Open-source models now have a mobile version. The Qwen 3.8-27B dense model I run locally now has a mobile interface!
I'm still a bit excited, so let me explain.
First, let's talk about agents. Codex has its own remote control, allowing you to command Astra on your home computer from your phone while out. But if you use other models, Sam Altman won't support you. Claude Code actually has remote capabilities too, but many are afraid to use it for fear of being banned—there are too many stories of accounts being banned after just one use. Grok Build doesn't have it yet, let alone GLM, MiniMax M3, or Kimi.
Then there are the apps. Cloud-based models all have mobile apps; you can just pull out your phone and chat. But that's just chatting, which is a completely different thing from commanding an agent running on your home computer.
What about local models? The Qwen 27B running on my machine at home is already capable enough for work. It won't get banned, it's free, and it's incredibly fast. But it only lives in the terminal; once I leave the house, I lose connection. I thought I'd either have to write an app myself or just accept it.
Then UU Remote received an epic update. I entered the terminal on my phone, and the Qwen session was right there. I spoke a requirement into my phone, and it started working.
That was it. Not a single line of code written.
I'm using Pi to connect to Qwen here. It's the same if you use Claude Code to connect to Qwen. It doesn't matter which agent is running in the terminal; UU Remote simply brings that terminal to your phone exactly as it is.
Watching it spit out line after line on my phone, the feeling was very concrete: open-source models finally have their own mobile interface, and it's the one on my own machine. It doesn't pass through anyone's server, it doesn't cost a penny—the model is mine, and the mobile interface is mine too.
Guide
This article isn't long; feel free to skip to what interests you:
- 1. The Epic Update of UU Remote
- 2. Powered by tmux: Why It's Secure
- 3. I Open-Sourced uu-term-bridge: Seamless Switching Between Desktop and Mobile
1. What exactly changed in this epic UU Remote update?
What did this version of UU Remote do to make this suddenly possible?
- No more passwords for Mac access. Account matching lets you in directly, eliminating the need to type a password every time.
- Full TUI support in the terminal. Selectors, status bars, and slash command panels for things like Claude Code, Grok Build, and Pi all render correctly. You can submit by tapping with your finger. Previously, these were a mess of garbled code on mobile; now they look exactly like they do on the computer.
- Multi-terminal sessions. You can run several agents at once. Tapping back just puts you in a "away" state; the agent keeps doing its thing, and you can re-enter to check progress anytime.
- Cross-device takeover. With three commands—
uuyc-cli lterm ls / attach / new—you can continue tasks started on your phone when you get home to your computer, and vice versa, without losing any progress. - A permanent row of shortcut keys at the bottom, plus an independent input box that calls the system IME. I use Doubao IME for voice dictation, check it, and then send.
2. Powered by tmux, so it's secure
By the way, let's talk about how it achieved this, because it directly relates to a question many will ask: Is it safe to hand over a local session to remote software?
I looked into it, and it's powered by tmux. UU Remote comes with a built-in tmux on Mac. When you tap "New Terminal" on your phone, the UU main program opens a session on this tmux. The mobile screen is just a tmux client attached to that session.
Tapping back on the phone only disconnects the client; the session stays alive and the agent keeps running. That's how the "away without ending" feature works.
So back to the security question: your agent, your model, and your session are all inside a tmux on your own machine, no different from you typing tmux new locally.
Previously, using tmux with full-screen remote access required tedious pinching and zooming.
What UU Remote did was turn these old products into something new: mobile session lists, full TUI rendering, independent input boxes, and cross-device takeover. tmux was always there; no one had just brought it to mobile like this before.
And it's free. Game-grade remote screen control with latency so low you don't feel it, plus a truly usable terminal—all for free.
UU Remote was originally for gamers to play games remotely on their phones. Now it has unexpectedly become the mobile interface for local models and the entry point for AI. I don't think this is a coincidence; it's a reward from the era for people who take product development seriously.
3. I Open-Sourced uu-term-bridge: Seamless Switching Between Desktop and Mobile
I have to mention where Codex excels. Codex's remote access is seamlessly bidirectional: sessions created on mobile are immediately available on the computer, and vice versa. You can start work anywhere and switch devices without any extra steps.
UU is still missing this step. It only recognizes sessions it created itself. There are only two ways to create a new one: tap on the phone or type uuyc-cli lterm new on the Mac. If I have several agents open in iTerm2 on my Mac, none of them appear in the mobile list. To see them on the phone, I have to remember to run the command to create the session first.
The order is backwards; normal people start work on the computer and only want to take over once they leave.
Fortunately, UU opened up the uuyc-cli command line, so lterm new / ls / attach can all be scripted. I built an upgrade on top of it and open-sourced it as uu-term-bridge:
Install it once and set the provided iTerm2 profile as default. After that, every tab, window, or split screen created with Cmd+T, Cmd+N, or Cmd+D will automatically appear in the mobile list without typing anything. Closing a tab ends the session and cleans up the list. It works the other way too: create a terminal on mobile, and an iTerm2 window will automatically pop up on the Mac within two seconds.
This works for macOS + iTerm2 + UU Remote. You are free to modify it for your needs. The repository is below:
https://github.com/limin112/min-skill/tree/main/tools/uu-term-bridge
UU made the remote terminal usable; I stood on UU's shoulders to make it even better.
A mobile interface for open-source models is finally here. Better, faster, and more convenient than Codex. Easily connect to all open-source models.
UU Remote is awesome.
