Comparison

Hi,buddy vs BYOT Coding Agent

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Hi,buddy

This app transforms your phone into a companion device for Claude Desktop, allowing you to monitor session status, approve requests, and receive important updates via Bluetooth. It eliminates the need for extra hardware, making it convenient for developers and makers.

Highlights
  • Live session status monitoring
  • Permission prompt approval
  • Haptic and sound feedback
  • No extra hardware needed
  • Designed for developers
Features
Read full description

Hi,buddy turns your phone into a Claude Hardware Buddy companion for Claude Desktop. Connect over Bluetooth and keep Claude's work visible in the palm of your hand. Hi,buddy acts as a BLE peripheral compatible with the Hardware Buddy flow, showing live session state, permission prompts, and feedback controls on the device you already carry. What Hi,buddy helps with: • See Claude status at a glance Track running and waiting sessions, current status, recent activity, and token signals from Claude Desktop. • Approve faster When Claude needs permission, Hi,buddy surfaces the request so you can approve once or deny from your phone. • Feel important changes Use haptics, sound, visual states, Live Activities, and notifications to notice waiting approvals and session changes. • No extra device required Try the Claude Buddy experience without setting up an ESP32 or M5StickC-style hardware accessory. • Made for makers and developers Hi,buddy is designed for people who keep Claude Desktop running while coding, shipping, testing, or tinkering. Important notes: Hi,buddy works with Claude Desktop's Hardware Buddy Bluetooth flow. For discovery, your device system Bluetooth name may need to start with "Claude". Bluetooth discovery and sensory feedback depend on foreground/background behavior.

About

BYOT Coding Agent

This app allows you to control an open-source coding agent running on your computer directly from your mobile device. You can browse projects, send prompts with files, and monitor the agent's progress and output in real-time. It also supports answering permission requests and managing sessions.

Highlights
  • Connect to OpenCode server
  • Send prompts with photos/files
  • Live stream of agent activity
  • Inspect tool inputs and outputs
  • Answer permission requests
  • Manage saved servers and sessions
  • System, Light, or Dark appearance
Features
Read full description

BYOT is a native client for OpenCode, the open-source coding agent. Connect to the OpenCode server running on your own computer and drive coding sessions from your iPhone or iPad. Browse projects and sessions, send prompts with photos or files, and watch assistant text, reasoning, and tool activity stream live. Inspect tool inputs, progress, output, and errors. Answer permission requests and questions from your server, queue follow-up prompts, and choose models from your server's catalog. Review session diffs when your server supports them. Switch between saved servers, group sessions by project or browse them in one list, and find sessions by title, project, or path. Unsent text and attachments stay on this iPhone across session changes and app relaunches. Choose System, Light, or Dark appearance. With the optional BYOT companion running on your computer, get notifications for approvals, questions, completed turns, and errors. Enable the computer queue to keep accepted prompts running in order while BYOT is closed. Your computer must remain awake and the companion connected. Work that has not finished uploading needs BYOT to reconnect; uncertain delivery requires your review. BYOT supports OpenCode 1 and OpenCode 2 beta servers with automatic protocol detection. Available features depend on the server version; some OpenCode 2 beta servers do not expose per-session diffs. Your server does the work. BYOT renders its responses and sends your instructions over HTTPS. There is no BYOT account or sign-up, and no tracking. Anonymous usage data is off until you turn it on, and it never includes your prompts, code, server addresses, or project names. Server passwords are stored in the iOS Keychain. In direct mode, prompts and attachments go to your configured server and the model providers you enable there. Optional notifications and the computer queue use the BYOT relay for device registration, delivery, and encrypted queued content. See the privacy policy for storage and retention details. Requires an OpenCode server you operate, reachable over HTTPS, for example through Tailscale. Notifications and the computer queue also require the BYOT companion. BYOT is an independent client and is not affiliated with the OpenCode project.

Screenshots

Hi,buddy4 screens
BYOT Coding Agent4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BYOT Coding Agent at 100% against Hi,buddy's 0%. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hi,buddy ships an update every 11 days, BYOT Coding Agent weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Hi,buddy versus BYOT Coding Agent: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHi,buddyBYOT Coding Agent
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer帆 柯Bogeybot LLC

Customer experience

Hi,buddy

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

BYOT Coding Agent

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Hi,buddy

No in-app purchases

None

BYOT Coding Agent

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hi,buddy free?
Hi,buddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BYOT Coding Agent free?
BYOT Coding Agent is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hi,buddy or BYOT Coding Agent have ads?
Neither Hi,buddy nor BYOT Coding Agent shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hi,buddy or BYOT Coding Agent?
Hi,buddy ships an update every 11 days, and BYOT Coding Agent weekly. Most recently, Hi,buddy was updated on October 31, 2026 and BYOT Coding Agent on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons