How to Use Claude Remote | Steps to Control Claude Code from Your Smartphone or iPad

What Claude Remote Actually Is — Claude Code Remote Control Explained

The feature people search for as "how to use Claude Remote" is, in fact, Claude Code's Remote Control. It is a sync layer that lets you continue a Claude Code session started on your desktop from claude.ai/code or the Claude mobile app (iOS / Android), offered as a research preview to all plan tiers.

Unlike Claude Code on the Web, which runs code on Anthropic's cloud, Remote Control opens a "window" through which you can send commands from another device to a Claude Code session running on your local PC. Your filesystem, MCP servers, and project settings remain intact, and source code never has to move to the cloud — that is the key distinction. Source: Anthropic Official Documentation — Remote Control.

3 Requirements to Meet Before Using Remote Control

Most setup issues stem from overlooking prerequisites. The official documentation specifies three requirements:

1. Subscription: Pro / Max / Team / Enterprise plan. API keys and Bedrock / Vertex / Foundry access are not supported. For Team and Enterprise, an administrator must enable the Remote Control toggle at admin-settings/claude-code.
2. Claude Code v2.1.51 or later: Run claude --version in your terminal and update with npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code if needed. For mobile push notifications, v2.1.110 or later is required.
3. Authentication and workspace trust: Sign in to your claude.ai account with claude /login, then run claude once in the target project directory to accept the workspace trust dialog.

If ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set as an environment variable, OAuth detection will fail. It is safest to run unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY on the device you intend to use before launching Remote Control.

Method 1 — Run claude remote-control in Server Mode

The most versatile approach is server mode. Run the following in your project directory:

cd ~/path/to/your-project
claude remote-control

A session URL will appear in the terminal, and pressing the spacebar toggles the QR code display on and off. The process stays resident and waits for remote connections.

The main flags are as follows:

While running, press w to toggle between same-dir and worktree. If you do not want separate tasks touching the same files, specifying --spawn worktree from the start is the safer approach.

Method 2 — Break Out an Existing Session with /remote-control (/rc)

If you are already using Claude Code in interactive mode and want to go remote while preserving that context, the slash command is the fastest route.

/remote-control
/rc My Project        # You can pass a name

After typing the command, a Remote Control session launches with your current conversation history intact, and the session URL and QR code appear in the terminal. Flags such as --verbose cannot be passed with this command, so switch to server mode if you need to debug.

If you want to open a new interactive session that is remote-ready from the start, use claude --remote-control "My Project" (short form: --rc). This enters a tandem mode where both the terminal and a remote device can provide input simultaneously.

Method 3 — Launch from the VS Code Extension

In the Claude Code VS Code extension (v2.1.79 or later), type /remote-control or /rc in the prompt box, or select the command from the / command menu.

Once connected, a banner appears above the prompt box, and Open in browser takes you directly to the session on claude.ai/code. Unlike the CLI, the VS Code version does not accept a name argument and does not display a QR code. The session title is automatically derived from the conversation history or the first prompt. To disconnect, click the ✕ icon in the banner or run /remote-control again.

3 Ways to Connect from Another Device

Once a Remote Control session is running, you have three options for connecting:

• Open the session URL directly: Paste the session URL (under claude.ai/code) into a browser.
• Scan the QR code: Press the spacebar while claude remote-control is running to display the code, then scan it with your phone's camera to open it directly in the Claude app.
• Session list on claude.ai/code or the mobile app: Items with a green status dot and a computer icon are currently online Remote Control sessions.

If you have not installed the mobile app yet, run /mobile in the terminal to display QR codes for downloading the iOS and Android apps — a handy shortcut that saves you a search.

How to Enable Mobile Push Notifications

Mobile push notifications (available in Claude Code v2.1.110 or later) let you say things like "notify me when the tests pass" or "let me know when the long refactor is done." The setup takes four steps:

1. Install the Claude mobile app on iOS or Android.
2. Sign in with the same claude.ai account and organization you use in the terminal.
3. Approve the OS notification permission dialog.
4. Open /config in the terminal and enable Push when Claude decides.

iOS Focus mode, notification summaries, and Android battery optimization are common culprits for delayed delivery. If notifications are not arriving, start by checking the OS-level Claude app settings. If /config shows No mobile registered, open the Claude app on your phone to refresh the push token.

Connection Security — Outbound HTTPS Only

Remote Control operates exclusively over one-way outbound HTTPS polling from the local machine to the Anthropic API. No inbound ports need to be opened on the machine, and no firewall or VPN configuration is required. All traffic travels over TLS with the same transport security applied to Claude Code sessions.

Authentication works by issuing multiple short-lived OAuth credentials, each scoped to a single purpose and expiring independently. Long-lived tokens issued with claude setup-token or CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN are inference-only and cannot be used with Remote Control. If you see the error "Remote Control requires a fully-scoped login token," run claude auth login again.

For organizations that want to block web-based control due to company policy, the disableRemoteControl setting can disable it per device, or an administrator can disable it organization-wide from the admin console. Source: DevelopersIO — Claude Code Remote Control Lets You Continue Local Work from Your Smartphone.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

From the official troubleshooting guide, here are four frequently encountered issues:

• "Remote Control requires a claude.ai subscription": Unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, then re-run claude auth login and select the claude.ai option during authentication.
• "Remote Control has not been enabled for your account yet": Remove flags such as CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC, DISABLE_TELEMETRY, or CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK, then run /logout followed by /login.
• "Remote Control is disabled by your organization's policy": Run /status to check the authentication type. For Team/Enterprise, ask your administrator to enable the Remote Control toggle at admin-settings/claude-code.
• Network outage lasting roughly 10 minutes or more: The session ends on timeout; after connectivity is restored, re-run claude remote-control to create a new session.

Interactive picker commands such as /mcp, /plugin, and /resume are local CLI only and cannot be used from mobile. Only text-output commands like /compact, /clear, /context, and /usage work remotely — worth keeping in mind to avoid confusion. Source: Zenn — Getting Started with Claude Code Remote Control and Mobile Notifications.

Claude Code on the Web vs. Remote Control vs. Dispatch — When to Use Which

Several similar features exist, so here is a quick guide to choosing between them:

A simple rule of thumb: use Remote Control when you want to leverage your local environment and pick up where you left off on your phone while out; use Claude Code on the Web when your local PC does not need to be running. One practical note: starting an Ultraplan session will disconnect any active Remote Control connection, since both share the claude.ai/code interface.

Summary — Just Run claude remote-control Once and Try It

If the prerequisites are met, using Claude Remote takes about 30 seconds: type claude remote-control in your project directory, press the spacebar to show the QR code, and scan it with your phone. The three keys are claude.ai OAuth authentication, v2.1.51 or later, and outbound HTTPS connectivity. With those in place, you can continue your home PC's Claude Code session from the couch or anywhere on the go.