How Waycar compares
Waycar is an iPhone and iPad app for checking on coding agents that run in herdr or tmux on your own machines. Each page below sets it beside another way to reach an agent from a phone. It says where Waycar fits better, where the other tool does, and which sources we checked.
- SSH client
Waycar vs Termius
Termius is a cross-platform SSH client with SFTP, port forwarding and mosh. Waycar is an agent console for coding agents in tmux or herdr. - SSH client
Waycar vs Blink Shell
Blink Shell is an open source terminal for iPhone and iPad with mosh built in. Waycar is an agent console for coding agents in tmux or herdr. - SSH client
Waycar vs Secure ShellFish
Secure ShellFish is an SSH and SFTP client for Apple devices with Files app, tmux and agent notification hooks. Waycar is an agent console for coding agents in tmux or herdr. - First-party feature
Waycar vs Claude Code Remote Control
Remote Control is Anthropic's built-in way to steer a Claude Code session on your computer from the Claude app. Waycar works with many agents in tmux or herdr. - Agent environment
Waycar vs Happy
Happy is a free, MIT licensed app with its own agent runtime and phone, desktop and web apps for Claude, Codex and Grok. Waycar is an iPhone console for coding agents in tmux or herdr. - Agent client
Waycar vs Kittylitter
Kittylitter is a free, open source iOS and Android client for Codex, Claude, OpenCode, Pi and Droid. Waycar is an iPhone and iPad console for agents in tmux or herdr. - Agent environment
Waycar vs T3 Code
T3 Code is open source, with a server and desktop, web, iOS and Android apps for coding agents. Waycar is an iPhone and iPad console for coding agents in tmux or herdr. - Agent environment
Waycar vs Orca
Orca is a free, open source desktop app that runs agents in git worktrees, with a phone app that controls it. Waycar is an iPhone console for agents in tmux or herdr. - Agent environment
Waycar vs Paseo
Paseo is an open source environment that runs coding agents through a daemon on your machine. Waycar is an iPhone and iPad console for agents in tmux or herdr.
At a glance
| Point of comparison | Waycar | Termius | Blink Shell | Secure ShellFish | Claude Code Remote Control | Happy | Kittylitter | T3 Code | Orca | Paseo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it connects | ||||||||||
| Where the agent runs | Your own Mac or Linux machine, in herdr or tmux | Your own server or machine. Termius is only the client | Your own server or Mac. Optional Blink Build cloud VM | Your own server or Mac, reached over SSH | Your own machine (terminal, Desktop app or VS Code) | Your own machine (Happy Agent daemon), or a server you run | Your machine, or Codex on the phone itself | Your own machine, on a T3 server you run | Your own machine, an SSH host or an Orca server | Your own machine, through the Paseo daemon |
| Account needed | None. Optional iCloud Keychain sync between devices | Optional. First run asks you to sign in. Sync needs Pro | None for SSH or mosh. Blink Build needs a sign-up | No account documented. iCloud Keychain syncs servers | A paid claude.ai plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise | Sources differ: App Store says account, docs say none | No Kittylitter account | None for direct pairing. T3 account for T3 Connect | None for LAN or Tailscale. Orca sign-in for Relay | None required |
| How your phone reaches the session | Direct mosh or SSH to your machine. No session relay | SSH or mosh from the app. Cloud vault is for sync | Direct SSH or mosh to your machine | Direct SSH. Alerts and widgets relay via maker and Apple | Through Anthropic's service over outbound HTTPS | Through Happy's relay, end-to-end encrypted | Local network, SSH, or its Alleycat peer to peer link | Direct (LAN, Tailscale, URL) or the T3 Connect tunnel | Relay, LAN or Tailscale. End-to-end encrypted per code | Optional end-to-end encrypted relay, or direct address |
| mosh | Yes, in the free tier, with SSH fallback | Yes, on iOS, Android and desktop | Yes, built in, with predictive local echo | Not documented | No. Uses Anthropic's HTTPS service, not mosh | No. The phone goes through Happy's relay, not mosh | Not documented | Not documented | No. The phone uses Orca's own pairing, not mosh | Not documented |
| Agent keeps running when your phone drops | Yes. Waycar starts agents inside herdr or tmux | Partial: mosh keeps the session; tmux to reattach | Partial: mosh keeps the session; tmux to reattach | Yes, with tmux turned on per server | Yes, while the machine is on and claude keeps running | Yes. The Happy Agent daemon keeps sessions running | Partial: Alleycat keeps the agent 10 min, per its code | Yes. The T3 server on your machine keeps running | Yes, while the Orca desktop host stays on | Yes, the daemon keeps agents running |
