Mission Control · Link Triage explainer

Termius as a mobile workstation for AI agents

This Termius post is not just a generic mobile SSH checklist. It describes a practical loop for running Claude Code / Gemini / OpenCode from a phone: keep the remote agent alive, attach back into it, upload visual context, preview the app over a forwarded port, and dictate prompts.

Source: Termius Blog Published: May 11, 2026 Treatment: mobile agent workflow Original article

Bottom line

The useful idea is a phone-to-Pi/remote-server control loop. Termius supplies the mobile shell, SFTP, port forwarding, snippets, keyboard shortcuts, dictation, and Mosh/tmux-friendly reconnect behavior. The AI agent still runs on the real machine; the phone becomes the command surface, visual QA screen, and capture device.

The workflow the article is really proposing

1. ConnectPhone opens Termius SSH to the Pi or remote dev box.

2. Reattachtmux attach restores the still-running AI-agent session.

3. PromptType, paste, dictate, or fire a saved prompt snippet.

4. InspectUse port forwarding to view the dev server on mobile Safari/Chrome.

5. Feed backUpload screenshot/log/mockup over SFTP and paste the path into the agent.

Phone (Termius)
  ├─ SSH/Mosh → Pi or remote host
  │    └─ tmux session → claude / opencode / gemini / codex-like agent
  ├─ SFTP upload → screenshots, logs, docs, mockups
  └─ local port forward → phone browser preview of remote dev server

The eight tips, translated into Ananth/Dab terms

Termius tip	What it means operationally	Mission Control value
Keep sessions alive	Enable background behavior, run agents inside `tmux`, and use Mosh for unstable mobile networks.	Lets Ananth leave a Dab/Claude task running while walking around, locking phone, or changing networks.
Auto-start the agent	Set host startup command such as `cd ~/repo && tmux attach -t dab` or `cd ~/repo && claude`.	One tap resumes a known workspace instead of retyping setup commands.
Upload files via SFTP	Send screenshots, PDFs, logs, and design references to the host, then reference the uploaded path in the prompt.	Turns WhatsApp/phone artifacts into agent-readable files without a laptop handoff.
Use phone as live preview	Forward Vite/Next/Flask ports through SSH and open `localhost:<port>` on the phone.	Good for mobile-first Notice Board QA and quick visual checks of agent-built pages.
Customize keyboard	Add shortcut-bar keys for Escape, Ctrl, Tab, Shift+Tab, arrows, paste, and tmux prefix sequences.	Reduces friction in terminal UIs and coding agents that rely on special keys.
Dictate prompts	Use paste mode + phone mic so long spoken prompts land as one terminal paste.	Fits Ananth’s brain-dump style better than thumb typing.
Terminal gestures	Use long-press/space-drag gestures as arrow-key substitutes.	Useful for command history, cursor movement, and terminal menus on mobile.
Prompt snippets	Save recurring agent prompts and commands as one-tap snippets.	Can encode Dab operating prompts: review diff, run tests, summarize logs, visual QA checklist.

Recommended phone profile for Ananth

Host: Mission Control Pi

Startup command: tmux attach -t mission-control || tmux new -s mission-control
Working directory snippet: cd /home/ananth/.hermes/mission-control-notice-board
Preview forwarding: 8080 → 127.0.0.1:8080 for Notice Board local server when needed.
Agent snippet: launch Claude Code/OpenCode from the right repo only when intentionally executing, not for passive captures.

Host: general coding box

Startup command: attach to a named project tmux session.
Forward common dev ports: 3000, 5173, 8000, 8080.
SFTP upload folder: ~/incoming/ or project-local tmp/context/.
Snippets: security review, test run, explain diff, make visual QA screenshot, summarize next action.

Snippet library worth stealing

Review

Review the current git diff for correctness, regressions, security/privacy issues, and missing tests. Return only actionable findings with file paths.

Verify

Run the project’s relevant validation commands, inspect failures, fix root causes, and leave a concise verification log.

Visual QA

Open the local preview, check mobile and desktop layouts, capture screenshots, inspect console errors, and list visible issues.

Context file

I uploaded context at: /path/to/file
Read it first, extract requirements, then propose the smallest safe implementation plan.

Notice Board

Operate only in /home/ananth/.hermes/mission-control-notice-board. Do not edit generated HTML as source. Validate/render before reporting.

Stop condition

If scope is ambiguous or the next step is destructive, stop and ask for a multiple-choice decision instead of guessing.

Caveats

Mobile execution is control, not compute. Keep agents running on the Pi/server/laptop-class machine; the phone should not be the bottleneck.
Background behavior is OS-fragile. iOS/Android can still suspend apps. tmux is the real safety layer; Termius background settings are helpful but secondary.
Mosh is not a full SSH replacement. It helps roaming and latency, but port forwarding/SFTP still depend on SSH-style sessions; keep both patterns available.
Prompt snippets can become stale. They should stay short and point agents at current repo instructions rather than embedding long old policy.
Do not store secrets in snippets. Use keychain/SSH keys/passkeys and keep credentials out of reusable prompt text.

Fit for Dab / Mission Control

This is directly relevant to Ananth’s “Dab as operator” workflow because it reduces the gap between a WhatsApp thought and a verified remote action. A practical next layer would be a Termius mobile operations profile: preconfigured hosts, tmux session names, port forwards, upload folders, and a small prompt-snippet library aligned with Notice Board, Hermes, and visual QA workflows.

Low-risk next action: create a Dab Improvements item later only if Ananth wants setup work. The implementation would be: define one Pi Termius host profile, one coding-host profile, and 6–10 snippets; then test a full phone-only loop: capture screenshot → upload → prompt agent → preview forwarded page → commit.