Short answer
CloudCLI (formerly Claude Code UI) is an AGPL-3.0 open source web UI. You run a Node.js server on your computer or a server, then chat with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI and other agents from a browser, with a file explorer, Git, a terminal and plugins built in. There's also a paid CloudCLI Cloud that runs your agents in hosted containers.
The biggest difference with BotBus is the shape of the product. BotBus isn't a website you have to expose and put authentication in front of. It's a small background app on your computer plus native iPhone, Apple Watch and Android apps, connected through an end-to-end encrypted relay, with system push notifications you can approve from, including on your wrist. If you want a near-IDE experience in the browser, agents that keep running in the cloud after you close your laptop, or plugins and team sharing, stay with CloudCLI. If what you mostly need is to know when an agent is waiting on you while you're away from your desk, and approve it with a tap, BotBus is worth a look.
Everything about CloudCLI below comes from its GitHub repository (siteboon/claudecodeui, v1.37.4 at the time), its website and its official docs, checked on October 10, 2026. It ships often, so treat its site as the source of truth.
What CloudCLI looks like today
There are three ways to run it:
- Self-hosted via npm. Run
npx @cloudcli-ai/cloudcli, or install it globally and runcloudcli, then openhttp://localhost:3001. Per the README it auto-discovers every existing session in~/.claudeso you can pick them up, and settings you change in the UI (MCP servers, tool permissions) are written straight into Claude Code's own config. Free and open source. - Docker sandbox (experimental). Agents run inside a microVM-isolated sandbox. Claude Code and Codex are supported there for now.
- CloudCLI Cloud. A managed cloud dev environment. The site lists plans from €7/month (Hobby, one environment) up through €20 and €39 tiers plus Enterprise. Your machine can be off and the agent keeps working; you reach it from a browser, an IDE or a REST API, and you can share environments with a team.
In every case you bring your own model subscription or API key. CloudCLI provides the environment, not the AI.
The UI covers chat, a built-in terminal, a file tree with syntax highlighting and editing, a Git panel that can stage, commit and switch branches, browser use, session management and a plugin system (the community has plugins for scheduled prompts, task queues, token cost tracking and more). The website lists Claude Code, Cursor CLI, Codex, Gemini CLI and OpenCode; the server code in the repo has providers for Claude, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode. An optional CloudCLI Desktop app sits in the macOS menu bar or Windows tray to switch between local and cloud workspaces and copy the phone URL.
On a phone, the docs tell you to open http://<your-machine-ip>:3001 in a browser on the same network, and you can add it to the home screen as a PWA; the cloud version opens from any device. The code includes Web Push notifications for events like a tool waiting for approval, a run stopping or a run failing. The docs say a native app is in development; as of the check date it hasn't shipped.
To reach a self-hosted instance from outside your network, the docs recommend putting it behind a reverse proxy such as Caddy or nginx with an auth layer, and note that throwaway tunnels like cloudflared or ngrok aren't meant for ongoing use.
When CloudCLI is the better choice
These are real strengths that BotBus doesn't match today:
- A full workbench in the browser. Edit code in the file tree, commit and switch branches in the Git panel, manage MCP servers, add plugins. BotBus lets you review uncommitted changes, browse files and open a terminal from the phone, but it isn't an editor.
- Open source you can change. CloudCLI is AGPL-3.0, so you can audit, modify and self-host all of it. BotBus's apps are closed; what's public is the protocol, the connectors and the test fixtures.
- Agents in the cloud. CloudCLI Cloud doesn't depend on your computer, so closing the laptop doesn't stop the agent. BotBus works with agents on your own computer; when it sleeps, the phone only shows what has already synced. See keeping your Mac awake for agents.
- Team sharing and an API. The cloud version shares environments with teammates and offers a REST API and n8n integration. BotBus has no shared sessions and no public API.
- Any device with a browser. A tablet, a borrowed laptop, a phone without the app: open the URL and go.
If any of those is a hard requirement, CloudCLI is the right tool.
How BotBus is different
No ports to open, no auth to configure
Self-hosted CloudCLI is a website running on your machine. To use it away from home you have to solve networking and authentication yourself, whether that's a private network like Tailscale or a reverse proxy with auth as the docs suggest. BotBus opens no inbound port on your computer: both the computer and the phone connect out to a relay. Tasks, conversations, commands and the remote screen are encrypted on your devices, and the group key travels only in the computer's pairing QR code, never through the server. The server can still see device IDs, online status, update times and data sizes, and dev previews are outside end-to-end encryption. Details are in the security docs.
