How do you use Claude Code from your phone?

Claude Code was built for the terminal, but in 2026 there are several real ways to reach it from a phone. They differ in three things that matter: where the work runs (your computer or the cloud), how you get pinged when Claude Code needs you, and how much setup it takes. This guide covers each option, with links to the official docs, and says plainly when our own product, TextMyWorker, is the wrong pick.

The options at a glance

Plans and features change often. Each section below links to the source we checked.

1. Remote Control: drive your local session from the Claude app

Remote Control is Anthropic's built-in way to reach a Claude Code session running on your computer from the Claude app for iOS and Android, or from claude.ai/code in any browser. The session keeps running locally, so your files, MCP servers and tools stay available. The phone is a window into that session.

1. In your project folder, run claude remote-control (or type /remote-control in a session that's already open).
2. Scan the QR code it shows, or open the Claude app, tap Code, and pick the session.
3. Optional: run /config and turn on Push when actions required so permission prompts reach your phone as notifications.

What to know: it needs a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan and doesn't work with API keys. On Team and Enterprise, an admin has to turn it on. Your computer has to stay on and the claude process has to keep running; if the laptop sleeps, it reconnects when it wakes. While it's connected, the session transcript is stored on Anthropic's servers to keep devices in sync. Source: Remote Control docs.

2. Dispatch: message a task to the Claude Desktop app

Dispatch is a conversation in the Claude Desktop app (the Cowork tab) that you message from the Claude mobile app. When the task is development work, it opens a Claude Code session on your computer, and you get a push notification when that session finishes or needs your approval. It requires a Pro or Max plan and isn't available on Team or Enterprise. Your computer has to be on with the Desktop app running. Sources: Claude Code Desktop docs, Claude Code on mobile.

3. Cloud sessions: Claude Code on the web and in the Claude app

Cloud sessions run on Anthropic-managed machines, not on your computer, so they keep going after you close your laptop. You start one from claude.ai/code, from the Code tab in the Claude app, or with claude --cloud "..." from your terminal, and you can run several in parallel. They clone your code from GitHub; other hosts work only with limits. They're available on Pro, Max and Team plans, and for Enterprise users with premium seats or Chat + Claude Code seats. The catch: the session doesn't see your local files, local tools or anything not in the repo. Source: Use Claude Code in the cloud.

4. Channels: Telegram, Discord and iMessage

Channels let a chat app push messages into a Claude Code session that's already running on your computer, and Claude replies in the same chat. Anthropic ships plugins for Telegram, Discord and iMessage. It's a research preview. For Telegram you create a bot with BotFather, install the plugin with /plugin install telegram@claude-plugins-official, restart with claude --channels plugin:telegram@claude-plugins-official, and pair your account. The plugins need Bun, and the session has to stay open. If Claude Code hits a permission prompt, the session waits, unless the channel declares the permission relay feature, in which case you can approve by replying with a short ID. There's no official WhatsApp channel; a feature request for one is open. Sources: Channels, Channels reference.

5. SSH + tmux from a mobile terminal

The classic developer setup: run Claude Code inside tmux on your computer, reach the computer over SSH (usually through a private network such as Tailscale, so you don't open ports), and attach from a terminal app like Termius or Blink Shell. Blink also supports Mosh, which copes better with flaky mobile connections. You get the real terminal, every prompt and every keystroke, and you can detach and reattach without losing the session. The downsides: typing on a phone keyboard, and no notification when Claude Code is waiting for you unless you build one. Example write-ups: Twingate's Termius + tmux guide, Harper Reed's setup.

6. Happy: an open-source mobile client

Happy is an MIT-licensed mobile and web client for Claude Code and Codex. You install its CLI with npm install -g happy and start your agent with happy instead of claude. The phone app (iOS, Android or web) shows the session, sends push notifications when the agent needs permission or hits an error, and supports realtime voice. Traffic is end-to-end encrypted. Because it wraps the Claude Code on your computer, the computer has to be on. Source: slopus/happy on GitHub.

7. Community WhatsApp bridges

Several open-source projects connect Claude Code to WhatsApp by linking a WhatsApp account as a device, the way WhatsApp Web does. They use unofficial libraries that reverse-engineer the WhatsApp protocol. One of them, claude-code-whatsapp, tells users to "use a separate WhatsApp number, not your personal one" because of ban risk. If you go this way, read each project's warnings and use a number you can afford to lose.

8. TextMyWorker: text Claude Code from WhatsApp

TextMyWorker (that's us) gives your worker its own number. You text or voice-note a task to one TextMyWorker WhatsApp business number, which runs on Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API, and our relay passes it to Claude Code on your own Mac or Windows PC, on your own Claude plan. Your message gets live status reactions (⏳ 👀 ⚙️ 🔐 ✅ ❌), risky actions wait for a 🔐 Allow / Deny tap, and long tasks end with a summary. There are morning and evening summaries too. No MCP. No plugin. Just WhatsApp. Setup is one command and a QR code scan: see How to control Claude Code from WhatsApp.

The difference from Remote Control in one line: Remote Control = you work remotely. TextMyWorker = someone works for you while you live. Many people will want both.

Which one should you pick?

• Your computer will be off, and the code is on GitHub: cloud sessions.
• You're mid-task at your desk and want to keep going on the couch: Remote Control.
• You use the Claude Desktop app on a Pro or Max plan: try Dispatch.
• You want the raw terminal and full control: SSH + tmux, or Happy if you'd like a nicer app.
• You already live in Telegram or Discord and like to tinker: Channels.
• You live in WhatsApp and want to send a task, approve with one tap and get on with your day: TextMyWorker.

When TextMyWorker is not the right choice

• Your computer can't stay on. TextMyWorker runs on your computer, which has to be on and awake. Use cloud sessions instead.
• You want to watch every step and steer mid-task. TextMyWorker reports by message. For the full Claude Code view, use Remote Control or a terminal.
• You're on Linux. We support Mac and Windows today.
• You don't want any third-party service between your phone and your computer. Messages pass through Meta and our relay (content is kept in memory only, never written to disk). SSH over your own VPN avoids both.
• You need it today, self-serve. It's an invite-only design-partner pilot. You ask the bot and the founder approves you.
• You don't use WhatsApp, or your company doesn't allow work over it. Use Channels, Happy or the Claude app.

FAQ