llm/9ad11e16-7acb-4923-bb7e-5d14cd36cf3f/batch-5-a51da7dd-a3eb-4dc9-ba6b-997731139c08-input.json
The following is content for you to classify. Do not respond to the comments—classify them.
<topics>
1. Novelty vs. Rebranding Old Tech
Related: Commenters frequently note that SSHing into a remote machine is a standard practice that has existed for decades, comparing the article's framing to the infamous 'Dropbox comment' on Hacker News. Users express confusion over why a basic remote administration workflow is being presented as a new concept called 'Doom Coding,' while others argue that the integration of LLM agents like Claude Code provides a fresh layer of utility to the established setup.
2. Mobile Ergonomics and Friction
Related: A major theme is the physical difficulty of coding on a smartphone. Commenters discuss the pain of typing on touchscreens, the inability to view side-by-side diffs effectively on small screens, and the general clumsiness of managing terminal windows without a physical keyboard. Many users argue that while the setup is technically possible, the lack of screen real estate and input precision makes it impractical for serious engineering work.
3. Chat-Based and Async Interfaces
Related: To bypass the limitations of mobile terminal UIs, users suggest and share workflows that use chat interfaces like Telegram, Email, or WhatsApp to interact with coding agents. These setups allow users to send prompts and approve pull requests via natural language messages or buttons, treating the coding process as an asynchronous conversation rather than a real-time terminal session, which resolves many formatting and typing issues.
4. Session Persistence with Tmux
Related: Technical advice heavily features `tmux` (terminal multiplexer) as an essential tool for this workflow. Commenters explain that standard SSH connections drop when a mobile device sleeps or switches networks, whereas `tmux` allows the session to persist on the host machine. This enables users to seamlessly resume their work exactly where they left off, regardless of connectivity interruptions or app switching.
5. Alternative Mobile Environments
Related: Users discuss various apps and environments that serve as alternatives to the article's Termius setup. Android users advocate for Termux, which provides a local Linux environment without needing a remote host, while iOS users recommend Blink Shell or Shellfish for better Mosh and SSH integration. Some also mention using native Pixel terminal features or running local LLMs directly on the device to avoid latency and dependency on internet access.
6. Mental Health and Downtime
Related: The concept of 'Doom Coding' sparks a philosophical debate about work-life balance. Commenters question the healthiness of filling every moment of downtime with productivity, suggesting that time spent waiting or commuting might be better used for rest, observation, or 'micro-exercises.' There is criticism of the compulsion to code constantly, with some arguing that being present in social situations or relaxing is more valuable than 'vibe coding' on a phone.
7. Reliability and Network Latency
Related: The discussion highlights the technical challenges of mobile connectivity, specifically latency and dropped connections. Tools like Mosh (Mobile Shell) are frequently recommended over standard SSH because they are designed to handle intermittent networks and roaming between Wi-Fi and cellular data without killing the session. Tailscale is praised for simplifying the networking layer, though some prefer Wireguard for a lighter-weight alternative.
8. Wake-on-LAN and Power Usage
Related: Critiques of the requirement to leave a computer running 24/7 lead to discussions on energy efficiency and remote wake capabilities. Users share solutions using Wake-on-LAN (WOL) via routers or Raspberry Pis to turn on powerful machines only when needed. Others mention macOS settings like `caffeinate` or specific power configurations to ensure the host machine remains accessible without wasting electricity around the clock.
9. Verification and Code Review
Related: A critical point raised is the danger of 'fire-and-forget' coding with LLMs on mobile. Users note that verifying the code generated by AI is difficult on a phone due to limited visibility and syntax highlighting. The conversation touches on the risks of deploying code or merging pull requests without the ability to properly audit the logic or run tests, suggesting that mobile workflows are better suited for prototyping than production engineering.
10. Security Risks of Remote Access
Related: Several commenters express concern over the security implications of the proposed setup. Issues include leaving a computer unlocked at home, opening SSH ports (even via VPN), and the potential for bad actors to gain access to a local network. Discussions involve best practices such as using key-based authentication, locking the keychain via command line, and the general risks of exposing a development machine to remote connections.
11. Vibe Coding vs. Engineering
Related: There is a distinction drawn between 'vibe coding'—prompting an LLM to generate scripts or apps—and traditional software engineering. Some users view this workflow as 'slop' or merely prompting, lacking the depth of actual problem-solving, while others find it empowering for quick prototypes or hobby projects. This theme reflects broader tensions regarding the changing nature of software development in the age of generative AI.
