Your agents are halfway through a job when you have to leave the house. Then one of them stops and asks before running a command, and the whole thing waits until you are back at your desk. The iPhone app fixes that. It puts your agents, their chats and their approval cards in your pocket, and on your wrist.
This guide covers pairing, the difference between your own network and Bloks Cloud, notifications, Apple Watch, and what the phone can and cannot do.
What the iPhone app is
The Bloks iPhone app is a window onto Bloks on your computer: the same agents, their chats, and approval cards you answer with a tap. Nothing runs on the phone, so it is paired with each workspace you want on it. It works the same with a Mac, a Windows PC or Linux, and the app calls the computer “your Mac” either way. It also pairs with a bloks-server of your own.
Pair your iPhone
Pairing takes about a minute, with the phone and the computer on the same wifi.
On your computer, in the workspace you want on the phone:
- Open Settings at the foot of the rail and choose Phone and devices.
- Press Pair a phone. It turns phone access on. The first time, press Restart now, come back to Phone and devices and press Pair a phone again: Bloks only starts listening on your network when it starts. If your computer asks whether Bloks may accept incoming network connections, choose Allow.
- A QR code appears, with the same code as six digits and the address to dial. No code exists until you ask for one. It works once, renews itself while the card is open, and stops working when you close it.
On your iPhone:
- Install Bloks from the App Store and open it. Until it is paired, it opens on three short pairing steps.
- Tap Scan the code and point the camera at the code on your computer. It pairs as soon as it reads it.
- Or use the iPhone’s own Camera: point it at the code, tap the Bloks banner, then tap Pair this iPhone.
- To pair by hand, tap Enter a code, enter the address and port your computer shows under its code, type the six digit code, and tap Pair this device.
That is it: your agents are on the phone, and your computer lists it under Phone and devices, where you can remove it at any time.
Your other workspaces
The phone pairs with the workspace whose code it read, Personal for most people. Your other workspaces on the same computer are listed in the phone’s workspace switcher: tap one to add it, with nothing to scan. Only workspaces where phone access is on are offered, and your computer tells you each time a phone adds one.
At home, or anywhere
There are two ways for the phone to reach your computer.
On your own network. Pairing works on your wifi with no account and nothing in between. If you use Tailscale, the pairing card offers each of your computer’s networks, and you can pair over its Tailscale IPv6 address so the phone reaches it wherever your tailnet does.
Anywhere, with Bloks Cloud. Bloks Cloud carries the same connection from anywhere and buzzes the phone when an agent needs an answer. It buys reach and push, not hosting: your computer still runs the agents and still holds the keys. Traffic between your devices and your computer is sealed end to end, so the relay in the middle cannot read it.
If you run bloks-server on a VPS without Bloks Cloud, the iPhone pairs at an http:// address on your home network or your Tailscale IPv6 address. It does not pair at an https:// address of your own yet, and it works while the app is open rather than on a locked phone.
Notifications that let you answer
When an agent needs you, the notification comes from the agent, with its face, and says what it wants: “Scout needs your approval: Bash: npm run deploy”.
- Press and hold for Hold and Allow. Hold never lets anything through. Allow asks for Face ID first.
- A risky ask offers Review in Bloks instead, so you read the whole command before it goes.
- Private by design. The words are sealed on your computer for your phone alone and opened on the phone, so neither Apple nor Bloks Cloud can read them. iOS’s own Show Previews setting decides whether they show while the phone is locked.
- Quiet while you work. While you are actively using Bloks on a computer or in a browser, your phone gets no notifications and no new Live Activities. Step away and they come back.
You choose how much each workspace may interrupt you: all activity, only when it needs you (approvals and questions), or nothing. You can also mute a workspace for 15 minutes, an hour, 3, 8 or 24 hours, or until you turn it back on. It keeps working, without a sound.
A running task shows live in the Dynamic Island, and Home Screen widgets show who needs you and who is working, with the agents’ real faces.
Apple Watch
Bloks comes to your watch with the iPhone app. Complications and a Smart Stack card show who is working, what is waiting on you, and the brief’s headline, leading with who needs you.
An approval can be answered from your wrist, with the agent’s face. Hold or Allow goes through your iPhone to your computer, the same way the Lock Screen buttons do. Questions that need words stay on the phone.
What you can do from the phone
The sidebar holds Today, Chats, Automations, Memory, Usage, Activity and Watchers, in the order you choose with a long press. From there you can:
- Talk to your agents and rooms, and answer approval cards with a tap.
- Start the day with Today. It puts what waits on you first, then what is running, what is coming up, and the morning brief, with Listen to hear it read aloud.
- Read answers properly. Cards, tables, charts and forms are drawn by the iPhone itself, to tap like the rest of the app.
- Watch an agent work. When an agent has a browser of its own or a cloud computer, the screen button at the top of its chat shows that screen live. Open it full size and take over: a tap clicks that spot, and what you type goes where the cursor is, for a sign-in or a code sent to your phone. An agent working on your Mac’s own screen can be watched from the phone, never worked from it.
- Send things in. In any app’s share sheet, choose Bloks to send a link, a page or some text to an agent. Or ask Siri, “Ask Scout in Bloks”. The same Ask an agent action is in the Shortcuts app and can go on the Action Button.
- Look after watchers and notes. Watchers pauses one or looks now, and About you keeps or dismisses what your agents suggest.
- Share where you are, if you choose. Off unless you turn it on, in the phone’s Settings, Location. Your own agents hear it while it is recent, only the last place is kept, and people you invite never get it.
If it does not connect
- The code was refused. A code works once, and a few wrong tries close it. Press New code.
- The phone cannot reach the computer. Both need the same wifi, not a guest network, and no VPN on either side. Check you restarted Bloks after turning phone access on.
- Firewall. If you declined the incoming connections prompt, allow Bloks in your firewall settings (on a Mac, System Settings, Network, Firewall).
- It worked yesterday. A paired iPhone finds a Mac again on its own when its address or port changes. On Windows or Linux, enter the new address under Connection in the phone’s Settings and tap Apply and reconnect.
- Connection says Revoked. The phone was removed on the computer. Press Pair a phone there and scan the new code.
More detail lives in the docs. If you want the phone to reach agents that keep working while your laptop sleeps, read How to run AI agents 24/7.
Questions
Do my agents run on the iPhone?
No. Nothing runs on the phone. It is a window onto the agents on your computer or server, so the computer has to be on for them to answer.
Can I use the iPhone app away from home without Bloks Cloud?
On your own VPN, yes: the phone can pair at your computer's Tailscale IPv6 address. Bloks Cloud is what carries the connection from anywhere and buzzes a locked phone when an agent needs you.
Can Apple or Bloks Cloud read my notifications?
No. The words in a notification are sealed on your computer for your phone alone and opened on the phone, so neither Apple nor Bloks Cloud can read them.
Why does my phone stay quiet while I am at my desk?
While you are actively using Bloks on a computer or in a browser, your phone gets no notifications or new Live Activities. Step away and they come back.
Is there an Android app?
Not yet. Bloks is on the App Store for iPhone and Apple Watch, and an Android app is coming soon.