Mac Remote Download

Your Mac. Anywhere.

Check the battery, control charging, open a terminal and move files on your Mac, from your iPhone or Android phone.

Download How it works
A graphite laptop showing the Mac Remote menu bar window, with a phone in front showing the Mac Remote dashboard and the Mac's battery level.

Three steps. Then it just connects.

  1. Install Mac Remote

    A small menu bar app for macOS. No account needed on your own network.

  2. Scan the code

    Your Mac shows a QR code. Scan it with the Mac Remote app on your phone.

  3. Match six digits

    Both screens show the same code. Approve on the Mac and choose what the phone is allowed to do.

A real shell, in your pocket.

Your login shell runs on the Mac in a real terminal session. Lose signal, reconnect, and pick up exactly where you were.

The Mac Remote terminal on iPhone showing sw_vers, battery status from pmset and disk usage from df, run on the Mac.
  • Face ID or fingerprint first. Your Mac asks your phone to confirm before a new shell opens.
  • Keys that matter. Ctrl-C, Esc, Tab, arrows and a full-size terminal that resizes with your screen.
  • Sessions survive drops. The shell keeps running on the Mac and catches you up when you're back.

Desk Mode

Plugged in all day. Battery still cared for.

Set a charge limit, or let Desk Mode cycle the battery while the charger stays connected: charge to the top level, run on battery to the bottom level, repeat.

Uses the Charge Limit built into macOS where available. Running on battery while plugged in uses the optional Mac Remote helper and depends on what your Mac supports. The app shows exactly what yours can do.

Desk Mode preview

Charger connected
64% Charging to 80%

Your files, from anywhere.

Browse, search, share

Open folders on your Mac, find files by name, and save them to your phone or upload new ones.

The Mac Remote file browser on iPhone listing folders and files in a folder named Studio.

Transfers that finish

Large transfers resume where they stopped, and every file is checked with SHA-256 when it arrives.

Trash, not gone

Deleting from your phone moves files to the Trash on your Mac. Nothing is erased for good.

Only the folders you allow

Mac Remote stays inside the folders you choose and respects the privacy controls in macOS.

The controls you reach for.

Lock the screen when you walk away, turn the music down from the couch, or restart a stuck Mac from another room.

The Mac Remote System screen on iPhone with lock, sleep, volume and brightness controls.

Lock screen

One tap, from anywhere.

Sleep and display off

Put the Mac to sleep or just turn off the display.

Volume and mute

The Mac's real output volume, not a guess.

Brightness

On displays that allow it.

Keep awake

Stop sleep during a long download or build.

Apps

See what's open, launch or quit apps.

Processes

Find what's using the CPU and stop it.

Restart and shut down

Confirmed with Face ID or fingerprint first.

The Mac Remote pairing window on the Mac showing a QR code. The phone confirming it found the Mac and showing the Mac's key fingerprint.

Security

Only your devices. Proven, not assumed.

  • Keys that never leave the device

    Your Mac and phone each create their own key, in the Secure Enclave or Android Keystore. Pairing exchanges public keys only.

  • Encrypted end to end

    Every connection uses TLS 1.3 with both sides pinned to each other's key, including connections through the relay.

  • Your Mac makes the call

    Permissions are checked on the Mac for each device. Sensitive actions need Face ID or a fingerprint on your phone.

Privacy

No account at home. No analytics. No ads. Away from home, the relay passes along encrypted bytes it can't read.

What stays on your Mac

Your files, terminal sessions, commands and the security log. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

What a relay sees

Device key fingerprints so it can connect the right phone to the right Mac, and how many bytes went through. Never the contents.

Pricing

At home

Free

Everything on your own network: dashboard, charging, Desk Mode, terminal, files and system controls, for multiple Macs and phones.

Away from home

Free with your own relay

Run the relay on any small server and reach your Mac from anywhere. Step-by-step setup is in the docs.

A hosted relay is planned. It isn't available yet, so there's nothing to buy today.

Get Mac Remote

Mac Remote isn't in the App Store or Google Play yet. Try the Android preview, or build the Mac and iPhone apps from source.

The Android preview is a test build signed with a development key: allow installs from your browser when Android asks. SHA-256 d6ec70a3c9f33efa80062aeeb1cfb0dd13b4d8ed2fe6d45914b79354e6501ee5 (SHA256SUMS)

# Mac app (menu bar) and iPhone app
cd apps/macos && xcodegen generate && open MacRemote.xcodeproj
cd apps/ios && xcodegen generate && open MacRemoteiOS.xcodeproj
# Android app
cd apps/android && ./gradlew installDebug

Full instructions: Development guide