Claude Code is great at long, multi-step work - refactors, test runs, build fixes, research. But those runs take time, and they pause when they hit usage limits. If you start one and then leave your desk, you lose visibility: Is it done? Did it stall waiting for input? Can I resume now that my limit reset?
Here’s a setup that lets the agent keep running on your machine while you check in - and steer it - from your phone.
The usual non-answers
- SSH + tmux from your phone. Works only if you’ve already set up remote access (port forwarding or a VPN), and you’re driving a raw SSH client with an on-screen keyboard.
- Remote desktop. Heavy, laggy, and overkill just to see a terminal.
The setup
Keep the agent on your machine and reach it from any browser:
- Run Remote Terminal Bridge on the machine where Claude Code runs. It’s a Windows tray app that connects outbound to a relay - no port forwarding, no VPN - and can autostart and autoconnect.
- Start your Claude Code session in that terminal as you normally would.
- From your phone (or any browser), sign in with Microsoft Entra ID and open the live session.
Because it’s a real PTY, you see Claude Code’s actual interface - the spinner, the diff view, the prompts - exactly as on your desk.
What this unlocks
- Watch progress from the coffee shop while a long agentic task runs.
- Resume when your limit resets - peek in after the 5-hour rolling window and keep going from anywhere.
- Stop or start the agent remotely whenever you like.
- Run several sessions - keep a few agents going and check each one.
Why PTY fidelity matters for AI agents
AI coding CLIs are rich terminal UIs now, not plain text streams. A screenshot or a simplified web shell loses the interaction. A real pseudo-terminal means the agent behaves identically whether you’re at your desk or on your phone - so you can actually answer its prompts and approve its steps, not just read output.
The same setup works for Copilot CLI and opencode too.
Security
Outbound-only from your machine, Microsoft Entra ID sign-in on both ends, and an encrypted connection. No inbound ports to open.
New to the pattern? Start with Access your laptop’s terminal from your phone.
