buffbot

I wanted to code from
just my phone.

laptop open, terminal running, SSH session alive install an app, pair it to a machine you own $200/mo, 10-minute timeout, desktop required discord message → cloud VM → code ships
02 / 06
what i tried first

Every channel had
a dealbreaker.

Before Discord, I tried every messaging channel I could think of. Each one hit a wall before I could even build.

SMS
Simplest interface. But Twilio charges per message, costs scale fast, and getting approved requires a lengthy process.
cost + approval process
WhatsApp
Built a working prototype. But production access requires Twilio approval and Meta Business verification. Too many gatekeepers.
Twilio + Meta verification
Telegram
Free bot API. Signed up, account was immediately and permanently blocked. No appeal.
account blocked on signup
Discord
Free bot API, no approval process, rich features, 200M+ users, already on everyone's phone.
no blockers
03 / 06
the problem

Every solution still needs
another machine.

Great projects, real communities. But they all assume you already have a computer running somewhere.

🐍
OpenClaw
190k+ stars. Connects 50+ channels to an AI agent with thousands of community skills.
runs on your machine
🏢
Anthropic Remote Control
Remote window into Claude Code on your desktop. $100–$200/mo, desktop must stay open, 10-min timeout.
$100-$200/mo + desktop
💬
Discord / Telegram Bridges
15+ open-source projects bridging messaging to Claude Code. Some genuinely excellent.
runs on your machine
📱
Happy
Polished native mobile app. Supports Claude Code and Codex. Push notifications, voice input.
pairs to your machine

None of these solve my problem: no other device, and every frontier model treated as first-class.

04 / 06
the flip

What if the cloud is
the machine?

Instead of bridging my phone to a computer, I removed the computer entirely. A cloud VM boots with the repo and agents. Discord is the workspace.

☁️ Cloud VM

  • Fly.io with Claude Code, Playwright, git
  • Boots on demand, auto-stops on idle
  • No local machine to maintain
  • ~$25-45/mo total infrastructure

💬 Discord as workspace

  • Every thread is a live terminal or subagent
  • Diffs inline, approvals as button taps
  • Full history preserved per thread
  • Already on your phone
05 / 06
how it works

Message in. Code out.

You type in Discord. A relay forwards it to a cloud VM. The agent runs, progress streams in real time, you approve with a tap.

You (phone)
↓
Discord
↓
Relay
↓
Cloud VM
Claude Code · Playwright · git
# your phone is the only hardware

You (phone) → Discord → Relay → Cloud VM
                                   ├── Claude Code
                                   ├── Playwright + Chromium
                                   └── git, Node.js, Docker
01 💬
Send message
Discord on your phone
02 🤖
Agent executes
Claude Code on cloud VM
03 🖼️
Results stream
Progress, diffs, screenshots
04 👍
You decide
Approve, reject, redirect
06 / 06
what this unlocks

More than just convenience.

Once you remove the "you need a computer" requirement, things get interesting.

🌍

Anyone, anywhere

A bootcamp student in Lagos, a freelancer in Karachi. Join a Discord invite on your phone — full agentic dev environment.

👥

Coworking

Share one VM and repo. Everyone sees work in real time. Threads as agents — one per feature, visible to all.

🔄

Multi-agent

Claude Code, Codex, Gemini — all on one VM. Pick the right agent per task. Not locked to one provider.