Remote access
Remote access runs an agent on another computer and shows its conversation on this one. The host computer uses its own agent installation, sign-in, project folder, and permission settings. Remote control is an alpha feature.
- App
- Settings → Remote access
- CLI
hansard remote
Choose the kind of access
Section titled “Choose the kind of access”| Task | Feature |
|---|---|
| Start and control agents on another computer | Remote access, described here. |
| Back up the archive and receive it on your computers | Personal Sync. |
| Read the archive from a browser on your network | Hosted viewer, with a password and read-only access. |
| Share selected conversations with other people | Teams. |
Personal Sync does not authorize remote execution. A hosted viewer does not give remote visitors agent controls.
Pair two computers in the app
Section titled “Pair two computers in the app”Direct connections use Tailscale. Sign both computers in to the same tailnet, the private network your Tailscale devices share. Install Hansard and sign in to the agent CLIs on the host computer.
On the host computer:
- Open Settings → Remote access.
- Turn on Allow access from other devices.
- Under Shared projects, select Share project to add a folder if needed.
- Under Pair a device, choose the projects the paired device can use.
- Select Show code.
The code works once and expires after ten minutes. Copy both copies the host address and code. The default project choice includes shared projects and the 200 most recent project folders, leaving out agents’ own scratch folders, projectless chats, and worktrees. Choose a portfolio or Only shared projects to narrow it.
While remote access is on, the host computer keeps Hansard’s background
watcher running: when the watcher stops and remote access stays on, the host
starts it again within about two minutes, which brings Hansard’s router there
back too. A watcher you stop with Stop or hansard watcher stop stays
stopped. Windows also starts the watcher again after it exits, as macOS and
Linux do, from the task that starts it when you sign in.
In a browser, Show code, a phone connection link, a device’s projects, and
Remove first ask for the code that hansard web prints in its terminal.
See Confirm answers and approvals in a browser.
On the computer you will control it from:
- Open Settings → Remote access.
- Select Add device.
- On Pairing code, enter the Address and Code.
- Select Pair.
Your other devices lists each paired computer with its Hansard version,
what it shares (All projects, a portfolio, or a count of projects), and
each agent installed there: ready, signed out with the command that signs it
in there, or unable to reach its model API, with the address it tried. When
an agent there can’t reach Hansard’s router on that computer because the
router is stopped, Start Hansard’s router on the device starts it there,
with its watcher if that is stopped too. When the computer runs an older
build of Hansard than this one, Update Hansard on the device installs
the newest release there through its own update path (the npm package, or the
signed Mac app) and restarts its background services on it. A Hansard there
from before this option, a source checkout, and the unsigned Windows preview
app need one update made on that computer. Two computers on the same release
can run different builds, so Hansard compares builds, not only version
numbers; a computer that runs a source checkout is told to run git pull in
its folder. Select what it shares to search its projects and start a
conversation in one. Run a quick check starts a short read-only run there
and reports the answer or the reason it failed. Right after pairing, Allow
lets that computer run agents on this one too, without a second code, and
Let it run agents here does the same for a computer paired earlier.
Agents on this computer can use paired computers as well. A new session’s
context names them, and Hansard’s list_remote_devices, start_remote_run,
and follow_remote_run tools show their readiness, start work there, and
follow it, and stop_remote_run stops a run they started. An agent that finds
a computer’s router stopped, or a computer behind this one, only asks you to
start the router or the update, in Review. Pairing, access, and approvals stay
with you.
The Agent messages switch also lets identified agents exchange notes across the paired connection. See Agent messaging.
Start and control a remote conversation
Section titled “Start and control a remote conversation”- Open a conversation or start a new one.
- Select This device above the composer and choose the paired computer.
- Choose its project folder and harness.
- Enter a prompt and send it.
The conversation shows output, approvals, questions, and Stop. The permission picker uses the host’s available modes. A Codex conversation keeps the permission mode of its first message.
Closing the connection or app leaves accepted work running on the host. Offline computers stay listed but cannot accept a new conversation.
The project choice limits where work starts and which runs the device can see. It does not confine the agent’s file access. The agent keeps its native permissions on the host.
Connect through SSH or a relay
Section titled “Connect through SSH or a relay”The SSH tab in Add device uses a Host from ~/.ssh/config. Hansard and
the agent CLIs must already be installed on that computer. Start remote
access there starts hosting when it does not answer.
For networks without a shared tailnet, hansard remote host relay configures
a relay you host. Hansard has no public relay configured by default.
Run hansard help remote for the host, grant, transport, and relay options.
The remote host reference covers headless setup, grant files, relay requirements, request receipts, and storage limits.
Revoke access
Section titled “Revoke access”- Select Remove under Allowed devices to revoke one device.
- Turn off Allow access from other devices to disconnect all devices.
- Select Stop under Stop remote work to stop work they already started.
Disconnecting devices alone leaves their accepted work running. Setting
HANSARD_REMOTE_CONTROL=0 removes remote access controls and prevents new
remote execution. hansard remote host stop remains available.
Phone access
Section titled “Phone access”The Phone companion preview provides conversations, agent controls, and an Inbox through an HTTPS gateway. Open Settings → Remote access → Connect a phone to prepare Tailscale HTTPS access, choose projects, and create a one-use connection link with a local QR code. Both devices must connect to the same tailnet. A configured relay remains an option for computers without Tailscale. Guided setup beside Connect a phone walks the phone through Tailscale, HTTPS for the tailnet, the private address, and the code to scan, and ends with adding the page to the Home Screen.
Claude Code approvals on your phone stays off until you turn it on after pairing. The phone setup steps cover HTTPS certificates, the Terminal command, and connection checks. For read-only archive browsing, use the Hosted viewer.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”A host is offline. Check that both devices are online in Tailscale and that Allow access from other devices is on at the host.
An agent needs sign-in. Sign in to that agent on the host computer, then
retry. A sign-in on the controlling computer does not sign in the host. The
device’s row names the command, such as codex login.
A run fails at once. Select Run a quick check on that device. It names the agent it ran and the text the agent printed, and any sign-in it needs.
A project is missing. Add it under Shared projects on the host and check the paired device’s project scope.