12. Web-Based and Cloud Alternatives
Related: Users suggest that browser-based solutions like GitHub Codespaces, Replit, or self-hosted web IDEs (like `opencode`) offer a superior experience to terminal tunneling. These tools often provide better UI elements for mobile browsers and abstract away the need to manage hardware or VPNs, allowing users to code via a web interface that handles state management and environments automatically.
13. Social Acceptability
Related: The humorous notion of 'coding at the club' mentioned in the article draws specific reactions. Commenters joke about or criticize the anti-social nature of pulling out a phone to code in social settings like parties or bars. This overlaps with the 'doom scrolling' comparison, with some users suggesting that using a phone for work in social spaces is just as rude or 'gross' as using it for social media.
14. Hardware Workarounds
Related: To mitigate the interface limitations of smartphones, users discuss hardware additions such as folding phones, external Bluetooth keyboards, and 'thin client' setups using old laptops or tablets. Some mention specific devices like the 'Clicks' keyboard case or using AR glasses, highlighting that while the phone provides the compute or connection, better peripherals are often needed for actual productivity.
15. Agentic Workflows and Automation
Related: Discussions extend beyond simple coding to fully automated agentic workflows. Users describe setups where agents running on home servers are triggered via mobile to perform tasks, run scans, or manage infrastructure autonomously. This shifts the mobile interaction from writing code to orchestrating agents that perform the heavy lifting, reporting back status via push notifications or chat messages.
16. Subscription Fatigue vs. Open Source
Related: Comments reflect a wariness of paid subscriptions for tools like Claude Pro, Tailscale, or premium terminal apps. Users advocate for open-source alternatives such as Ollama for local LLMs, Wireguard for VPNs, and various free terminal emulators. There is a sentiment that basic remote coding shouldn't require a stack of monthly fees when free tools can achieve similar results with slightly more configuration.
17. Educational Value of LLMs
Related: Some users highlight the learning aspect of this workflow, noting that interacting with Claude Code allows them to understand new concepts (like API behaviors or network scanning) through the generative act. This counters the 'slop' narrative, suggesting that 'doom coding' can be a valid educational tool for hobbyists or those looking to understand how their devices and networks function.
18. Thin Client Philosophy
Related: The thread revisits the concept of thin clients, where the mobile device acts merely as a window into a powerful remote machine. Users compare this to historical mainframe/terminal workflows, arguing that the phone doesn't need to be powerful if it just renders text from a desktop. This philosophy underpins the preference for SSH/Mosh over running heavy local IDEs on the phone.
19. Code Quality and Maintenance
Related: Skepticism arises regarding the quality of code produced during short mobile bursts. Commenters worry about creating 'spaghetti code' or unmaintainable projects when working in fragmented sessions on a phone. However, others argue that for small utilities, prototypes, or personal tools, the quality is sufficient, and the ability to iterate quickly from anywhere outweighs the lack of rigorous structure.
20. Gatekeeping vs. Encouragement
Related: The comment section illustrates a divide between experienced users who gatekeep the term 'coding' or mock the setup, and those who encourage the experimentation. While some dismiss the article as trivial, others defend the author's enthusiasm, noting that lowering the barrier to entry and finding new ways to engage with technology is positive, even if the underlying methods are not strictly new.
0. Does not fit well in any category
</topics>
<comments_to_classify>
[
{
"id": "46518382",
"text": "Heh, many years ago I actually started writing a dedicated diff viewer app for Android [0] that specifically had synchronized horizontal scrolling between the two sides, and I remember finding it relatively usable in landscape, and I’m sure modern phones with larger and higher density screens would be even better.\n\nBut yeah, you definitely need a native experience to make side by side diffs viable on mobile.\n\n[0] https://github.com/scottbez1/superdiff — I wish I had recorded some videos of the app back then. My code review workflow back then eventually stopped including diff attachments on code review emails, so I abandoned development on it."
}
,
{
"id": "46517916",
"text": "I do the same but my unifi network gives me a vpn out of the box."
}
,
{
"id": "46522445",
"text": "Why do you ever want to code while you are running? I run to getaway from daily grind to smell the fresh air."
}
,
{
"id": "46518423",
"text": "Number 1 on the front page of Hacker News for explaining how to connect to a remote machine via ssh."
}
,
{
"id": "46518524",
"text": "I too am dumfounded by this. Is it an off day? Have all the people that actually know how to do things with computers gone somewhere else? What is going on here?"
