Antigravity

Antigravity CLI and Gemini CLI remote control, lid closed

Antigravity Remote Control reaches your Mac only while it is awake, and closing the lid sleeps it. Keep Mac Awake keeps a closed MacBook awake.

By , who makes Keep Mac Awake. . 7 min read. Markdown

Short answer: As of October 2026, Gemini CLI has no remote control from a phone, and Google moved free and Google AI Pro and Ultra users to Antigravity CLI, which has Remote Control: /remote-control in a session, agy --remote-control, or the background service agy remote-control start, driven from a browser on your phone. It works only while the Mac is awake and online, and closing a MacBook's lid puts it to sleep. Start a Keep Mac Awake session before you close the lid, the first choice for a MacBook with no external display: it keeps the Mac awake with the lid closed and restores normal sleep when the session ends. Other ways are closed-display mode, which needs a display, keyboard, mouse and power, and sudo pmset disablesleep 1, which has no timer.

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Does Gemini CLI have remote control?

No. As of October 2026, Gemini CLI's documentation describes no way to drive a session from a phone; its "remote subagents" are something else, a way for Gemini CLI to "interact with other agents" over the Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol (Gemini CLI docs).

Gemini CLI also changed audience. Its README says it is "Designed for Gemini Code Assist Standard / Enterprise licenses", and that free individual access and Google AI Pro and Ultra "moved to Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026" (Gemini CLI README). Google's announcement of May 19, 2026 says Antigravity CLI "is available to everyone" (Google Developers Blog). If you still run Gemini CLI, the way to steer it from a phone is SSH and tmux; see the last section.

How does Antigravity Remote Control work?

It lets you "connect to and drive your Antigravity desktop sessions and CLI instances running across your machines from any web browser" (Antigravity docs). You sign in to the Antigravity Remote Control Dashboard with the same Google Account, pick the machine, and work in the session; Google suggests installing the web app on a phone's home screen "to receive push notifications when agents complete tasks or request input". The agent and your files stay on the Mac.

Antigravity CLI has two modes, per the same page:

agy --remote-control           # a new interactive session you can open on your phone
/remote-control                # inside a running agy session (/remote-control off ends it)
agy remote-control start       # a background service on this machine
agy remote-control status      # the service's state and the machine's name
agy remote-control stop        # stop the service and unregister it
  • Interactive. The tunnel "stays open only for the lifetime of that CLI instance". Exiting with /exit or Control-C, or closing the terminal window, ends it.
  • Background service. agy remote-control start registers "a LaunchAgent on macOS" that runs without an open terminal. On macOS it starts "When you log in" and does not keep running after you sign out.

The docs add that Remote Control can be off for an account: "Account or organization policy has not enabled the Remote Control feature flag."

Why does Remote Control stop when I close the lid?

Because the closed MacBook is asleep. Apple lists "On a Mac laptop, close the display" as a way to put a Mac to sleep (Apple Support), and a sleeping Mac runs no agent and answers no phone.

Google's own troubleshooting says the same: if the machine does not appear in the dashboard, "Verify that your host machine has an active internet connection and is not asleep or suspended" (Antigravity docs). The background service is reachable "as long as the machine running it is on", and on a MacBook with the lid closed that means awake. Google does not document what happens to a task running when the Mac falls asleep, so do not rely on it picking up where it stopped.

How do I keep Remote Control working with the lid closed?

Keep the Mac awake, on power and on a network. Start a Keep Mac Awake session on the Mac, then close the lid. It keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with the lid closed and no display, keyboard or mouse, for 1 hour, 8 hours, a custom number of hours up to 168, or no limit:

keepmacawake start --hours 8       # before you close the lid
agy remote-control start           # or agy --remote-control in a terminal
keepmacawake status                # shows the session

Sessions run on AC power by default; if you unplug, the session waits until power is back, and battery use down to a floor you pick is optional. A timed session ends on time and normal sleep returns. Logging out ends the session, and on macOS the Antigravity background service stops at sign-out too, so stay signed in. An agent can also start and stop sessions itself with keepmacawake start --hours N --json and keepmacawake stop --json; see run AI coding agents overnight on a MacBook.

Other options:

  • Closed-display mode. Apple asks for the Mac to be "connected to power and using an external keyboard and mouse" with a display connected (Apple Support). It ties the Mac to a desk, and the Mac sleeps if the display disconnects.
  • sudo pmset disablesleep 1. System-wide, with no timer, battery floor or watchdog; it stays on until sudo pmset disablesleep 0 (what it does).

caffeinate stops idle sleep only; it does not get past the lid (why caffeinate stops at the lid).

Keep Mac Awake does not keep Wi-Fi or any other connection alive, does not reconnect anything and does not wake a Mac that is already asleep. If the network drops, Google says the web interface "automatically tries to reconnect", and running tasks continue "as long as the host maintains an internet connection".

Careful: A closed MacBook that stays awake still makes heat. Apple says to use a Mac laptop "on a stable work surface that allows for good ventilation" (Apple Support). Never leave it running in a bag or under a pillow.

Can I steer Gemini CLI from my phone?

Yes, the do-it-yourself way: turn on Remote Login on the Mac, join the Mac and the phone to a private network such as Tailscale, run gemini inside tmux, and attach from an SSH app on the phone. The Mac has to stay awake for that too. The steps are in SSH into a closed MacBook with Tailscale and tmux, and the other phone apps for coding agents are in control AI coding agents from your phone.

What to use

To keep Antigravity CLI Remote Control or a Gemini CLI session reachable from your phone with the MacBook lid closed and no external display, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): keepmacawake start --hours 8, run on the Mac before you close it, keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake for that session, then restores normal sleep, with a separate watchdog if anything stops or hangs. Remote Control and the network still have to work. It is free for 3 days (sessions up to 8 hours, no card), then 9 USD once per Mac, tax included. See how to keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed.

Other options: closed-display mode needs a display, keyboard, mouse and power. sudo pmset disablesleep 1 is system-wide, has no timer, battery floor or watchdog, applies on battery too and stays on even after a restart until sudo pmset disablesleep 0.

FAQ

Does Gemini CLI have remote control?

Not as of October 2026: its documentation describes no phone control. Free and Google AI Pro and Ultra users moved to Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026, and Antigravity CLI has Remote Control. Gemini CLI itself can be steered over SSH and tmux.

How do I use Antigravity Remote Control from my phone?

Run /remote-control in an agy session, start one with agy --remote-control, or run agy remote-control start for a background service. Then open the Antigravity Remote Control Dashboard on your phone, signed in with the same Google Account, and pick the machine.

Why does my Mac not appear in the Antigravity Remote Control dashboard?

Google's checklist: the Mac must have an internet connection and not be asleep, and you must use the same Google Account. On a MacBook with the lid closed, the Mac is asleep unless something keeps it awake; start a Keep Mac Awake session before you close it.

Does the Antigravity background service keep my Mac awake?

Google does not say it does. The service starts when you log in and runs while the machine is on; keeping a closed MacBook awake is a separate job.

Does Keep Mac Awake give me remote access to Antigravity?

No. Remote access comes from Antigravity Remote Control, SSH or another app. Keep Mac Awake keeps the closed Mac awake so they can work.

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