Cursor's iOS app can message local agents while your computer stays awake

Cursor now lets you check on and talk to coding agents from your phone. According to Cursor’s changelog, the Cursor iOS app can show the local agents running on your computer and let you send them a message.

The feature is called Remote Control. Cursor says it is on by default for everyone except Enterprise organizations.

What changed

You download the Cursor iOS app and sign in. Computers on your account appear in the app automatically. You tap your computer, then approve the pairing request in the Cursor desktop app. Your local agents then show up as a list. Tap one to see what it is doing or send it a message.

The agents do not move. Cursor says Remote Control “doesn’t move your agents anywhere.” They keep running on your computer, and the phone connects to them. That means your computer has to stay on and online. It also does not require cloud agents, which are the ones Cursor runs on its own servers.

The catch: your laptop has to stay awake

A laptop that sleeps stops the agent, and the phone has nothing to talk to. Cursor offers a setting called “Keep this computer awake” under Remote Control in the desktop settings. Cursor says the computer needs to be plugged in with the lid open for that to work.

So this is not a way to leave a laptop in a bag and steer it from a train. It suits a desk setup where you step away for lunch or a meeting.

Why it matters

Long agent runs often stall on a question. The agent waits for you while you are away. Replying from a phone shortens that wait, which is the practical gain here.

A new phone connection requires both account sign-in and approval of its pairing request in the desktop app. An approved phone can then message agents on that computer. Those agents can edit files and run commands on that machine. Before pairing a phone, confirm which approvals apply to commands sent from it and how to disable remote access for your account. Enterprise admins can control it in Org settings under Security and identity, then Remote control.

What to do next

Pair the app at your desk, confirm the agent appears, and check that a reply reaches it while the laptop stays awake.

Review the computers listed in the iOS app and investigate any you do not recognize. Use any additional sign-in protection available for your account, since a paired phone can send instructions to agents on those computers.

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