How to use your Mac’s terminal from your phone
Sometimes you need a shell on your Mac and you are nowhere near it. A build hangs, a service needs a restart, or you want to check a log. The usual answer is SSH, which means turning on Remote Login, finding your Mac’s address, and getting through your router.
The shorter way
Helm skips the network setup. Your Mac and your phone both sign in with the same account, and your Mac appears in a list on the phone.
- Install Helm on your Mac and sign in with Google. The Mac shows as online.
- Open Helm on your iPhone or Android and sign in with the same account.
- Pick your Mac. The first time, your Mac asks you to approve the new phone.
- Open Terminal. You get a real shell on your Mac.
What you can do
It is the same shell you would get on the Mac itself, so anything you run in Terminal works: git pull, npm run build, tail -f server.log. You can keep several sessions open at once.
Keeping the Mac reachable
The Mac needs to be awake and online. Helm can keep it awake, including with the lid closed, if you turn that setting on in the Mac app.
Is it safe?
Every new device has to be approved on your Mac before it connects, and the connection between your devices is encrypted. Read more in how remote access works without a VPN.
Get Helm. Terminal is free.