How to Control Your Mac from Another Room

Your Mac is in one room and you're in another. Maybe it's on your desk but you're on the couch. Maybe it's hooked up to a TV in the living room and you want to control it from the bedroom. Maybe it's running something and you just want to check on it without getting up.

Controlling your Mac from another room is something Macky handles really well, and it's actually one of the nicest use cases because the connection is local. Same WiFi network means a faster, sharper experience than going over the internet.

What you can do

Once you're connected, you see your Mac's screen on your iPhone and can control it fully. Move the cursor, click, type, scroll. A few things people do with this at home:

• Control a Mac Mini connected to the TV. If you use a Mac Mini as a media center, you can control it from the couch instead of walking over to type or using a mouse from across the room.
• Pause, skip, or adjust volume on music playing from your Mac. Your Mac is in the office playing music while you're in the kitchen. Change tracks from your phone without going back.
• Check on a download or a render. Something is running on your Mac and you want to see how it's going. Quick glance from wherever you are.
• Control a presentation. Your Mac is connected to a screen or projector. You can advance slides from your phone while standing in the room.
• Grab something off your Mac quickly. You're on the couch and realize you need to pull up a file or reference something. Do it from your phone without getting up.

Why it works better locally

When your Mac and iPhone are on the same WiFi network, Macky connects them directly. No internet roundtrip, no relay. The screen updates fast, interactions feel responsive, and it doesn't depend on your internet connection at all. If your internet goes out, the local connection still works.

How to set it up

Step 1: Download the Mac host app

Go to macky.dev and download the Mac host. It installs as a menu bar app that runs in the background. Requires macOS 15 or later.

Step 2: Get the iPhone app

Download Macky from the App Store. Requires iOS 18 or later.

Step 3: Sign in on both with the same account

Create a Macky account and log in on both devices. Then set a Master Password, which protects your sessions separately from your account.

Step 4: Connect

Open the iPhone app from wherever you are in the house. Tap your Mac, enter your Master Password, and your Mac's screen is right there on your phone.

Works beyond your home too

Once you have Macky set up for controlling your Mac from another room, it also works when you leave the house entirely. Your Mac stays accessible from anywhere, not just within your WiFi network. Cellular, hotel WiFi, a friend's network. Same app, same connection, same experience.

Keep your Mac awake

If your Mac sleeps, the connection drops. For a Mac Mini or a desktop you want to keep accessible, turning off sleep in System Settings makes sense. For a laptop, Amphetamine is a popular app that lets you keep it awake on demand without permanently changing your settings.

Pricing

Macky is free to start. The free plan gives you 5-minute sessions with 1 Mac and 1 iPhone. If you want unlimited session length and to connect from multiple devices, Pro is a one-time payment of $29. No subscription.