| What your machine needs | OpenSSH, herdr 0.7.5+/tmux 3.2+, opt. mosh-server. No Node | SSH server. mosh-server 1.3.0+ for mosh. tmux optional | SSH server. mosh-server and UDP (60000-61000 default) | SSH server. Optional Shell Integration and tmux | Claude Code CLI signed in to claude.ai. Run /remote-control | Happy Desktop or npm i -g happy, plus a signed-in agent CLI | SSH server plus agent CLI, or the kittylitter daemon | T3 server (t3 CLI or desktop app) plus agent CLIs | Orca desktop app or orca serve running, plus agent CLIs | The Paseo daemon, plus the agent CLIs you use |
| Watching and steering agents | ||||||||||
| Agents it works with | 23 launch from the app; any CLI runs in a shell | Any CLI. Per-host auto-start for Gemini, Claude Code, more | Any CLI. Prompt Mode for AI prompts; no status or chat | Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode hooks; any CLI runs | Claude Code only | Claude, Codex, Grok. The original CLI adds more agents | Codex, Claude, OpenCode, Pi, Droid, and more | Codex, Claude, Cursor, Grok Build, OpenCode, Pi, more | Any CLI agent in a terminal. Chat UI covers six | Claude, Codex, OpenCode, Pi, OMP and 25+ more |
| Agent status list | Yes. herdr: every agent it knows. tmux: 5 agents | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | Partial: a session list with an online dot | Partial: list with working, blocked and unread marks | Partial: sessions list shows working state (its code) | Yes, per thread: working, waiting, limited, failed | Yes: working, done, waiting on input | Yes, agent state streams to every client |
| Push alerts when blocked or done | Yes, Blocked or Done, encrypted. On tmux: 5 agents | Not documented | Partial: terminal bell and escape codes, not agent-aware | Yes, alerts from Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode hooks | Yes, set in /config: proactive or when action needed | Yes, when an agent needs input or finishes | Partial: Turn completed alert via relay (its code) | Yes, but background push needs a T3 Connect account | Yes, when an agent finishes, via the maker's gateway | Yes, push notifications on mobile |
| Answer a blocked agent from the phone | Yes. Allow or Cancel in Chat Mode (tmux: hooks), or type | Partial: type the answer. Shift+Tab key, voice input | Partial: type the answer into the terminal | Partial: alert, then answer in the terminal | Yes, permission prompts and questions reach the app | Yes, approve or deny in the app | Yes, approval overlay for Codex (per its code) | Yes, approve or reject in the thread | Yes, in Chat UI for six agents (experimental) | Yes, approvals and question cards |
| Chat view of the agent | Yes, Chat Mode for 5 agents you start in Waycar | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | Yes, a chat view synced with the terminal | Yes, a chat view with tool rows and diffs | Yes, a chat view of the conversation | Yes, a thread conversation view | Yes, Chat UI for six agents. Maker calls it experimental | Yes, a chat view of each agent |
| Full terminal | Yes, a native terminal into the agent or a shell | Yes, a full terminal with a special-keys keyboard | Yes, a full terminal with tabs and windows | Yes, a native SSH terminal | No. A chat window into the session, no shell | No. The phone app is a chat client, not a terminal | Partial: Ghostty terminal, off by default (its code) | Yes, a terminal on the T3 host | Yes, a live mirror of the desktop terminal | Yes, terminals on the daemon machine |
| Lock Screen Live Activity | Yes, Lock Screen and Dynamic Island | Partial: shows active connections, not agent state | Not documented | Yes (Pro), follows active terminal, incl. agent questions | Not documented | Not documented | Yes, Live Activity for a turn (per its code) | Yes, Live Activities on iOS | Not documented. A feature request is open | Not documented |
| Send images and files to the agent | Yes, up to 10 per message; files up to 64 MiB | Yes, paste uploads over SFTP and inserts the path | Partial: files via SFTP and the Files app | Yes, paste uploads the file and can insert its path | Yes, photos and files go into the session | Yes, a photo or screenshot into the prompt | Yes, up to 4 images per message; files per its code | Yes, up to 100 files per message | Yes, attach a photo or file to a reply | Yes, image attachments in the composer |
| Voice input | Yes, on-device dictation (iOS 26 or later) | Yes, a speech-to-text input field | Yes, voice input in Prompt Mode | Yes, long-tap Paste to dictate prompts | Not documented for Remote Control sessions | Yes, with ElevenLabs. 20 free minutes per 30 days | Yes, real-time voice (App Store says OpenAI) | Yes, on-device, iPhone with iOS 26 or later | Yes, microphone dictation | Yes, dictation and voice mode |
