glossary
client vs host: what do they mean?
When people talk about "client" and "host" in remote development, they're describing two machines that split the work. The host does the heavy lifting. The client shows you what's happening.
the simple version
| host | client | |
|---|---|---|
| what it is | The machine running your code and agents | The device in front of you |
| examples | Your desktop, a cloud VM, a Mac mini | Your laptop, phone, tablet |
| what runs there | Repos, terminals, agents, git, builds | The Pane UI, your input |
| where code lives | Here. Always. | Never. It just shows you the UI. |
a real-world example
Say you have a powerful desktop at home with your repos and agents running. You leave the house and want to check on your agents from your phone.
Your desktop is the host. It's running the Pane daemon, your terminals, and your agents. Your phone is the client. It shows the Pane UI and lets you interact with everything running on the desktop.
Your code never leaves the desktop. Your phone just shows you what's happening and lets you type.
when you don't need to care
If you're using Pane on one machine without Remote Pane, your computer is both the host and the client. The distinction doesn't matter. It only comes up when you set up Remote Pane to separate the UI from where the work happens.
related docs
- Remote VM Setup — set up a host and connect from a client
- What Is a Daemon? — the background program that runs on the host
- Security & permissions — how client-host connections stay secure
Last updated June 24, 2026