used Genspark so often was its sandbox environment, which made it possible to do quite a lot of work from a phone.

For Claude Code, I previously installed Termux on Android and ran Claude Code inside it (I wrote about that setup in an earlier article).

Around April 2026, however, newer versions of Claude Code stopped working properly in Termux. A GitHub issue reports that starting with Claude Code 2.1.113, the runtime moved from a JavaScript-based setup to a native Linux binary, which no longer runs directly in the Android/Termux environment. Version 2.1.112 appears to have been the last version that worked normally there.

At the time, I thought I had lost the easiest way to use Claude Code from my phone. After finally trying Remote Control, I found that it fits my current workflow better anyway.

What Remote Control actually is: It does not create a separate Claude Code environment in the cloud. Claude Code continues running on your computer, with access to the same local files, project settings, MCP configuration, and development environment you normally use. The smartphone is basically another interface for that same session. Anthropic's official documentation also explains that code execution and file access continue to happen on the local machine (official docs). This means there is no need to recreate your development environment on your phone — that is the biggest difference from the way I used Claude Code through Termux.

How to Enable Remote Control

If Claude Code is already running on your PC, enter the following command in the chat:

/remote-control

Claude Code will show a connection URL and an option to display a QR code. Scan the QR code with your phone, sign in, and you can open the same session from the Claude app or a browser.

The official documentation says you can use either /remote-control or /rc from an existing session and connect through the QR code or session URL.

Once connected, using Claude Code from the phone feels almost the same as using a normal Claude chat. You can ask it to fix an error, run tests, edit a page, or continue whatever task is already in progress. The actual file changes and commands still run on the PC.

PC and Smartphone Stay in Sync

One of the most useful parts of Remote Control is that the PC and smartphone are not treated as separate conversations.

Messages sent from the phone appear on the PC almost immediately, and messages sent from the PC appear on the phone. You can start working at your desk, leave the PC, and continue from your phone without starting over.

How the sync actually works: Anthropic describes the same behavior in its documentation: the terminal, browser, and mobile interface can all operate the same conversation, with messages and task progress kept in sync. I have found this especially useful for longer jobs. I can start a task on the PC, walk away, and check the progress from my phone. If Claude Code asks for confirmation or needs another instruction, I can reply without going back to the computer.

You Can Keep Remote Control Enabled

You do not have to enter /remote-control every time.

Keeping it always on: Run /config, then search for "remote". You should see an option called "Enable Remote Control for all sessions." With that setting turned on, Remote Control is automatically available when you start a normal Claude Code session. The current Anthropic documentation also describes this setting. If you expect to check Claude Code from your phone regularly, enabling it permanently is more convenient — I keep this enabled.

Sending Files from the PC to the Smartphone

Once you start using Claude Code remotely, file transfer becomes an obvious question. For example, Claude Code may create a document or another file on the PC that you want to view on your phone.

The method I use is simple: I ask Claude Code to attach the file to the chat, for example "Please attach the file you just created to the chat." Once the file appears in the conversation, I can open or download it from the smartphone side.

That makes it possible to have Claude Code create a file on the PC and then retrieve it while I am away from the computer.

Sending Files from the Smartphone to the PC

I also tried the opposite direction.

The Claude mobile interface allows file attachments. In my testing, Claude Code could read the contents of an attached file, but I could not reliably tell it to save that attachment as a normal file in a specific folder on the PC.

This area appears to be changing: The current Anthropic documentation says that when you attach a file from the mobile or browser interface, non-image files are downloaded to the computer and passed to Claude Code as an @ file reference. That does not completely match the behavior I saw, so this may have improved between versions. It is probably worth checking the latest documentation if file transfer is important to your workflow. At the very least, sending a file from the phone so Claude Code can read and process its contents already works.

OneDrive Solves Most File-Transfer Problems

Even if Remote Control itself does not handle a particular transfer the way you want, cloud storage makes the problem much easier.

I use OneDrive. I upload a file from my phone to OneDrive, wait for it to sync to the PC, and then tell Claude Code to open that file from the local OneDrive folder.

Once the file has synced, Claude Code can treat it like any other local file. It can read it, edit it, move it, or use it to create another file. The same idea should work with other cloud storage services that sync files to the PC.

This means Remote Control does not need to handle every kind of file transfer perfectly. A normal cloud storage service fills the gap well enough for my use.

The PC Still Has to Be On

Remote Control controls a Claude Code session that is running on your computer, so the PC needs to stay on. This is different from a cloud development environment or something like Genspark's sandbox. If you shut the PC down, Claude Code is no longer running there.

For me, that limitation is acceptable. If I leave my home PC running, I can continue using Claude Code from my phone while I am away.

According to the official documentation, if the computer goes to sleep or temporarily loses its network connection, Remote Control will try to reconnect once the machine becomes available again. If you plan to leave longer jobs running, the notes on Claude Code's rate limits and why Claude Code freezes are worth a look too.

Remote Control Is Easier Than Building a Mobile Dev Environment

When I first wanted to use Claude Code from a smartphone, my approach was to build a development environment on the phone itself. I installed Termux, added Node.js, and installed Claude Code there.

That worked for a while, but the environment was still separate from my PC. Projects and files had to exist on the phone as well, and there was more setup to maintain.

Remote Control avoids that completely. I can keep using the same projects and the same Claude Code environment on my PC. The phone only needs to connect to that session. For my use, this has been much easier.

Yamaguchi

The timing is suspicious, right? Termux breaking right around when Remote Control showed up.

Erii

I couldn't find any official statement connecting the two. The Termux issue is documented separately, as a compatibility problem from the native binary change in version 2.1.113.

The timing of the Termux compatibility issue and the appearance of Remote Control is fairly close, but I could not find any official statement saying that Termux support was dropped because Remote Control was introduced. The Termux problem is documented as a compatibility issue related to the native binary change in Claude Code 2.1.113.

Useful When You Cannot Sit at Your Desk

The main reason I like Remote Control is that I can continue development work from my phone without trying to turn the phone itself into a full development machine.

If I am looking after my child and cannot sit at the PC, I can still give Claude Code instructions from my phone. If I am on a train, I can ask it to make a change and let it work while I am moving.

People who travel frequently for engineering, sales, or other work may find this useful as well. You can leave Claude Code running on your PC and continue the same work from your phone.

The phone is mainly for instructions and checking results. The actual coding, file operations, and tests still happen on the PC. That division works well for me.

Summary

I originally tried Genspark's sandbox and even installed Claude Code in Termux because I wanted to develop from a smartphone. At this point, Remote Control is the simplest way I have found to use Claude Code away from my desk.

You do need to leave the PC running, but if that is acceptable for your setup, Remote Control is well worth trying.

Official information