Can you use Claude Code on mobile?
Yes. You use Claude Code on mobile through the regular Claude app for iOS and Android: its Code tab starts and steers cloud sessions, and connects to a Claude Code session running on your own computer through Remote Control. There is no separate Claude Code app, and code never runs on the phone itself.
The official mobile docs put it plainly: the app "is a client for Claude Code sessions rather than a place where code runs." Think of your phone as a remote screen and keyboard for work happening in the cloud or on your desk.
How do you set up Claude Code on your phone?
It takes three steps.
- Install the Claude app. Get it from the App Store or Google Play. On an iPad, install the same iOS app. If you're already in a Claude Code session on your computer, run
/mobile(or/iosor/android) to show a QR code for claude.ai/mobile, which opens the right store for your phone. - Sign in with the same account. Use the claude.ai account and organization you use for Claude Code. Cloud sessions and Remote Control require a claude.ai account, so they aren't reachable with an Anthropic Console API key or through a provider such as Amazon Bedrock.
- Open the Code tab. Tap Code in the app's navigation to see your sessions. You can also open claude.ai/code/new on your phone to start a new Code session in the app.
If the Code tab is missing, your plan or organization may not include these features.
What are the ways to work from your phone?
The app is the same in every case. What changes is where the work happens.
| Option | Where Claude runs | Good for | Computer must stay on? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud sessions | Cloud infrastructure, Anthropic-managed by default | Tasks on a GitHub repo that should keep running after you pocket the phone | No |
| Projects | The cloud, with Claude coordinating parallel threads | A stream of related work rather than one task | No |
| Remote Control | A Claude Code session on your computer | Work that needs your local files, tools or MCP servers | Yes |
| Dispatch | The Claude Desktop app on your computer | Messaging a task and letting Dispatch decide how to run it | Yes |
Dispatch requires a Pro or Max plan and isn't available on Team or Enterprise. Cloud sessions are available on Pro, Max and Team plans, and for Enterprise users with premium seats or Chat + Claude Code seats, according to the cloud sessions docs.
How do cloud sessions work on mobile?
A cloud session runs Claude Code on a cloud machine against your GitHub repository. From the Code tab, pick a repository and branch, describe the task, and submit it. You can then close the app: the session keeps running.
Sessions follow you across devices. A task you start on your laptop at claude.ai/code is ready to review on your phone, and one you start on your phone is waiting at your desk. From the app you can check progress, answer Claude's questions, change direction, or ask Claude to watch a pull request and fix CI failures or review comments as they arrive.
You need GitHub connected and a cloud environment set up first. The Claude Code on the web guide covers that setup and what cloud sessions can do.
When you get back to your computer, you can pull a cloud session into your terminal with claude --teleport, or run /teleport inside a running session to pick one. The terminal gets its own copy, so new local work doesn't show up in the app.
How do you control your local Claude Code from your phone?
Remote Control connects the app to a Claude Code session on your machine. Code runs and files stay on your computer; your phone just drives it. This is the option to use when the task depends on your local setup, such as a database running in Docker or an MCP server you configured on your laptop.
Start it on your computer in one of these ways:
# server mode: waits for connections, can serve several sessions
claude remote-control
# a normal interactive session with Remote Control on
claude --remote-control
Or type /remote-control (alias /rc) in a session that's already open. With claude remote-control, press the spacebar to show a QR code and scan it with your phone. You can also open the Claude app, tap Code, and pick the session from the list; online Remote Control sessions show a computer icon with a green dot.
Remote Control is available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner must first turn on the Remote Control toggle in Claude Code admin settings. It doesn't work with API keys, with Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform or Microsoft Foundry, or when ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL points at a host other than api.anthropic.com, such as an LLM gateway or proxy. The Remote Control guide covers server mode, security and troubleshooting in depth.
Can you send photos and files from your phone?
Yes, when you're connected to a local session with Remote Control:
- Photos: Claude sees them directly as part of your message. Claude Code also saves each one under
~/.claude/uploads/on your computer and tells Claude the path, so it can copy the image into files it creates. - Other files: Claude Code downloads them to your machine and passes them to Claude as
@file references.
That makes it practical to snap a screenshot of a bug on your phone and hand it straight to the session on your desk.
How do you get notified when Claude needs you?
While Remote Control is active, Claude Code can push notifications to your phone, usually when a long task finishes or when it needs a decision from you. To turn them on:
- Install the Claude app and sign in with the same account and organization you use in the terminal.
- Allow notifications when your phone asks.
- In your terminal, run
/configand turn on Push when Claude decides, Push when actions required, or both.
You can also ask for a push in a prompt, for example "notify me when the tests finish." If /config shows No mobile registered, open the Claude app so it can refresh its push token. On iOS, Focus modes and notification summaries can delay pushes; on Android, battery optimization can. The mobile push section of the Remote Control docs has the full troubleshooting list, and the notifications guide covers desktop alerts.
What doesn't work from the mobile app?
The mobile client covers most of a session, with some limits:
- Terminal-only commands. Commands such as
/pluginand/resumeonly work in the local CLI. - Commands that open a picker. Pass the value instead:
/model sonnet,/effort high, or/config key=value. From the app,/mcpreturns a text summary instead of the picker. - Permission modes. Cloud sessions offer Accept edits, Plan and Auto. Remote Control sessions offer Manual, Accept edits, Plan and Auto. You can't select Bypass permissions from the app. See the permissions guide for what each mode allows.
- Your computer has to stay up for Remote Control. If you close the terminal or stop the
claudeprocess, the session goes offline. On a remote machine over SSH, start Claude Code insidetmuxorscreenso it survives a disconnect.
Tips for working from a phone
- Start big tasks at your desk, check them on the go. Write a detailed task description on a real keyboard, start it as a cloud session or with Remote Control, then follow along from the app.
- Use push notifications so you aren't refreshing the app to see whether Claude is waiting on you.
- Keep reusable instructions saved. Typing a long prompt on a phone keyboard is slow. Kipt keeps your prompts as Markdown in a private GitHub repo you own, with
{{name}}blanks for the parts that change, so you can fill in a saved prompt and paste it into the Code tab. - Pick the right mode for the task. If your laptop will be closed, choose a cloud session. If the work needs local tools, choose Remote Control.