Every way to run Claude Code on a phone

You can run Claude Code from an iPhone, iPad or Android phone today, and for many people it costs nothing beyond the Claude plan they already have. The right route depends on three questions: is your code on GitHub, do you own a machine that stays on, and does the work need to keep going while nobody is watching.

We make one of the apps on this list. We have tried to write about the others as if we didn't, and where a free or first-party option suits you better, we say so.

The options side by side

Every Anthropic option needs a claude.ai account (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise). Anthropic's docs say cloud sessions and Remote Control aren't reachable with a Console API key or through a third-party provider such as Amazon Bedrock.

1. Cloud sessions (Claude Code on the web)

Included with your plan · needs GitHub · nothing of yours stays on

Open the Code tab in the Claude app, pick a repository and branch, and describe the task. It runs in an isolated VM that Anthropic manages, keeps going after you lock the phone, and shows up on every device you're signed in on. You can also ask Claude to watch a pull request and fix CI failures or review comments as they arrive. Anthropic took cloud sessions out of research preview on 23 September 2026 and gave existing Pro and Max subscribers a one-time credit to try them.

According to the cloud sessions docs, they're available on Pro, Max and Team, and to Enterprise users with premium or Chat + Claude Code seats. They draw on the same usage limits as the rest of your Claude usage, with no separate compute charge. Cloning and opening pull requests need GitHub. You can upload a repository from another host as a bundle, but the session can't push back to it. From the app you get Accept edits, Plan and Auto modes; Bypass permissions isn't offered.

Choose it when your code is on GitHub and the task is self-contained. Skip it when the work needs your database, your private network, or tools you can't reproduce in a setup script.

2. Remote Control

Included with your plan · your machine must stay on

Run claude remote-control on your computer, or /remote-control inside a session that's already open. Then scan the QR code or pick the session from the Code tab. Claude keeps running on your machine, so your files, tools and MCP servers all work. Anthropic's Remote Control docs list a few changes since the feature first shipped:

• Plans: Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. API keys aren't supported, and on Team and Enterprise an Owner has to switch it on first.
• Server mode: claude remote-control keeps one process waiting for connections and runs several sessions at once (--capacity, 32 by default).
• Push notifications: in /config, turn on Push when Claude decides, Push when actions required, or both.
• Sleep: if the laptop sleeps or the network drops, Claude Code reconnects when the machine comes back online. While it's asleep, nothing runs.

Remote Control doesn't have to run on a laptop. The docs suggest starting it inside tmux or screen on a remote machine so it outlives your SSH connection. Put it on a VPS that way and you have a free, always-on setup driven from the official app. The session transcript is stored on Anthropic's servers while you're connected. From the app you can pick Manual, Accept edits or Plan, but not Auto or Bypass permissions.

Choose it when you have a desktop or server that is always on and you're happy to approve steps as they come. Skip it when the only machine you have is a laptop that goes into a bag.

3. Dispatch, Channels and Slack

Pro or Max · the Desktop app must be running

Dispatch lets you message a task from the Claude app and leaves it to the Desktop app on your computer to decide how to run it. You get a notification when the Code session it starts finishes or needs your approval. Per Anthropic's mobile docs, it needs a Pro or Max plan and isn't available on Team or Enterprise. Your computer has to stay on.

Anthropic has two more ways to reach Claude Code from a phone. Channels lets you message a session on your machine from Telegram, Discord or iMessage, and Claude Code in Slack takes tasks when you mention @Claude. They fit if you already live in one of those apps.

4. An SSH client and tmux

Free clients exist · works with any agent · rough on a small screen

Termius, Blink Shell or any other SSH app, attached to a tmux session on a server. You get the whole terminal, so every slash command and panel works exactly as it does at a desk. Add mosh or Tailscale and it copes with patchy mobile connections too. Our tmux, mosh and Tailscale guide covers the setup.

Choose it when you also want a real shell on that machine, or you rely on commands no app wraps. Skip it when reading wrapped diffs and hunting for Esc on a soft keyboard is the thing stopping you. This comparison goes into the details.

5. Third-party apps

This is a category, not one product, and it has changed a lot this year.

• Happier is free and MIT-licensed, with iOS, Android, desktop and web clients. It ships with 13 agents built in, including Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Grok. Sessions are end-to-end encrypted, and you can self-host the relay. It also has voice control, a session inbox and switching agents mid-conversation. You install its CLI on each machine (curl -fsSL https://happier.dev/install | bash). For most people who want a free, open-source multi-agent client, it's the one to try first.
• Happy Coder is an open-source (MIT) mobile and web client for Claude Code and Codex, with voice and encryption.
• Omnara is a different company now. omnara.com describes an open-source (Apache 2.0) platform for deploying and running agents. Its free "Omnara: Claude & Codex Mobile" app is still listed on the App Store and Google Play. If you're choosing it for the phone app, check how actively that app is maintained. More in Maude vs Omnara.
• Cosyra takes the opposite approach. It gives you a hosted virtual machine with Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode installed, and you connect your own Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter account. It suits you if you own no server at all. It's a paid subscription; see their site for current pricing.

Paseo, Vicoa, AgentsRoom and a long tail of App Store clients cover similar ground. The roundup of coding-agent phone apps compares them.

6. Maude

Paid, with a free trial · your own server · five agents

Maude runs Claude Code on a Linux or macOS machine you own and gives you a native iPhone, iPad and Android app to drive it. You add the server by its address, by pasting an ssh … command, or by scanning a QR code printed by curl -fsSL https://maude.pilotdev.fr/setup | sh. Maude then sets the server up over SSH:

• It deploys its own small daemon.
• It installs Claude Code at a version we have tested and pinned, with a checksum check.
• It keeps both the daemon and Claude Code updated afterwards.

You sign in with claude auth login from the phone, using your own Pro or Max plan.

Sessions run on the server around the clock and carry on when the app is closed. An inbox collects the sessions that errored, finished or need you, and push notifications have Allow and Deny buttons. Each session has a file browser, a git view where you review the diff hunk by hunk, commit, push and open a PR, and a real terminal. The server dials out to Maude's relay, so you don't need an open inbound port, and traffic is end-to-end encrypted. Because the server is yours, Maude also offers Claude's bypass mode. It needs a non-root user, and Maude can create one for you.

Choose it when your work lives on a server you own, you want unattended runs, or you use more than one agent. Maude also runs Codex, OpenCode, Grok Build and Antigravity, and can hand a task from one agent to another. Skip it when a free option already covers you. For many people the Claude app does, and Happier overlaps with Maude on multi-agent support, encryption, the inbox and push. What sets Maude apart is that nothing is installed by hand, agent versions are pinned, and git, files and a terminal are built in.

Which one to pick

What changed since our first version

We first published this page in July 2026. Since then, Remote Control has spread to every paid plan and gained server mode and push notifications. Cloud sessions left research preview. Happier became the main open-source multi-agent client, and Omnara moved its focus to an agent platform. The easy question, "can I check on Claude Code from my phone", now has a good free answer in the Claude app. Third-party apps are for the cases it doesn't cover: code that can't leave your infrastructure, no machine of your own that stays awake, other agents alongside Claude, and unattended runs.

Run Claude Code from your phone

If you landed on "your own server", the Claude Code on your phone page shows how Maude sets it up. The VPS setup guide covers doing it by hand.

Frequently asked questions

What changed

• October 1, 2026 — Rewritten for 2026-10: Remote Control on every paid plan with server mode and push, cloud sessions out of research preview (23 September), Happier and Cosyra added, Omnara re-scoped, Maude 2 (five agents, own server).
• July 25, 2026 — First published.