Codex on Armstrong Yan

I Built a Small Harness to Stop AI Coding Projects From Forgetting State

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:46:50 +0800

AI coding agents are powerful.

But long-running AI coding projects break in a very specific way:

the session is interrupted
the context becomes too long
the weekly quota runs out
tomorrow’s agent forgets yesterday’s decisions
the agent changes unrelated files
the agent marks work done too early

The problem is not that AI cannot write code.

The problem is that AI coding projects often do not have durable project state.

Remote Agent Workflow

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:34:46 +0800

This series is about moving from mobile SSH to a durable, repository-backed AI agent workflow.

The starting point was simple: I wanted to keep local Codex work moving when I was away from my Mac.

The deeper question became:

How do I turn remote access into a recoverable, verifiable, long-running agent workflow?

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Remote Agent Workflow, Part 1: Remote Mac Terminal for Codex
Set up phone-to-Mac terminal access with Tailscale, SSH, Termius, tmux, and caffeinate.

Remote Agent Workflow, Part 1: Remote Mac Terminal for Codex

Sun, 24 May 2026 16:12:12 +0800

This is Part 1 of the Remote Agent Workflow series.

This guide explains how to control a Mac terminal from a phone and keep long-running agent tasks alive, such as Codex, automation scripts, or local development agents.

The goal is not remote desktop access. The goal is a reliable remote terminal workflow:

Phone -> SSH -> Mac -> tmux -> Codex / agent task

With this setup, your Mac becomes a lightweight remote execution node that you can access from anywhere.

Remote Agent Workflow, Part 2: From Remote Shell to Agent Control Plane

Sun, 24 May 2026 16:12:12 +0800

This is Part 2 of the Remote Agent Workflow series.

In the previous article, I built a practical remote terminal workflow:

Phone -> Tailscale -> SSH -> Mac -> tmux -> Codex

That setup solved the first problem: how to reach my Mac when I am away from my desk, and how to keep long-running local agent tasks alive after my phone disconnects.

It was useful immediately.

But after using it in practice, I found a second problem.

Remote Agent Workflow, Part 3: Turning Telegram into a Local Codex Control Plane

Sun, 24 May 2026 16:12:12 +0800

This is Part 3 of the Remote Agent Workflow series.

In the previous articles, I started with a practical remote terminal setup:

Phone -> Tailscale -> SSH -> Mac -> tmux -> Codex

That gave me a reliable way to reach my Mac from a phone.

Then I hit the next limitation: a phone is not a good terminal.

Mobile SSH is useful for emergencies, but it is not the interface I want for long-running AI development. I do not want to type shell commands, attach tmux sessions, scroll logs, and manually reconstruct state from a narrow phone screen.

Remote Agent Workflow, Part 4: In the Repository, Not in the Chat

Sun, 24 May 2026 16:12:12 +0800

This is Part 4 of the Remote Agent Workflow series.

The first layer of my remote AI development setup was connectivity.

Phone -> Tailscale -> SSH -> Mac -> tmux -> Codex

That let me reach my Mac from a phone and keep long-running local tasks alive.

The second layer was control.

Phone -> Telegram Bot -> local Codex runtime -> selected repository

That made the phone a control surface instead of a tiny terminal.

Remote Agent Workflow, Part 5: What Still Matters After Codex Mobile

Sun, 24 May 2026 16:12:12 +0800

This is Part 5 of the Remote Agent Workflow series.

When I started this remote AI development setup, the problem was practical.

I wanted to keep local Codex work moving when I was away from my Mac.

That led to the first layer:

Phone -> Tailscale -> SSH -> Mac -> tmux -> Codex

Then I realized mobile SSH was not the right daily interface, so I built a Telegram control plane: