Stop Doom Scrolling, Start Doom Coding: Build via the terminal from your phone

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Prior Art: Coding on Phones Isn’t New

  • Many note they’ve long used phones as terminals (SSH + tmux + vim/emacs/neovim), sometimes because a phone is their only device.
  • Android tools (Termux, QPython, Pixel’s Debian VM, Nix-on-Droid, etc.) already allow full local dev stacks.
  • iOS users rely on SSH clients (Blink, Shellfish, Termius) and remote machines, since local shells are more constrained.
  • Several describe past eras of “coding under constraints” (PalmPilots, Nokia N900, library terminals, even paper).

Ergonomics, Focus, and Whether You Should Code on a Phone

  • Some find phone-based coding miserable: cramped screens, bad keyboards, interruptions, hard to concentrate, worse diff review and research.
  • Others use it for incremental changes, CI fixes, bug patches, or “micro-sessions” (on trains, in waiting rooms, between gym sets).
  • A counterpoint argues these in-between moments are better used for rest or micro-exercise, not squeezing in more work.
  • Multiple comments push back on “coding at the club” / in motion as an anti-pattern and a health risk (posture, neck, attention).

AI “Doom/Vibe Coding”: Hype vs Utility

  • Enthusiasts say Claude Code and similar tools make phone-based development viable: you mostly write prompts, not code; agents handle editing, running tests, and even PRs.
  • Examples given: home automation scripts, web apps, infra/terraform changes, bugfixes on the go, hobby MVPs built largely via chat.
  • Others call this “just prompting” or “not real coding,” worry about huge unreviewed AI PRs, and fear erosion of actual engineering skill.
  • Some see it as a big productivity boost for time-poor parents or commuters; skeptics see AI marketing and “slop” generation.

Tooling, Infrastructure, and Alternatives

  • Canonical stack in the thread: Tailscale (or WireGuard/OpenVPN) + SSH/mosh + tmux/zellij + remote Claude/Codex/Gemini CLI.
  • Issues raised: scrolling in tmux on mobile, keeping sessions alive, needing a 24/7 machine, and security of exposed services.
  • Workarounds: wake-on-LAN proxies, auto-shutdown, sandboxed VMs/containers, Git-based workflows where AI opens PRs for review.
  • Alternatives: Replit, happy.engineering, OpenCode web UIs, GitHub Copilot Issues, Telegram/Discord/email bots controlling agents.

Security and Privacy Concerns

  • Several warn about exposing identifiers, open SSH, and leaving home machines unlocked.
  • Email-based or chat-based interfaces are suggested but criticized as slower and less secure unless carefully authenticated and encrypted.