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Run it in the background, watch it from your phone

You don't have to babysit long tasks at the terminal: keep them running in the background or in the cloud, and once you step away, use your phone to watch progress, approve permissions, and give feedback.

The Claude app on your phone doesn't run code — it's just a client for the session. The real choice is where the task runs: your machine (Remote Control) or Anthropic's cloud (cloud session). And there's exactly one criterion: does the computer stay on?

One-line answer

Answer OfficialComputer stays on and the task needs local files/tools/MCP → Remote Control: start the session with claude remote-control, scan the QR code with your phone to take over — code always executes on your machine. Lid closing and the repo is on GitHub → cloud session: claude --cloud "task" hands it to Anthropic's managed infrastructure; open the Claude app's Code tab anytime to check progress, then pull it back into your terminal with claude --teleport when you're back at your desk.

Steps

  1. Set up the phone side.OfficialDownload the Claude app for iOS/Android (run /mobile in the terminal for a download QR code), sign in with the same claude.ai account you use for Claude Code, and find the entry point in the app's Code tab. Both routes require a claude.ai subscription login; API keys are not supported.
  2. Local route: start Remote Control.OfficialThree ways to start: claude remote-control (server mode, dedicated to waiting for remote connections), claude --remote-control (a normal interactive session that's also remotely reachable), or, from inside an existing session, /remote-control to connect with the current conversation history attached. In server mode, press space to show the QR code; one scan and the phone is in. What to expect: a session URL in the terminal, and a green dot on that session in the phone's Code list.
  3. What you can do from the phone.OfficialWatch the conversation and live subagent/workflow progress, send messages to keep directing the work, upload images (automatically downloaded to your machine as @ file references), and answer permission prompts; terminal and phone can take turns typing, synced across devices. If the laptop sleeps or drops offline, the session reconnects automatically once it recovers.
  4. Turn on push notifications.OfficialIn the terminal, /config has two switches: Push when Claude decides (proactive pushes when a long task finishes or needs your decision) and Push when actions required (pushes for permission prompts and questions); you can also just write "notify me when the tests finish" in the prompt.
  5. The local route's hard limits.OfficialThe local claude process must stay alive — close the terminal and the session is gone; on a remote server, wrap it in tmux/screen before dropping SSH; if the machine is awake but offline for more than about 10 minutes, the session times out.
  6. Cloud route: use --cloud when the computer has to shut.Officialclaude --cloud "Fix the flaky test in auth.spec.ts" opens a cloud session from the current repo's GitHub remote on the current branch (unpushed local commits get pushed first); each --cloud invocation is an independent session, so firing off several in a row means parallel runs. /tasks in the CLI shows progress; on the phone, open the session to ask questions and correct course, or even start new tasks from the phone itself (pick a repo and branch in the Code tab). First-time setup: connect GitHub by following the official web quickstart.
  7. Wrap up back at your desk.Officialclaude --teleport opens a session picker and pulls the cloud session, branch and all, back into your local terminal to keep working; it requires clean local git status, the same claude.ai account, and a checkout of the same repo. Cloud sessions can also run auto-fix on the side: tell one from your phone to "watch this PR and fix any CI failures or review comments" and it follows up automatically when CI breaks or review comments arrive.
  8. Watch your quota.OfficialCloud sessions share rate limits with the rest of your Claude usage — the more you run in parallel, the faster it burns; the cloud VMs themselves cost nothing extra.

Copy-paste prompt

This task is going to run for a long time: <task description>.
I've connected my phone via /remote-control and I'm about to step away.
Please:
1. Break the task into clear stages and print a one-line status summary
   as each stage completes, so I can glance at my phone and know where
   things stand;
2. Notify me when the task finishes or needs my decision;
3. Fire off permission requests as needed — I'll approve them from my
   phone; if an approval doesn't arrive for a long while, skip that step,
   keep going with whatever else you can do, and list everything you
   skipped at the end.

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