}
,
{
"id": "46523053",
"text": "It's all AI hype bro sycophants for the most part now. Oh, well."
}
,
{
"id": "46523960",
"text": "Yeah I feel like I'm missing something here. I'm not sure if people being so dependent on these LLMs generating code is that widespread at this point or if this is some kind of publicity stunt."
}
,
{
"id": "46523129",
"text": "A random thought has started to occur, maybe given how early we are in LLM tech world, isn’t it strange a lot of AI tech is being built on top of proprietary tech? In this case, it’s Claude Code\n\nAnd honestly, all this free marketing has me convinced to pay for it"
}
,
{
"id": "46523172",
"text": "There are many open source alternatives to claude code. Crush[0] is one, Clai[1] another, opencode[3] a third. These are all vendor agnostic, and use API credits from different providers.\n\n[0]: https://github.com/charmbracelet/crush\n[1]: https://github.com/baalimago/clai\n[2]: https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode"
}
,
{
"id": "46523963",
"text": "What does Claude add to this? I've done coding on my phone before by sshing into my home server and just... writing code. Is there a benefit to writing code through a third party instead?"
}
,
{
"id": "46525350",
"text": "I'm just as baffled. I went to the comments to better understand but I still don't get it.\n\nI've coded on my phone on several occasions. If you use Android, you don't even need a server or a home computer since Termux works really well as it is. It can run node.js and a bunch of other development tools easily. Or you can just ssh into a server with a development environment and do your stuff their (AI or not)."
}
,
{
"id": "46525731",
"text": "Yeah, I use Termux a decent amount, whether it's just updating my todo list on my home server or actually programming on it. I feel like this is just aimed at the people who want to code entire projects with LLMs, cost be damned"
}
,
{
"id": "46525940",
"text": "Programming on a phone is a tough sell for many since typing is slower and you have less screen real estate to view/debug the code. Using an AI agent and typing only prompts makes it more compelling. You input less, and only occasionally have to edit code instead of writing everything from 0. And even with editing, typing a prompt like \"separate the X logic from class Y into a new file/class\" is much faster on mobile than the equivalent actions."
}
,
{
"id": "46522117",
"text": "This is awesome! But I don't think you need to say never to all those display settings. You just need to go to Battery -> Options, and \"Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off\", and wake for network access when on power adapter."
}
,
{
"id": "46525853",
"text": "Chromebook maybe but I don’t see myself using a phone unless maybe it’s voice driven. Typing up lots on phones is a pain."
}
,
{
"id": "46517697",
"text": "Those demo photos are fantastic"
}
,
{
"id": "46518395",
"text": "Thank you! My wife was concerned, I'm glad someone out there appreciates the humor"
}
,
{
"id": "46522687",
"text": "Tailscale is quite handy in remote agent coding, Sometimes I use tailscale and RustDesk on my phone to check Claude code, I also built an app called NovaAccess which bake tailscale into the app which does not confict of VPN I used."
}
,
{
"id": "46520446",
"text": "I use Terminus with Zellij and keep about 8 sessions going with a combination of Claude and Codex, and once in a while, Gemini. It's great when you're sitting in a docotor's office lobby bored out of your skull and when you get back to your desk you just join the session and it's all right there."
}
,
{
"id": "46523626",
"text": "I have been doing this with toad and opencode and it is great for those unprompted ideas that pop up while in the big blue room, but not really useful for large projects."
}
,
{
"id": "46523764",
"text": "Yeah but I wonder if there's a structure that can be used to make it useful for larger side projects."
}
,
{
"id": "46526190",
"text": "That’s where VS Code has helped me the most, it provides a lot more model guidance than people realize."
}
,
{
"id": "46520089",
"text": "This can be done not just with Claude but also with codex and gemeni cli. Well technically anything that has a cli interface.\n\nI run both gemeni (fee) and codex (paid), with tmux thrown in to switch between phone and laptop. Laptop runs vscode with ssh to my server but I could also use the web version of vscode."
}
,
{
"id": "46518535",
"text": "So, we've spent ages, blood, and tears building better UIs than text, and now with AI everyone is suddenly expected to type instructions on the phone? Yes, I realize this is hard to avoid for coding in particular, but generally I'm tired of typing text on my phone. And no, I don't want to talk to it either."
}
,
{
"id": "46521812",
"text": "How much information can you encode in your squint?"
}
,
{
"id": "46522575",
"text": "Cursor--run in cloud seems to work just fine for this. I setup my project and then github to publish web or mobile app.... i believe claude can also take instructions from github...or am i missing something."
