How to Use Android as a Remote IDE with Tailscale and NimoteCode: Free SSH Access to Mac and Linux

This guide demonstrates how to set up Android as a remote IDE for Mac and Linux systems using Tailscale and NimoteCode, providing free SSH access without requiring a public IP address or router port forwarding.

For macOS users, begin by checking if Homebrew is installed. If not, install it using this command: /bin/bash -c $( curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh ). Then, install Tailscale via Homebrew: brew install --cask tailscale. Launch Tailscale and sign in with your Tailscale account. To find your Mac's Tailscale IPv4 address, run tailscale ip -4. Then, enable Remote Login by running sudo systemsetup -setremotelogin on and confirm it's enabled with sudo systemsetup -getremotelogin.

For Linux users, SSH access is straightforward as it doesn't require a GUI. Install the Tailscale client and service on Ubuntu or Debian using curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh, then start Tailscale and sign in by visiting the provided sign-in URL in a browser. After setting up Tailscale on both the Mac/Linux machine and the Android device, use the IPv4 address obtained for the Mac/Linux machine in NimoteCode on Android.

Configure the SSH connection in NimoteCode with the appropriate host (address returned by tailscale ip -4), port (22), username, and password or SSH key. To test the setup, turn off Wi-Fi on your Android phone and connect over 4G/5G network. If NimoteCode can still connect to the Mac over SSH, the setup is successful.

With this configuration, you can securely access and work on remote projects from your Android device, regardless of network differences. Tailscale provides a private network path, while NimoteCode integrates this connection into a comprehensive mobile development workspace, enabling you to edit files, run tests, execute Git commands, and leverage AI assistance alongside the remote project.