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Driving Claude Code from a phone or tablet

How to continue a coding session from a phone/tablet — and, crucially, which paths keep this repo's hook-based enforcement live. Verified against vendor docs 2026-06-22; version numbers move fast, so re-check before relying on a minimum.

TL;DR

You want… Use Enforcement (hooks/DAG guard)
Steer an in-progress session from your phone, full local env Remote Control ✅ runs on your machine
Kick off a task with no local machine on Claude Code on the web / cloud session ⚠️ repo-committed hooks can run in-sandbox; no local config — git/CI is the boundary
Fully headless box, or a non-Claude tool tmux + Tailscale ✅ (it's your local shell)

The decisive fact: enforcement depends on where the session executes, not which device you hold. A session on your machine applies your full local config — the scaffolded hooks (github_command_guard.sh, the DAG guard, prod_guard.py) plus anything in ~/.agents. A cloud sandbox honors only repo-committed files: committed hooks may run inside the VM, but your local user config, resources, and credentials don't — so per ADR-007 git/CI is the guaranteed enforcement boundary for cloud surfaces. See the local-vs-cloud caveat in non-cli-surface-matrix.md and the generated CAPABILITIES.md.

Claude Code's built-in way to drive a local session from the Claude mobile app or any browser. Because the session runs on your machine, your filesystem, MCP servers, tools, and all the scaffolded hooks stay active — even when you're typing from your phone.

  • Enable: claude remote-control (server mode, prints a URL + QR), or claude --remote-control / --rc for a normal interactive session that's also remote-drivable, or /remote-control (/rc) from a live session. VS Code: /rc.
  • Requires: Claude Code (the floor was v2.1.51; mobile push needs v2.1.110+ — check claude --version), a claude.ai /login (not an API key / setup-token). All plans (on Team/Enterprise an admin enables it).
  • Networking: outbound HTTPS only — it never opens an inbound port, so it sidesteps the WSL2 NAT problem entirely (no Tailscale/SSH/port-forward needed).
  • Caveats: the local claude process must stay alive (close the terminal → session ends); a >~10-minute total network outage on your machine times it out; a few interactive commands (/plugin, /resume) stay local-only; starting an ultraplan session disconnects Remote Control.

Related phone triggers (also local-execution, so hooks run): Dispatch (message a task from the app → spawns a Desktop session) and Channels (Telegram/Discord → local session).

Option B — tmux + Tailscale (headless, or non-Claude tools)

For keeping a machine working after you fully disconnect, or driving tools other than Claude Code. This environment is Windows 11 + WSL2, whose NAT means the WSL VM isn't reachable at the host IP without help.

  1. tmux (survives disconnects): tmux new -s work → run your tool → Ctrl-b d to detach → tmux attach -t work to resume. A dropped phone connection never kills the session.
  2. Transport — Tailscale (cleanest): install Tailscale on the Windows host (not inside WSL — tailscaled in WSL2 fights the TUN device), and on the phone, same account. The host is now reachable at its tailnet name — but WSL's sshd sits behind WSL2's NAT, so the tailnet connection lands on the Windows host, not WSL, unless you bridge it. Pick one:
  3. WSL2 mirrored networking (networkingMode=mirrored in .wslconfig) so WSL shares the host's network stack and tailnet — simplest, and it passes UDP (so mosh works);
  4. a Windows netsh portproxy from a host port → <WSL-ip>:22 (TCP only — no mosh); or
  5. a Windows OpenSSH server that ForceCommands into wsl.exe (this also solves iOS Tailscale grabbing port 22).

Then connect to <host-tailnet-name>:<port> — no inbound internet ports, works over cellular. Add mosh for flaky links (local echo + roaming); it needs UDP, so use mirrored mode (not portproxy). 3. Alternatives: WSL2 networkingMode=mirrored (LAN-only, no NAT); Cloudflare Tunnel / sshx / tmate (no open ports, browser terminal); code tunnel → vscode.dev (full editor + integrated terminal from a tablet).

Mobile clients: iOS — Blink Shell or Moshi (native mosh); Android — Termux (pkg install openssh mosh tmux; use it as a client — running Claude Code natively in Termux is unreliable on ARM). Termius/JuiceSSH work but lack mosh.

Which to pick

  • Driving Claude Code specifically, machine on → Remote Control (zero network plumbing, full enforcement).
  • Machine must keep running after you disconnect, or a non-Claude tool → tmux + Tailscale.
  • No local machine at all → Claude Code on the web — the sandbox honors only repo-committed config (not your local setup), so git + CI are your guaranteed guardrails there.