How to Control Your Mac from Your iPhone

What you need

You need Pilot on your iPhone and the Pilot helper on the Mac you want to control. The helper is required: installing the phone app alone does not complete the connection.

Open the Mac helper page on your Mac to download the ZIP. Keep the Mac available during setup so you can follow the helper's permission prompts and see its pairing code. The website's App Store link will be enabled when the listing URL is available.

Connect the iPhone and Mac

1. Open Pilot on your iPhone. Follow its setup instructions.
2. Download and open the Mac helper. On your Mac, visit pilotremote.app/helper, download the archive and extract it. Open the helper and complete the permissions it requests.
3. Scan the pairing QR code. Use Pilot on your iPhone to scan the code shown by the helper, then finish the pairing prompts.
4. Check the selected Mac. Confirm that the device name in Pilot matches the Mac you intend to use. Test a simple action before starting your main task.

Keep the helper running while you use Pilot. If you change devices, check the selected Mac again before sending keyboard or power commands.

Choose the right controls

Trackpad gives you a large touch surface for moving the Mac pointer. Use the nearby keyboard controls when you need to type or send a shortcut. The trackpad guide explains how to combine these controls.

Screen View shows your Mac desktop inside Pilot. From the Trackpad screen, open Screen to view the desktop, choose a touch mode or open the keyboard. A desktop can look small on a portrait phone, so choose the view that suits your task.

Media puts playback and volume controls within reach. Select the relevant app panel for commands such as video seeking or captions. Commands available in a panel depend on the app.

Present provides slide controls for Keynote, PowerPoint, Google Slides and other presentation workflows. Read the presentation guide before using it in front of an audience.

Pilot also includes meeting shortcuts, text sending, custom panels and power controls. You can explore the modes on the Pilot feature page.

If a command does not work

Start with the connection: check the device selected in Pilot and make sure the Mac helper is open. Then review any incomplete permission requests in the helper's setup flow.

If pointer control works but an app shortcut does not, bring the intended app to the foreground on your Mac and check that you selected its panel. A shortcut sent to the wrong window may do something different.

For Screen View, check the helper's screen-access instructions if the desktop is missing. Treat these as separate checks: a successful pairing does not mean that every permission or app shortcut is ready.

Common questions

Can I use Pilot without the helper?

No. The Mac helper is part of the setup and connects Pilot to the Mac.

Which mode should I start with?

Use Trackpad when you can see your Mac and want pointer control. Use Screen View when seeing the desktop on the phone helps. For slides or playback, the dedicated controls put the common commands closer together.