Start a Claude Code Session on Your Dev Box From Your Phone in One Tap

Run claude remote-control on your dev machine, then tap its card in the Claude mobile app to start a full session there — no SSH, no port forwarding.

Claude Code's Week 34 release (Aug 17–21) added the device card flow: your machine registers itself with the Claude service, appears as a named card in the "Code" tab of the Claude app on your phone, and a tap opens a directory picker so you can start a session in any project folder without leaving the couch.

Two-step setup:

1. On your dev machine: claude remote-control (keep it running — it holds the connection)
2. On your phone: open the Claude app → Code tab → tap your machine's card → pick a project directory → session starts

When this is actually useful:

• Checking in on a long-running overnight job without opening a laptop
• Kicking off a session from the kitchen while coffee brews
• Quick away-from-desk debugging when your laptop is in another room
• Verifying a background agent completed before you sit back down

Honest limits to know before you rely on it:

• The claude remote-control process must be running on the machine — it is not a persistent daemon; if the machine sleeps or the process exits, the card disappears
• You must be signed in to the same Anthropic account on both devices
• This is not a full terminal or SSH replacement — you get a Claude Code session, not a shell prompt
• Session quality depends on your network; a flaky connection can drop the session mid-task
• The phone UI is optimized for starting and monitoring sessions, not for extended coding work

The feature was confirmed stable after the Week 34 release by independent reports noting that mobile connections now stay alive across app backgrounding, which was the main complaint in the beta.

Sources: Claude Code What's New Week 34 · itechguides: remote control explained · AlphaSignal: remote control stays connected on mobile