saphidandClaude Opus 5.5
13187e8f6a
An iPhone can't run Python or ssh, but the Frame can. The app (ios/, SwiftUI) connects with its own SSH key (Citadel), copies the server and helpers to ~/.cache/frame-control/<version> on the Frame once per version, starts ui/server.py there with FRAME_LOCAL=1 on the Frame's 127.0.0.1, and shows the page through an SSH tunnel. The server exits when the phone disconnects. Server: FRAME_LOCAL=1 puts ui/local-bin on PATH, whose ssh stand-in runs each `ssh frame COMMAND` locally (and serves as rsync's transport), so desktop and phone share one code path. Android display goes through podman exec there, as the Frame has no adb. FRAME_UI_KEY replaces the fixed X-Frame-UI value with a per-session key. Power actions take the Developer Mode password via sudo -S. --port 0 now prints the port it took. Page: a bottom tab bar and safe areas on phones, Play buttons visible on touch screens, saving through the share sheet, SSH/SFTP/Steam Link/remote desktop opening in their iOS apps, and a password dialog for power. App: pairing with the Developer Mode password once (never stored) or with a key the user adds; host key pinned on first use; plain-language connection errors with quiet retries; frame-control://install links; alerts and confirms. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
3.4 KiB
Frame Control for iPhone
The iPhone (and iPad) app does what the desktop app does, from the phone:
headset view and live video, battery and status, screenshots, Steam games,
Android apps and their display settings, sideloading, files, clipboard,
Flatpaks, and power. Source: ios/.
How it works
An iPhone can't run Python or ssh, but the Frame can. So the app:
- connects to the Frame over SSH itself (the Citadel Swift SSH library), with its own ed25519 key from the Keychain;
- copies Frame Control's server and helpers (
ios/scripts/make_frame_bundle.py, under 1 MB) to~/.cache/frame-control/<version>on the Frame, once per version; - starts
ui/server.pythere withFRAME_LOCAL=1. It listens only on the Frame's own 127.0.0.1, and it stops when the phone disconnects (--exit-on-eof); - tunnels to it through the SSH session and shows the same page as the desktop app, in a web view. The page carries a fresh key each session, which the server requires on every request.
With FRAME_LOCAL=1, every ssh frame COMMAND the server runs goes to
ui/local-bin/ssh, which runs the command on the Frame directly (rsync uses it
as its transport too), so the desktop and phone share one code path. Android
display settings use podman exec into each Lepton container instead of adb,
which the Frame doesn't have.
Nothing is left running on the Frame after the phone disconnects; the copied
files stay in ~/.cache/frame-control (delete it any time).
Pairing
On the Frame, turn on Developer Mode and set a user password (Steam Settings →
System, then Developer → Set User Password). In the app, enter the headset's
address (frame.local, its IP, or its Tailscale name) and that password once.
The app adds its own key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys and remembers the Frame's
host key; the password isn't saved. If you already reach the Frame over SSH,
Or add the key yourself shows the phone's key to paste into
authorized_keys, and connects without a password.
Valve's tap-to-approve devkit pairing isn't used: it only takes RSA keys, and the Frame's OpenSSH 9.7 rejects the SHA-1 RSA signatures the Swift SSH library makes.
What's different on the phone
| Desktop | iPhone |
|---|---|
| Drop files anywhere | Tap Send to Frame (or Add a game) and pick files; folders need zipping |
Screenshots save to ~/Pictures/SteamFrame |
Save opens the share sheet: Save Image puts it in Photos |
| SSH and SFTP open a terminal | They open an app that handles ssh:// / sftp:// (Blink Shell, Termius) |
| Steam Link, remote desktop | Open the Steam Link and Windows App apps |
| Sleep, restart, shut down ask in a terminal | The page asks for the Developer Mode password |
| Compatibility reports kept on the computer | Kept on the Frame (~/.local/share/Frame Control) |
Building
cd ios
xcodegen generate # after changing project.yml
open FrameControl.xcodeproj
The build packs the Frame bundle from the checkout, so the phone always runs the page and server from the same commit. Running on a phone needs your own signing team in Xcode (Signing & Capabilities).
Verified
In the iOS Simulator (iOS 26.5) and against a Frame (2026-09-27): the page and all its reads, headset capture, live video, and file upload through the on-Frame server. Not yet exercised: pairing with the password, Android display changes through podman, and power actions.