WhipDesk.com · Install · Features · How it works · FAQ

WhipDesk is a mobile-first remote access tool designed specifically for developers who need to oversee and manage AI coding agents running on their dev machines—directly from their phones.

Why WhipDesk?

Modern AI workflows require more than traditional tools can offer:

• Beyond the Terminal: Terminal-only apps limit you to agent chats only. WhipDesk gives you full access to your entire desktop and development environment so you can view code changes, inspect UI fixes, and run any desktop app.
• Built for Mobile & AI: Traditional remote desktop tools are notoriously clunky on small screens with very limited support for reading text, and weren't built with AI agents in mind. WhipDesk is tailored for mobile-first control, letting you effortlessly monitor, guide, and course-correct your vibecoding sessions from anywhere.

Free, open-source, and end-to-end encrypted. WhipDesk works entirely on your local network without any account—or from anywhere in the world with a free sign-in at WhipDesk.com.

Up and running in seconds

Install the CLI, scan the QR code, and start managing your AI agents from your phone.

1. Install the agent on your dev machine

macOS

# npm
npm install -g whipdesk

# or Homebrew
brew install --cask BinaryBananaLLC/whipdesk/whipdesk

# or Quick install
curl -fsSL https://whipdesk.com/install.sh | bash

Prefer a graphical installer? Download the .pkg from the latest release — it's signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Windows

# npm
npm install -g whipdesk

# or Quick install
powershell -c "irm https://whipdesk.com/install.ps1 | iex"

# or Scoop
scoop install whipdesk

There's also a -setup.exe wizard on the latest release. Windows builds aren't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen will warn — verify the download before you click through.

Linux

# npm
npm install -g whipdesk

# or Quick install
curl -fsSL https://whipdesk.com/install.sh | bash

2. Start WhipDesk

whipdesk

On first run, WhipDesk will ask you to set an access PIN. Use at least 6 characters.

Depending on your OS, you may also need to grant permissions so WhipDesk can capture the screen and control input:

• macOS: Grant Screen Recording and Accessibility in System Settings → Privacy & Security to the app that launched the agent, such as Terminal, iTerm, or VS Code. Then fully quit and reopen that app.
• Windows: Works out of the box. To see and control elevated windows, launch your terminal as Administrator.
• Linux: X11 works out of the box. On Wayland, you need xdg-desktop-portal plus your compositor's screen-share backend.

3. Connect from your phone

From the same Wi-Fi network

Scan the QR code printed in the terminal, open the link, enter your PIN, and connect. No account, no cloud dependency, and your data never leaves your network.

From anywhere

To connect your devices outside of your local network, they need a way to find each other. Sign in with the same email address on WhipDesk.com and in the agent during setup. Your dev machines will immediately appear in your dashboard, ready to connect from anywhere in the world. WhipDesk.com handles device discovery, signaling, and optional push notifications.

You are now ready to whip lazy AI back to work!

How it works

The WhipDesk agent runs on your dev machine much like a typical remote access app. It captures the screen, accepts real mouse and keyboard control, and serves the web app your phone loads.

On your local network

Your phone and the agent connect directly over WebRTC — DTLS-encrypted, phone-to-desktop, with nothing in between. The entire logic behind this connection lives in this repository.

Outside your local network

Away from home, your phone and your dev machine have no way to find each other on their own — that's the one job an external service has to do. Sign in, and WhipDesk.com introduces the two devices; the session itself always stays end-to-end encrypted between them. Most connections then flow directly peer-to-peer. When NAT traversal fails, traffic falls back to a secure TURN relay that only forwards sealed packets it cannot read.

Either way, every connection must answer your PIN before the screen starts—and the PIN itself never crosses the wire. Design details live in docs/ARCHITECTURE.md and our threat model in SECURITY.md.

What makes WhipDesk unique

• Actually usable on a phone: Built mobile-first, not desktop-first squeezed onto a phone. Landscape mode, full-screen viewing, and touch-native controls make reading code on a 4K dev box feel natural.
• Smart zoom, crystal-clear text: WhipDesk streams only the part of the screen you're looking at, so zoomed-in code stays razor-sharp even on weak cellular connections. Pan around, and the picture seamlessly updates while the stream catches up.
• Auto-Whips: Get pinged the moment an agent is waiting on you, finishes a task, or crashes. Automatically detects Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Aider, GitHub Copilot CLI, opencode, Cursor Agent, and Amp—with zero config. Want the alert the instant it happens instead of a few seconds later? Wire up agent-native hooks.
• Whipository: Your personal prompt library. Save the instructions you type ten times a day and fire them off in a single tap.
• Scheduled prompts: Queue a message like "you hit the session limit, resume" for 2:00 AM when your limit resets, and wake up the agent to finish the work while you sleep.
• LashStash: Desktop automation reimagined. Record click-type-Enter sequences and run them on demand or on a schedule—stored encrypted, locally only on your machine.
• Push Notifications: Enable browser notifications to get a ping even when your browser is closed. Whether your AI agent is idle, blocked, or you just want to know when things change, the notification possibilities are limitless.

