What is the difference between Remote Control and SSH-based apps like ServerCC?

Remote Control is Anthropic's official feature: the Claude app talks to your Claude Code sessions through Anthropic's infrastructure. ServerCC instead opens a direct SSH connection to your server — you get a full terminal, sessions persist in tmux on your machine, and it also runs Codex. Nothing depends on a relay service.

Claude Code Remote Control is not working — what can I do?

First check the basics: Claude Code is up to date, the session was started with Remote Control enabled, and both devices are signed into the same account. If you need something that works regardless of feature flags or relay status, an SSH connection to your server is the dependable fallback — that is exactly what ServerCC provides.

Yes. They do not conflict — many developers use Remote Control for quick check-ins on Anthropic-hosted sessions and ServerCC for everything that lives on their own servers.

Claude Code Remote Control alternative: go direct over SSH

Anthropic's Remote Control lets the Claude app steer a Claude Code session from your phone, relayed through Anthropic's infrastructure. It is convenient — and for many people it is enough. But it is also a specific shape of remote work: a controller for a session, mediated by a service.

The alternative is older and simpler: SSH straight into your server. ServerCC packages that approach into an iOS app designed for AI coding agents — the full terminal, sessions that persist in tmux on your machine, and the freedom to run whatever you want, including Codex.

How the two approaches differ

	ServerCC (SSH)	Remote Control
Connection path	Phone → your server, direct SSH (Tailscale built in for private networks)	Phone → Anthropic infrastructure → session
What you can run	Anything on the box: Claude Code, Codex, git, tests, builds	Claude Code sessions
Session persistence	tmux on your server — survives app close, network drops, phone reboots	Managed by the feature
Terminal access	Full PTY terminal with keyboard toolbar, multi-line editing, image attachments	Chat-style controls
Review & ship	Git diff review, SFTP file browser, port preview, VNC	Follow the session
Dependency	Your server + SSH — nothing else	Anthropic's service availability and feature scope

Not either/or

The two coexist fine. Remote Control is great for quick check-ins; SSH is the dependable path for work that lives on your own machines.

When Remote Control is not working

A quick checklist before you give up on it — these cover most reports:

Update Claude Code — the feature ships and changes through CLI releases
Confirm the session was started with Remote Control enabled, and that phone and machine use the same account
Check your plan and organization settings allow the feature
If it still fails — or you need it to work offline from Anthropic’s relay — connect over SSH instead. Your server, your terminal, no middle service to debug.

Setup for the SSH route takes about five minutes: Quick Start. For the bigger picture of running agents from a phone, see Claude Code on iPhone and Persistent Sessions.