Accessing Your Session from GitHub Mobile
Remote sessions also appear in the GitHub Mobile app. This is particularly useful for quick check-ins and approving permission requests while you are away from your desk.
Finding your session
- Open GitHub Mobile.
- Tap the Copilot button in the bottom-right corner.
- Your session appears under Agent sessions. Tap it to open.
Using a QR code for quick access
If you are at your terminal and want to quickly open the session on your phone:
- Type
/remote in the CLI to redisplay the session details.
- Press Ctrl+E to toggle the QR code display.
- Scan the QR code with your phone's camera.
Scanning the QR code to open the session on mobile
Note: Mobile access is currently only available in the latest beta release of GitHub Mobile. Join via Apple TestFlight for iOS or Google Play for Android.
What You Can Do Remotely
The remote interface is not a read-only dashboard. It is a full steering wheel. Here is what you can do from GitHub.com or GitHub Mobile:
| Action |
Description |
| Respond to permission requests |
Approve or deny tool, file path, and URL permission requests |
| Answer questions |
Respond when Copilot asks for more information or a decision |
| Approve or reject plans |
Respond to plan approval prompts in plan mode |
| Submit new prompts |
Type new questions or instructions, just like in the terminal |
| Switch modes |
Change between interactive, plan, and autopilot mode |
| Cancel work |
End the agent's current operation |
Both the local terminal and the remote interface are active simultaneously. You can type in either, and Copilot uses whichever response arrives first.
Note: Slash commands such as /allow-all are not currently available from the remote interface.
Keeping Your Machine Awake with /keep-alive
One of the most practical additions alongside remote access is the /keep-alive slash command. It prevents your machine from going to sleep while you are steering the session remotely.
Usage options
| Command |
Behaviour |
/keep-alive on |
Prevents sleep while the CLI session is active |
/keep-alive off |
Allows normal sleep behaviour |
/keep-alive busy |
Prevents sleep only while Copilot is actively working. Once the agent completes a task, the machine can sleep normally |
/keep-alive 30m |
Prevents sleep for 30 minutes |
/keep-alive 8h |
Prevents sleep for 8 hours |
/keep-alive 1d |
Prevents sleep for 1 day |
/keep-alive |
Displays the current keep-alive status |
The busy option is particularly useful. It keeps the machine awake while Copilot is processing but lets it sleep once Copilot finishes and is waiting for input.
Reconnection and Resuming Sessions
Temporary disconnections
If the network drops temporarily, the remote interface reconnects automatically once connectivity is restored. The local session is completely unaffected by network interruptions.
Resuming a closed session
If you close a CLI session that had remote access enabled, the CLI displays a resume command:
copilot --resume=SESSION_ID --remote
You can also resume the most recent session with:
copilot --continue --remote
If you have "remoteSessions": true in your configuration file, you can omit the --remote flag when resuming:
copilot --continue
Important: When you resume a session, you must re-enable remote access (either via the --remote flag or the configuration file setting). Remote access does not persist automatically across session restarts.
A Practical Walkthrough
Here is a real-world scenario that demonstrates how remote access fits into a developer workflow.
Step 1: Start a session with remote access
You are at your workstation and want to refactor a Terraform module. Start the session with remote access:
cd ~/repos/my-infra
copilot --remote
The CLI displays the session URL and QR code.
Step 2: Give Copilot the task
Refactor the networking module to use for_each instead of count for subnet
creation. Update all references in the root module and ensure the plan shows
no destructive changes.
Copilot starts analysing the codebase and building a plan.
Step 3: Leave your desk
You have a meeting in five minutes. Before leaving, type:
/keep-alive busy
This ensures the machine stays awake while Copilot is working.
Step 4: Monitor from your phone
During the meeting, open GitHub Mobile and tap into your session. You can see Copilot's progress in real time. When it asks for plan approval, tap Approve right from your phone.
Step 5: Steer from the browser
Back at your desk (or from any computer), open the session link in a browser. Copilot has finished the refactoring and is asking whether to run terraform plan. Type your approval in the web interface.
Step 6: Review the results
Check the output in the web interface or switch back to your terminal. Both show the same session state.
Security and Privacy
Remote access has been designed with security in mind. Here are the key points:
-
Session-specific URLs. Each session gets a unique URL that only works for the authenticated user who started it.
-
No direct machine access. Remote access does not grant any access to your machine beyond what the CLI agent can do within the session. All operations run through the Copilot CLI's existing permission model.
-
Policy controls. Organisation and enterprise administrators can disable remote access entirely through the Remote Control policy.
-
Events streamed, not stored. Session events (messages, tool executions, permission requests) are streamed from your machine to GitHub for the remote interface. The CLI continues to run locally.
Tips and Best Practices
Here are some practical tips for getting the most out of remote access.
Use /keep-alive busy as your default. It prevents your machine from sleeping while Copilot works, but lets it rest once the agent is idle. This is the best balance between availability and power consumption.
Start with copilot --remote rather than adding it mid-session. This ensures the session is remotely accessible from the very first prompt, so you never miss a permission request.
Set remoteSessions: true in your config if you use this regularly. It removes the need to remember the flag, and you can always override with --no-remote for local-only sessions.
Bookmark the Copilot sidebar on GitHub.com. Navigate to the Copilot page and bookmark it. This gives you one-click access to all your recent sessions without needing to remember URLs.
Use the QR code for mobile. It is faster than searching for the session in the app, especially when you are in a hurry.
Be mindful of the 60 MB output limit. Very long-running sessions that generate large amounts of output may see reduced performance in the remote interface. The local terminal remains unaffected.
Conclusion
Remote access for Copilot CLI sessions solves a genuine pain point. Long-running tasks no longer tie you to your terminal. You can start a complex refactoring, infrastructure deployment, or code review task, walk away, and continue steering it from your browser or phone.
The feature is in public preview right now. Give it a try with copilot --remote and see how it fits into your workflow. If you are an organisation or enterprise user, ask your admin to enable the Remote Control policy so your team can start using it.
For more details, check the official documentation:
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Date: 15-04-2026