Remoby: Remote Terminal Control for AI Agents

Connor Adams recently presented Remoby, an innovative tool designed to bring full terminal control to mobile devices, at an AI Engineer event. The presentation highlighted Remoby's ability to allow developers to manage their tmux sessions and AI agents remotely, addressing a common pain point for those who feel compelled to check on their agents even when away from their primary workstation.

The Genesis of Remoby: Addressing a Gap in Mobile AI Development

Adams began by acknowledging the widespread desire among developers to monitor and steer their AI agents on the go. He noted that while existing solutions like Happy, which supports Claude Code, offer native mobile apps, they often come with limitations. These include being restricted to specific AI models and sometimes relying on relay servers that users might not fully trust. Other options, such as general terminal apps for phones, present challenges with SSH key management, touch controls, and integration with existing workflows like tmux.

Motivated by these gaps, Adams developed Remoby. "The thing I wanted didn't really exist," he explained, emphasizing his drive to create a solution that offered greater flexibility and control. Remoby aims to provide a seamless transition between desktop and mobile environments, ensuring that developers do not have to compromise their established terminal workflows.

Tmux Integration and Custom Workflows

A core aspect of Remoby's functionality revolves around tmux, a terminal multiplexer that allows users to manage multiple terminal sessions within a single window. Adams demonstrated how tmux enables him to run and monitor four different coding agents simultaneously, showcasing its utility as a powerful window manager for the terminal. Users can customize tmux to display system information like CPU usage and create custom key commands for various tasks.

Adams highlighted the intuitive nature of setting up custom commands, stating, "I didn't know how to do any of this and I probably still don't because obviously I vibed it. It knows how to use tmux." This implies that Remoby, through its intelligent setup skill, simplifies the configuration process, making advanced tmux functionalities accessible even to those less familiar with it.

He further illustrated practical applications within tmux, such as using lazygit for reviewing code changes and a tool called Critique for diff checking before committing code. The ability to identify and terminate processes occupying random ports was also demonstrated, showcasing the depth of control Remoby offers within the terminal environment.

Seamless Mobile Experience and Open-Source Approach

The transition to the mobile interface was a key moment in the presentation. Adams demonstrated Remoby as a progressive web app (PWA), ensuring compatibility across both iOS and Android devices. By running a server on the developer's machine, Remoby provides a direct and continuous connection to the tmux session, mirroring the desktop experience on an 8-inch screen.

While acknowledging the app's minimalist design "it's not winning any design awards, right? It looks like shit," Adams emphasized its functional strengths. Remoby supports gesture navigation, allowing users to swipe between windows, pinch to zoom into panes, and tap to send commands. Custom touch controls are also available, enabling users to switch between modes, load Git, or open Critique directly from their phone.

Remoby is an open-source project, reflecting Adams's belief in community-driven development. The installation process is streamlined, with a shell script that guides users through setting up tmux if they don't already have it, or configuring existing tmux setups with touch-screen friendly key bindings. Users can also install the necessary skill and NPM package independently.

Security and Connectivity Considerations

During the Q&A, Adams clarified the communication mechanism between the phone and the remote machine. He explained that Remoby operates over the internet, recommending secure solutions like Tailscale for establishing encrypted connections. Other options mentioned included Cloudflare tunnels and ngrok. He underscored the importance of security, warning that directly exposing one's machine to the public internet without proper safeguards would compromise it. Tailscale is the default and recommended method for setting up the secure connection.

Remoby represents a significant step towards enabling powerful, flexible, and secure remote development for AI engineers and developers, ensuring their productivity is not tethered to a physical workstation.