January 6, 2026
Thumbs vs keyboards: FIGHT!
Stop Doom Scrolling, Start Doom Coding: Build via the terminal from your phone
Code anywhere on your phone: fans hype, skeptics groan, security side-eye
TLDR: A 5‑minute guide shows how to code from your phone by remotely using your home computer with an AI helper. Commenters split: commuters cheer, skeptics warn it’s risky and impractical, and security folks urge masking sensitive details—turning idle time into work, but with caution.
The internet found its latest productivity stunt: doom coding—turning mindless doom scrolling into coding from your phone anywhere (yes, even “at the club”). One builder used Tailscale, Termius, and Claude Code to tap a home computer from halfway around the world, and the comments lit up. The hype crowd is pumped—commuters like scottbez1 are ready to try it during transit—while the purists rolled their eyes. Leetrout’s vibe-check landed hard: “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” Demo photos got love, the idea got curiosity, and the practicals got questions: how do you review changes without the comfy desktop tools?
Then came the drama: security folks clutching pearls. OakNinja warned to mask your device details—otherwise you’re handing a roadmap to bad actors. Translation: be careful what you show, because a “private tunnel” (that’s what a VPN is) still requires common sense. Humor flew fast: lifetimerubyist flexed studying the original DOOM source code (“does that count?”), and scottbez1 joked doom coding might be doomed inside the transbay tube’s awful cell service. Between the “code anywhere” dream and the “sleep mode exists for a reason” crowd, the thread split into two camps: hustle-on-the-go versus please-touch-grass. The builder’s shameless plug to friendlyr.ai didn’t hurt the spectacle either. Verdict: thrilling, risky, and extremely memeable.
Key Points
- •The guide outlines how to code from a smartphone by remotely accessing a home computer via Tailscale VPN and Termius.
- •Requirements include a computer running 24/7 with internet, a smartphone, and a Claude Pro subscription.
- •Setup steps cover enabling SSH, installing Tailscale and Claude Code on the computer, and configuring Termius with MagicDNS on the phone.
- •Connection involves enabling Tailscale VPN, selecting the Termius host, and running the “claude” command to start coding.
- •Best practices include progress tracking in CLAUDE.md, local web previews via python http.server and MagicDNS, and using a PostgreSQL client and bookmarks for dev resources.