This Free Android App Lets Claude Code Use Your Phone

Claude Code is one of the most powerful AI coding assistants in the world — but until recently, you needed a desktop computer to run it. A new free, open-source Android app called Buddy changes that. Version 2.1 installs Claude Code directly onto your phone and goes one step further: it can let the AI operate your phone for you — reading the screen, tapping buttons, typing text, and scrolling through apps after a simple instruction from you.

What Buddy actually does

Buddy lives as a floating chat bubble on top of your other apps, similar to Facebook Messenger’s chat heads. You type or speak a request — for example, “reply to Sam that I’m running late” — and Buddy reads the screen, opens the right app, taps, types, and scrolls to complete the task. It asks for your approval before anything that sends, posts, buys, or deletes.

It is not limited to Claude Code. The app supports three AI coding agents:

• Claude Code — runs on your own Claude Pro or Max subscription
• OpenAI Codex — runs on an eligible ChatGPT plan
• OpenCode — works with free models, no account required

Because the app itself is free and open source (released under the Apache 2.0 licence), there are no paid tiers and no dedicated Buddy servers — your requests go straight to whichever AI provider you chose.

How it works without a PC, ADB, or root

Most “AI controls my phone” projects drive the phone over Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which needs a computer or a finicky wireless debugging connection. Buddy takes a different route.

First, the app downloads a tiny Alpine Linux environment (about 4 MB) into its own storage and runs it with proot technology. Claude Code installs inside that Linux with Anthropic’s official installer — no Termux, no separate terminal app, no rooting your phone.

Second, Buddy runs a small local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server through Android’s accessibility service — the same kind of permission screen readers use. That server exposes phone tools to the AI: reading the screen, tapping, typing, scrolling, opening apps and URLs, taking screenshots, and even installing APK files.

The requirements are modest: a 64-bit phone running Android 11 or later.

The cost question

The app is free, but the AI behind it is not necessarily free. Claude Code needs an active Claude Pro (about $20/month) or Max subscription, and Codex needs a ChatGPT plan — though using your existing subscription means you avoid separate API charges. OpenCode is the genuinely free path: its free models work right away with no account at all.

Safety controls — and why they matter

Giving an AI access to your accessibility service is powerful, and Buddy’s developer has built several safeguards around it:

• Approval cards appear before sensitive actions — you can Approve, Deny, or Change the action (for example, “make it 9, add a smiley”) before anything is sent, posted, bought, or deleted.
• Safety levels per app: Hard mode always requires approval for consequential actions like sending, paying, and deleting; Smart mode uses a separate AI session to review taps against your original instruction.
• Messaging, shopping, and money apps start on a hard limit that Buddy itself enforces.
• The agent cannot interact with Buddy’s own approval cards or settings, so it can’t approve its own actions.

Even so, the project’s own documentation flags real risks. Because the AI reads whatever is on your screen, a malicious webpage, email, or message could contain hidden instructions designed to manipulate it — a classic prompt-injection attack. The honest advice: never let the agent enter passwords, one-time verification codes, or payment details, and review the app’s permissions and safety settings carefully before granting it access to sensitive information.

Built by Claude Code, on the phone itself

One of the more remarkable details: according to the developer, Buddy was largely built using Claude Code running on a OnePlus 12. The AI reportedly helped write the Java code, compile and sign the APK, install test builds, and test the app by driving the phone with Buddy’s own phone-control tools. Version 2.1 is the latest release, and the GitHub repository — published on 7 October 2026 — is already drawing attention from the AI developer community.

Other additions in the latest version include voice input, the ability to add mid-task instructions without restarting a job, a built-in terminal for the Linux environment, and a developer mode that can compile and install real Android APKs on the phone — “make me a calculator app” builds a calculator. There’s even support for Claude Code’s Remote Control feature, so a session inside Buddy can appear in the Claude mobile app as “Buddy.”

What to keep in mind

Buddy is still early-stage software. It has mainly been tested on a OnePlus 12 running Android 16, so performance, compatibility, and battery consumption may vary on other devices — set Buddy’s battery usage to “unrestricted” if it misbehaves. It is also an independent project, not affiliated with Anthropic or OpenAI.

One more practical point: you won’t find Buddy on the Google Play Store. Google doesn’t allow the kind of accessibility access the app relies on, so it’s distributed as an APK through GitHub Releases. That means Android’s Play Protect may warn you when installing it — and on Android 13 and above you may need to open App info and enable “Allow restricted settings” before the accessibility permission can be switched on.

Why it matters in Pakistan

Android dominates the Pakistani smartphone market, and most local users don’t sit in front of a desktop for coding or automation. An app that runs a serious AI coding agent entirely on a mid-range phone — with a genuinely free path through OpenCode — lowers the barrier for students, freelancers, and small business owners who want to experiment with AI agents without buying a laptop or paying for API credits.

That said, the security cautions apply doubly here: don’t hand your banking apps, WhatsApp, or payment wallets to an experimental AI agent until you’ve tested its approval flows thoroughly.