How we use it

WhipDesk is packed with the tools we use every single day to keep our own agents productive:

• Checking in from anywhere: Before falling asleep, right after waking up, from the living room couch, or from the park while watching the kids. Pull out your phone, glance at the screen, and course-correct your agent if needed.
• Navigating session limits: If our Claude session limit resets at 2 AM, we schedule a prompt. The dev box receives it exactly when the limit resets, and by morning, there's a fresh session with the work completed.
• Bypassing repetition: We kept retyping the same exact instructions, so we built the Whipository. Now, commands like "make no mistakes" or "run the tests" are one tap away.
• Automating rituals: Click a window, focus the prompt, type, press Enter, unlock the dev box at night. That's why LashStash exists—to handle daily UI automation without manual intervention.

While WhipDesk is built mobile-first and optimized for managing AI agents, it's also incredibly useful for general remote access. Need to quickly check an order on a website where you're already signed in on your dev machine? Just connect via WhipDesk. Let us know if you find interesting new use cases, or if you're missing a feature!

Why we built it

WhipDesk was started by one person who desperately needed a way to check on their AI agents while away from the keyboard—during lunch, on vacation, or stuck at the office while an agent sat idle at home, waiting on a one-word answer.

After sharing it with a few friends, it became clear the tool solved a widespread problem, so we opened it up to everyone.

LAN usage costs us nothing, which is why this repository contains everything you need to run it yourself, forever, for free. Connecting from anywhere in the world is the part that needs a service like WhipDesk.com—and relays cost real money. That's why you might see a donate button after signing in. If your AI agent helped you earn a few extra dollars this month and WhipDesk played a part in that, consider supporting the project. Our pricing page explains why it stays free.

Privacy and telemetry

Sessions are end-to-end encrypted between your devices. If you sign in with WhipDesk.com, it sees only what it absolutely needs to connect your devices: your email address, device name, platform/version, online status, and connection handshake metadata.

The agent contains no analytics and no tracking. Its only unprompted network call is the update check, which sends just the running version and OS platform. You can turn the update check off in ~/.whipdesk/settings.json (%USERPROFILE%\.whipdesk\settings.json on Windows):

{ "updateCheck": false }

Every release is built by GitHub Actions straight from the tagged source—signed, notarized, and verifiable. WhipDesk alerts you when an update ships but never auto-updates (see how to update).

Don't take our word for it—the code is right here. Read it, audit it, or point your favorite AI agent at it for a security review.

Troubleshooting

If you see a black screen, wallpaper-only frames, or input that does not work, check your OS permissions first. On macOS, almost every capture/input failure comes from missing Screen Recording or Accessibility permissions, or from forgetting to restart the app that launched the agent after granting them.

For deeper logs, start the agent with --verbose:

whipdesk --verbose

Run whipdesk --help for the full list of flags.

If the problem persists, open an issue on GitHub or post on Reddit.

Contributing

Contributions are highly encouraged! See CONTRIBUTING.md and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, and please read AGENTS.md first to understand the repository's working contract.

npm install
npm run dev          # builds the web controller, then starts the agent from source
npm run typecheck
npm run test

LAN mode is fully self-contained in this repo, and the remote path is well-documented to inspect, review, and extend. If you want to build on top of WhipDesk or point it at your own backend, start with docs/ARCHITECTURE.md, SECURITY.md, and docs/SELF_HOSTING.md.

Reporting security issues

Found a vulnerability? Please open a GitHub security advisory instead of a public issue. Good-faith security research is always welcome and appreciated.

License

GNU AGPL-3.0 — run it, study it, modify it, and share it. If you offer a modified version as a network service, the AGPL requires publishing your source under the same license. For commercial licensing, contact BinaryBanana LLC.

The WhipDesk name and logo are trademarks of BinaryBanana LLC. Forks need their own branding; see TRADEMARK.md.

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