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Show HN: AFK – Remote desktop for agentic coding from your phone with voice
I use Claude Code daily (and recently pi). The workflow is: give instructions, agent
writes code, I review diffs and the product, give feedback, iterate. Most of my time
is reviewing and directing, not typing code.
But I was stuck at my desk the whole time, even when the agent is running for
minutes. I wanted to step away and check in from my phone when needed.
My journey to this:
First I tried tmux + SSH. Works great for terminal-only work. But once I need to see
the browser, check the simulator, or read diffs in VS Code, I'm stuck.
Then I tried Chrome Remote Desktop, Parsec, Jump Desktop. They work, but the UX is
painful, typing prompts on a phone keyboard is slow, and the interaction model assumes
you're on another computer, not a phone.
So I built AFK. Key differences:
1. Voice input: Push-to-talk for dictating prompts. Much faster than phone
keyboard for giving instructions to an agent.
2. WebRTC streaming: Same tech as Chrome Remote Desktop. Lower latency than VNC,
works over cellular (not just same WiFi).
3. Custom data channel protocol: WebRTC's data channel lets me build features
beyond basic screen mirroring:
- Window switcher (pick any window from your phone)
- Agent notifications (get pinged when Claude finishes)
- Mobile-optimized touch controls
4. Mobile-first UX: Designed for phone as the primary controller, not a
miniature desktop experience.
Tech: Flutter host (cross-platform), WebRTC with VP9, native Swift (macOS) / C++
(Windows) for input injection.
The host is now open source (many people asking for it, understandably, since it's
running with pretty powerful permissions): https://github.com/LiboShen/afk-host https://github.com/LiboShen/afk-host
Mobile clients on App Store and Google Play. Windows host in progress.
Fun fact: I use AFK built a significant portion of itself while i'm not at my desk.
Pretty awesome to be able to tell Claude Code to keep working while I'm at the gym.
Please give it a try and let me know what do you think.