}
,
{
"id": "46521635",
"text": "I made something very similar for myself and now have decided to open it up to others if you want to help me beta test.. free for all and it sets you up with your own hetzner vps and you even share my claude code max account: clodhost.com"
}
,
{
"id": "46519467",
"text": "Btw this is basically Replit's entire product (replit.com). Costs some money but the UX is pretty good"
}
,
{
"id": "46518820",
"text": "Very related to https://granda.org/en/2026/01/02/claude-code-on-the-go/ ?"
}
,
{
"id": "46518078",
"text": "I genuinely did that a few times. Using an ssh client to fix a commit failing CI, for example. Even launching release builds remotely. Notably once when I was on vacation and half the Scala ecosystem was waiting for me."
}
,
{
"id": "46517803",
"text": "Using this with tmux and various VPN tech. Main issue is scrolling. Termius + tmux don't scroll very well. And I've been led to believe tmux is necessary to keep sessions open when I turn off my phone screen"
}
,
{
"id": "46518424",
"text": "Scrolling is quite jenky with Termius - I thought there's a way to keep sessions going when there are intermittent drops in connection via Termius, but for how I've been building, when I lose connection I just restart claude and reexplain the context of the task."
}
,
{
"id": "46517826",
"text": "I had this exact issue. I switched to Blink on iOS which seems inferior to Termius in every way except that scrolling tmux actually works."
}
,
{
"id": "46518142",
"text": "In `~/.tmux.conf` try adding `set -g mouse on`, for mouse scrolling"
}
,
{
"id": "46518385",
"text": "try setting set -g mouse on in your tmux config. With this I'm able to scroll up by using two fingers in termius."
}
,
{
"id": "46517856",
"text": "Yes, you need tmux/similar to keep things running."
}
,
{
"id": "46522159",
"text": "Tailscale is a lot of permanent runtime overhead/latency just to avoid setting up dynamic DNS and changing a few lines in the sshd_config."
}
,
{
"id": "46523939",
"text": "Do you have recommended reading? I haven't been confident enough that I wouldn't overlook serious security issues opening SSH on my own machines."
}
,
{
"id": "46518264",
"text": "\"Even code at the club!\" haha if you're coding at the club, just go home! but also, I really wish Sony still made their micro Vaio laptops (Sony Vaio P, for instance)."
}
,
{
"id": "46518351",
"text": "That phone was taken 5 minutes before departure lol - a micro laptop sounds sweet!"
}
,
{
"id": "46519295",
"text": "\"Even code at the club!\" ... Great idea for my next rap song! LOL"
}
,
{
"id": "46521776",
"text": "I just use Happy https://happy.engineering/"
}
,
{
"id": "46521378",
"text": "This looks neat.\nHow do you handle code verification in this workflow, especially if you want to be confident about what actually ran?"
}
,
{
"id": "46521599",
"text": "I might just be old fashioned but in a party with a couple of drinks in me I don't trust my ability to even vibe code well."
}
,
{
"id": "46521764",
"text": "Just keep your eyes on the pretty CI/CD lights."
}
,
{
"id": "46520403",
"text": "I have similar setup, one thing to add is map action button to a shortcut for dictate to clipboard since you can’t dictate directly into termius."
}
,
{
"id": "46525397",
"text": "Could you please share more? I can't make dictation work."
}
,
{
"id": "46518009",
"text": "Pretty cool idea, I'm going to be trying this only using open source Cecli (with DeepSeek API) instead of Claude CLI because I don't have infinite $$"
}
,
{
"id": "46518380",
"text": "Thanks! And great idea! I'm still new to hacking - definitely need to check out more of the open source tools out there"
}
,
{
"id": "46518833",
"text": "https://github.com/dwash96/cecli\n\nIt's a fork of Aider but with agent mode, MCP, skills, task manager and more. Very active development team!"
}
]
</comments_to_classify>
Based on the comments above, assign each to up to 3 relevant topics.
Return ONLY a JSON array with this exact structure (no other text):
[
{
"id": "comment_id_1",
"topics": [
1,
3,
5
]
}
,
{
"id": "comment_id_2",
"topics": [
2
]
}
,
{
"id": "comment_id_3",
"topics": [
0
]
}
,
...
]
Rules:
- Each comment can have 0 to 3 topics
- Use 1-based topic indices for matches
- Use index 0 if the comment does not fit well in any category
- Only assign topics that are genuinely relevant to the comment
Remember: Output ONLY the JSON array, no other text.
50