GitHub lets Copilot CLI sessions move from terminal to phone

The most interesting part of agentic CLI tools is often their worst usability problem: the session keeps running on one machine, but the user does not. GitHub is tackling that gap with copilot --remote, a new capability that streams a running Copilot CLI session to GitHub on the web and to the GitHub Mobile apps.

The workflow is built for handoff across devices. When remote sessions are enabled, the CLI shows a link and a QR code. Open that link elsewhere and you can view the session, monitor progress, and send follow-up commands while the original terminal keeps going. GitHub says activity stays in sync across the CLI and GitHub, so actions taken in one place are reflected in the other. It also says each remote session is private and visible only to the user who started it.

The feature list is more complete than a passive viewer. GitHub says users can send mid-session steering messages, add new prompts after the current turn finishes, review and modify plans before implementation starts, switch between plan, interactive, and autopilot modes, and stop the session entirely. The remote view can also handle permission decisions based on existing CLI settings and respond to questions raised through the ask_user tool.

GitHub's setup guidance shows where it expects this to be useful. Users are told to update to the latest CLI version, start a session with copilot --remote or enable it later with /remote, make sure the working directory is a GitHub repository, and use /keep-alive for longer tasks. Mobile access is being offered through beta releases on Google Play and iOS TestFlight.

This is still labeled public preview, and Copilot Business or Enterprise users need administrators to enable remote control and CLI policies. Even so, the shift is meaningful. A CLI agent session is starting to look less like something bound to a laptop and more like a running job you can supervise from wherever you are.