Native apps, push and a watch
The BotBus iPhone and Apple Watch apps are on the App Store, and the Android app is out too. Notifications only fire when an agent needs an approval, needs a reply, finishes or fails, and you can approve straight from the phone or the watch. The watch app syncs pairing from the iPhone and then connects on its own, see Apple Watch for AI coding agents. Whether notifications arrive depends on the permissions you grant in system settings.
Web Push can also notify you, but on an iPhone it only works after you add the site to your home screen, and there's nothing to tap on a watch.
Terminal sessions show up as they are
BotBus runs in the background and picks up the sessions you already start. For Codex it reads the local session data under ~/.codex read-only. For Claude Code, install the hooks once in BotBus settings; after that, sessions you open in the terminal or the desktop app, and their permission prompts, appear on the phone. You don't switch to another interface to start work, and when you're back at the computer everything is where you left it.
More agents, several computers, remote control
- Built-in support for Codex, Claude Code, Hermes, Pi, OpenClaw and DeepSeek Harness, and any ACP agent (OpenCode, for example) can be connected, see connecting an agent.
- Multiple computers and phones can pair with each other. On the phone you pick a computer, then see its tasks grouped by agent and project.
- Control computer opens files and a terminal from the phone; on a Mac you also get the live screen with tap and type, handy when an agent is stuck on a system dialog.
- In Codex and Claude Code tasks started from the phone, the agent can send screenshots, files and videos back to you, and on a Mac it can share a local dev server for preview.
Side by side
| CloudCLI (checked 2026-10-10) | BotBus | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Web UI (self-hosted Node.js server, or cloud environment) | Background app on the computer + native phone and watch apps |
| Computer | Anything that runs Node.js 22+; optional Desktop for macOS, Windows | macOS 26 or later, Linux (x86_64 / aarch64), Windows 10 / 11 |
| Phone | Browser / PWA; native app in development | iOS 26, Apple Watch (watchOS 26), Android 8.0 or later |
| Remote access | Self-hosted: your own VPN or reverse proxy with auth; cloud: direct | Through the relay; no inbound port on the computer |
| Encryption | Docs don't describe end-to-end encryption | Content end-to-end encrypted, except dev previews |
| Open source | AGPL-3.0 | Apps closed; protocol and connectors public |
Can you use both, and how to switch
Yes. A natural split is CloudCLI in a desktop or tablet browser for browsing files and committing, and BotBus for notifications, approvals and follow-ups when you're away. Both read sessions under ~/.claude. One caveat: BotBus's hooks live in Claude Code's settings.json, which CloudCLI also reads and writes. We haven't tested whether runs started from CloudCLI fire those hooks or which side an approval lands on, so handle approvals for a given session in one place only.
To move to BotBus:
- Install the desktop app from the download section, install BotBus on your phone and scan the pairing QR code on the computer.
- Install the Claude Code hooks in BotBus settings. Codex needs no extra setup.
- If you no longer need CloudCLI from outside your network, shut down the port forward, reverse proxy or tunnel you set up for it.
Limits
- What you can do depends on the connector and task state. Some tasks are view-only. Approving, continuing, starting and stopping all need the computer online and an agent that supports the action.
- Your computer has to be on. BotBus doesn't run agents in the cloud; if the computer sleeps or shuts down, so does the agent.
- Not an editor. You can review changes, browse files and use a terminal from the phone, but real editing and committing still belong at the computer or in another tool.
- Some features are Mac-only. The live screen and dev previews exist only on the Mac version; on Linux and Windows, Control computer gives you files and a terminal.
- Sending photos is limited. Sending images from the phone to an agent currently works with Codex and Claude Code only.
- Not open source, no self-hosted relay. If that matters to you, CloudCLI fits better.
FAQ
Are CloudCLI and Claude Code UI the same thing?
Yes. The project started as Claude Code UI, the repo is still siteboon/claudecodeui, and it now goes by CloudCLI with the npm package @cloudcli-ai/cloudcli.
Does CloudCLI have an iPhone app?
As of October 10, 2026, the docs say a native app is in development. Today you use it in a mobile browser or add it to your home screen as a PWA.
Do I need to open ports or set up Tailscale for BotBus?
No. Both the computer and the phone connect out to the relay; you scan a QR code once to pair.
I only use CloudCLI on my home Wi-Fi. Should I switch?
If you only use it at home on the same network, CloudCLI already covers you. Consider BotBus if you want approval notifications when you're out, a tap on your watch, or several computers in one list. For other approaches, see Claude Code Remote Control alternatives and the Happy Coder alternative.