VS Code Remote Tunnels Alternative for Phones and Tablets

VS Code Remote Tunnels is one of the best things Microsoft has shipped for working away from your desk: one command, and your computer's VS Code opens in a browser anywhere. On a laptop it's hard to beat. On a phone or tablet, a few rough edges start to show. This post covers what Remote Tunnels does well, where it gets awkward on mobile, and how Coder IDE approaches the same problem differently, including when you should stick with Tunnels.

What Remote Tunnels does well

Run code tunnel on your computer, sign in, and the CLI prints a vscode.dev link tied to that machine. Open it in any browser and you're in VS Code, running on your computer. The official docs cover the details, and XDA's hands-on piece shows how quickly it turns a desktop into a remote coding server.

The strengths are real:

• It's free and built by the VS Code team.
• It's the real VS Code, so the Microsoft extension marketplace works, Pylance and C# Dev Kit included.
• No networking setup. It works behind NAT and firewalls through Microsoft's tunnel service.
• It integrates with desktop VS Code. You can connect from another VS Code window as well as from a browser.
• It can run as a service with code tunnel service install, and --no-sleep keeps the machine awake.

If you already have a GitHub account, work mostly from other laptops, and need one or two machines, Remote Tunnels may be all you need.

Where it gets awkward

The limits are documented, and most people never hit them. They matter more for some setups than others:

• Account sign-in on both ends. Tunnels need the same GitHub or Microsoft account on the host and the client. That's fine for personal projects, and less fine if your work identity lives somewhere else.
• Usage limits. The docs list limits on resources like the number of tunnels and bandwidth, including "10 tunnels registered for your account," and note that they may change.
• Port forwarding shares those limits. Forwarded ports run over tunnels too, and this GitHub issue shows port forwarding failing on a per-user tunnel limit. It was fixed in 2023, but it shows that ports and machines draw from the same budget.
• The host has to keep VS Code running. If the tunnel process stops, the machine is unreachable until someone restarts it.
• It's a desktop interface in a mobile browser. vscode.dev on a phone is the desktop layout, made smaller. There's no key bar for Esc, Tab or Ctrl, and switching between the editor and your app means switching browser tabs.

None of these are bugs. Remote Tunnels was designed for developers moving between computers, and it does that well. Phones and tablets just weren't the main target.

Ports and previews on a phone

This is where the mobile experience differs most in practice.

When you run npm run dev on your computer, the server listens on localhost. On a phone, localhost points at the phone. Remote Tunnels handles this with VS Code's port forwarding, which gives the port a URL you open in another tab. It works, though on a small screen you end up bouncing between the editor tab and the preview tab.

Coder IDE's Ports panel lists dev servers started in any terminal on your computer, not just the editor's own terminal, and shows what's running on each port. Turn on Allow preview for a port and it gets a private link that only opens for you; the Preview button opens the running app beside your code or in its own tab. You can stop a dev server from the Ports list without opening a terminal, and annotate the preview by tapping, pinning and sketching, then add the screenshot to Claude's chat box and press send. The Android app lists your ports too, so you can open a preview without opening the editor at all. For the broader problem, see opening localhost on your phone.

How Coder IDE differs

Under the hood the two are similar: both run Microsoft's VS Code server on your own computer and show it in a browser. Coder IDE runs Microsoft's code serve-web, so your extensions, settings and keybindings work as they do on the desktop. The differences are in everything around the editor.

A few of these are worth expanding.

Device approval. With Coder IDE, a new computer only joins your account after you confirm its code from a browser you're signed in to. The approval screen shows which computer is asking and warns you if it's on a different network from you. If you lose a laptop, remove it from the dashboard and its access ends right away. Our security overview has the full picture.

Direct on your home network. When your phone and computer are on the same network, the editor connects directly, which keeps typing and file loads fast. Leave the house and it falls back to the relay without you doing anything. The relay forwards traffic, and your code stays on your machine.

Auto-suspend is a smaller detail with a real payoff. Idle editors shut down after a timeout you choose, so a forgotten session on a work machine isn't left running all weekend. If Claude Code is in the middle of a task, auto-suspend waits for it.

The AI layer: Claude Code sessions, approvals and diffs

Remote Tunnels gives you VS Code, and you can run Claude Code in its terminal like anywhere else. Coder IDE adds a layer specifically for Claude Code, because agents are the main reason many people open their editor from a phone.

You can see every Claude Code session on your computers, whether it started in a terminal, in VS Code or in the background, grouped by what needs you. You get a push notification when a session needs approval, is waiting for you, or stops unexpectedly, and you can approve or deny from your phone or browser after reading the full request. Reviewing changes works file by file, with comments on any line sent back to Claude in one message. Agent view gives you a focused AI layout, one tap away from the full IDE.

If that's the part you care about, approving Claude Code permissions from your phone goes into detail.

Which one to use

Stay with Remote Tunnels if you mostly connect from other laptops, are happy signing in with GitHub or Microsoft, have a machine or two, and want a free tool maintained by the VS Code team.

Try Coder IDE if you code from a phone or tablet, want an Android app with a key bar and stylus support, want each new device approved by you, run several projects or computers, or use Claude Code and want its sessions and approvals in the same place as your editor.

You don't have to choose forever. Both run your own computer's VS Code, so your projects and settings stay exactly where they are. Trying one doesn't lock you out of the other. If you're weighing other ways to get VS Code into a browser, code-server vs serve-web vs Remote Tunnels compares the three server options directly.

Wrap-up

Remote Tunnels solved the hard networking problem for everyone, and it remains a great default on a laptop. Phones and tablets need a bit more: a layout that fits, keys the on-screen keyboard is missing, private previews of the running app, and a clear answer to "which devices can reach my computer?"

Start free. The free plan covers one computer, and Pro adds unlimited devices.