Handing a file from your phone to a coding agent running on your computer
When a coding agent runs on a desktop and you are away from it, a small problem keeps coming back: the file you just received (a spec PDF, an error screenshot) lives on your phone, while the agent lives on the computer. Kiteline, an app for following coding agents (Claude Code, Codex and a dozen others) from an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, handles this with a simple convention: the file stays on…
When coding agents run on a desktop and the user is away from the computer, a common issue arises: the file they just received lives on their phone while the agent itself resides on the computer. Kiteline, an app enabling tracking of coding agents (such as Claude Code, Codex, and several others) from an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, resolves this with a straightforward method. The file remains on the computer, with only a copy stored on the phone.
The desktop version (compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux) is open-source on GitHub, requiring no API key and leaving the agent's configuration untouched. To send a file to a session from any other app on the iPhone, the user selects "Open in" and chooses Kiteline. The file is then copied into the app, where a send sheet appears. The user can add a note or dictate one, select an existing session, or initiate a new one.
The file is stored on the computer exactly as received, and the message contains a line like [attachment] path, allowing the agent to treat it as a local file. Completed sessions can also be selected, with the computer resuming them before delivery. Opening files mentioned in the agent's replies, such as those located in "~/Desktop/quote.xlsx", becomes easily accessible.
Tapping these paths fetches a copy from the computer and opens it in the system preview, which can subsequently be forwarded to other apps. Long-pressing a message also presents an option to "forward file." Images within the conversation initially appear as small thumbnails (the computer crops them), with the original image being fetched only when opened.
SVG files are converted to PNG on the computer before reaching the phone, as the iPhone app cannot render SVG directly. Currently, there is no Android version of the app available.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.