| Usage and rate limits | Partial: limits via CodexBar; Claude on a Mac not read | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | Partial: /usage and /context text output only | Partial: context and Claude 5h and 7d limits | Partial: Codex rate limits and context % (its code) | Yes: phone has limits. Tokens and cost on desktop, web | Yes, usage, rate limits and reset countdowns | Yes, subscription quota windows and a context meter |
| Resume a closed agent | Yes, Closed Sessions are kept for 30 days | Not documented | Not documented | Partial: pick tmux sessions. Agent resume not documented | Partial: from the machine only, about 4 hours | Yes, resume sessions from the app | Yes, resume threads | Partial: resumes after a restart. Quit agent: not documented | Partial: phone can resume a chat in a new terminal tab | Yes, History, restore and Import session |
| Platforms, price and fit | ||||||||||
| iPhone and iPad app | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 18 or later | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 17 or later | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 17.6 or later | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 17.4 or later | Yes, the Claude app on iPhone and iPad, iOS 18 or later | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 15.1 or later | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 18.0 or later | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 18 or later | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 15.1 or later (App Store) | Yes, iPhone and iPad, iOS 15.1 or later |
| Android app | No. An Android app is coming soon | Yes, on Google Play | No. Apple devices only | Not documented. Only Apple platforms are listed | Yes, the Claude app on Google Play | Yes, on Google Play | Yes, on Google Play (README labels it Beta) | Yes, on Google Play | Partial: app file download, marked Pre-release | Yes, on Google Play |
| Desktop or web client | No native app. iPad app on M-series Macs (macOS 26) | Yes: macOS, Windows and Linux apps | No. Blink's FAQ says a macOS version is planned | Yes, a Mac app. No web client documented | Yes, claude.ai/code in any browser | Yes: desktop app for macOS, Windows, Linux, and a web app | No native app or web client found. iPad app on Macs | Yes: macOS, Windows, Linux apps and a web app | Yes: macOS, Windows and Linux desktop app | Yes: macOS, Windows, Linux apps, web and CLI |
| Source code | Closed source app. Host plugin is Apache-2.0 | Closed source. No public app repo found | Open source, GPL v3 with extra terms | No public source repo found | Closed source, proprietary license | Open source, MIT licensed | Open source: GPL-3.0 plus a store permission | Open source, MIT license | Open source, MIT License | Open source, Apache License 2.0 |
| Price | Free: 10 Launches per 30 days. Pro $5/mo or $40/yr | Free Starter. Pro from $10/mo billed yearly | 14-day trial, then $19.99 a year (US) | Free with ads. Pro $2.99/mo, $14.99/yr or $29.99 (US) | Included in paid Claude plans. Pro is $20 a month | Free. Voice: 20 free min per 30 days, then a subscription | Free. Optional tips $9.99 to $99.99 | Free. T3 Connect caps linked environments | Free and open source. Enterprise: email the maker | Free. Optional hosted Hub: $0 or $15/seat/mo |
| General SSH tools (SFTP, port forwarding, any server) | No. Your machine must run herdr or tmux | Yes: SSH, SFTP, port forwarding, jump hosts | Yes: SSH, SFTP, tunnels, jump hosts, SSH config | Yes: SSH, SFTP, Files app, jump hosts | No. Not an SSH tool | No. An app for agents, not an SSH client | Partial: SSH to a machine for agents and a terminal | No. The phone app connects to T3 servers only | No on phone. SSH worktrees are in the desktop app | No. SSH only reaches a Paseo daemon |
Yes Partial No Not documented: the maker's own pages say nothing either way, so we claim nothing. Facts checked October 18, 2026 or later; each page lists its sources.
When Waycar is not the right pick
- You want a general SSH client with SFTP and port forwarding, for any server. Waycar needs herdr or tmux on the machine. Try Termius, Blink Shell or Secure ShellFish.
- You want a desktop or web client beside the phone app, or an Android app today. Waycar is an iPhone and iPad app with no native desktop or web client, and an Android app is coming soon. With a desktop or web client: Termius, Secure ShellFish, Claude Code Remote Control, Happy, T3 Code, Orca and Paseo. With an Android app: Termius, Claude Code Remote Control, Happy, Kittylitter, T3 Code, Orca and Paseo.
- You want an open source client. Waycar's app is closed source. Open source: Blink Shell, Happy, Kittylitter, T3 Code, Orca and Paseo.
- You only use Claude Code and already pay for a Claude plan. Remote Control is built in and needs no SSH setup.
- You need agents to keep working with your computer off. Waycar reaches your own machine, so that machine has to be on and awake.
Try Waycar on your own machine
Waycar is free for up to 10 Launches in any rolling 30 days. Waycar Pro removes the limit. See pricing for what counts as a Launch.