Steer your Cursor agent from your phone with Remote Control

What you'll learn

• How to pair the Cursor iOS app with your computer and follow a local agent from your phone
• How to keep your computer awake so Remote Control keeps working while you step away
• How to start a small build at your desk, answer the agent from your phone, and check the result when you are back

What you need

• Cursor on your computer, signed in to your account
• The Cursor iOS app on an iPhone or iPad (same account)
• Your computer plugged in, online, and with the lid open while you are away
• A small project folder you are happy for the agent to edit

That is the only setup. You toggle a couple of settings. The agent does the build.

The idea

Remote Control does not move your agent into the cloud. The agent keeps running on your own computer. Your phone is only a remote: you watch the same conversation and reply when the agent needs you. No cloud agents are required for this path.

One success path: start a small task at your desk, walk away, answer a question from your phone, then check the result when you return.

Steps

1. Turn on Remote Control and Keep this computer awake

In Cursor on your computer, open desktop settings and find Remote Control. Make sure Remote Control is on (it is on by default for most accounts). Turn on Keep this computer awake so the machine does not sleep while you are gone. Leave the computer plugged in, online, and with the lid open.

If you are on an Enterprise plan and you cannot see or use Remote Control, your admin may need to enable it first under Org settings > Security and identity > Remote control.

2. Pair your phone with your computer

Download the Cursor iOS app and sign in with the same account. Computers on your account appear in the app automatically. Tap your computer, then approve the pairing request in the Cursor desktop app.

3. Start a normal agent with one plain-English prompt

On your computer, open your project and start a normal Cursor agent. Paste a small, clear task, for example:

Add a simple About page to this app with a short welcome heading and one paragraph of placeholder text. Keep the change small, show me what you will edit before you change files, and stop when the page is ready for me to check.

Send it, confirm the agent has started, then leave Cursor running.

4. Follow and reply from your phone

On your phone, open the Cursor app. Your local agents appear in a list. Tap the agent you just started. You should see the same conversation. When the agent asks a question or needs a decision, reply from your phone. When you are back at your desk, check the finished change in Cursor.

That is your first success: desk start, phone steer, desk review.

Common mistakes

• Computer sleeps or goes offline. Remote Control needs your computer on and online. Use Keep this computer awake, keep power plugged in, and leave the lid open.
• Different accounts. The phone and desktop must use the same Cursor account, or your computer will not show up for pairing.
• Pairing not approved. After you tap your computer in the iOS app, approve the request in the Cursor desktop app before you try to open an agent.
• Expecting cloud agents. This guide uses a local agent on your computer. Remote Control does not require cloud agents.

Going further

• Claude Code Remote Control. Claude Code can keep a session on your computer while you steer it from the Claude mobile app or the browser. Same idea: phone is a remote, work stays on your machine.
• ChatGPT / Codex on iOS. In the ChatGPT iOS app, open Codex, choose a connected computer and project, then start or continue a task. Pairing starts from the ChatGPT desktop app under Connections.
• Teams and Enterprise. On Teams and Enterprise plans, an admin usually has to enable Remote Control before members can use it. For Cursor Enterprise, that lives under Org settings > Security and identity > Remote control.

Official sources: Remote control for local agents and Cursor for iOS.