Headroom: Remote Desktop

Headroom is a remote desktop for controlling a Mac
from your iPad, iPhone, or another Mac.

The big idea: nothing to install on the Mac.
Turn on macOS's built-in Screen Sharing — that's the whole setup.

WHEN YOU WANT IT

• Drive the Mac in the next room from the couch
• Manage a headless Mac mini — no monitor, no keyboard
• Peek at your dev machine or build server from wherever you are
• Reach your home Mac from anywhere over a VPN such as Tailscale

WHY HEADROOM

• Zero install on the Mac
Connects straight to macOS's built-in Screen Sharing (VNC).
No server app, no agent, no menu-bar daemon.

• Finds your Macs automatically
Macs on the same Wi-Fi appear instantly via Bonjour.
Manual IP connections work too.

• Fast, smooth screen
Metal rendering plus ZRLE compression — feels real-time on a LAN
and stays usable on thin connections.

• Touch that makes sense on iPad and iPhone
Tap to click, one-finger scroll, long-press to drag and select text,
two-finger wheel scrolling, pinch to zoom.

• Real mouse behavior on the Mac
On a Mac (same app), clicks, drags, and right-clicks pass through 1:1.
Option-scroll pans; Command-scroll zooms.

• Full keyboard, and your voice
Software and hardware keyboards both work. Modifier keys (⌘⌥⌃⇧)
tap once for the next keystroke or double-tap to lock —
every shortcut is reachable. Tap the mic on the keyboard and what
you say is typed straight into the Mac.

• Private by design
Credentials live only in your device's Keychain, and passwords are
encrypted in transit using Apple's standard Screen Sharing
authentication.

• Made for iPhone Duo
Half open like a laptop, your Mac sits on the upper screen and the keyboard
on the lower one. Fully open or held like a book, the Mac spans the inner
screen; closed, the outer screen works on its own. Nothing is drawn across the fold.

CONNECTED IN THREE STEPS

1. On the Mac: System Settings > General > Sharing > turn on Screen Sharing
2. Open Headroom — your Macs appear automatically
3. Sign in with the Mac's username and password. Done.

HEADROOM PRO

• Unlimited connection time
• Every future Pro feature included

REQUIREMENTS

• Client: iPad / iPhone (iOS 17+, verified on iOS 27 and iPadOS 27), Apple Silicon Mac
• Host: any Mac with Screen Sharing enabled (no extra software)
• Same network; for internet access we recommend a VPN such as Tailscale

—
Headroom is built by MusicFlow ("music × engineering") — the tool we
made to run our own headless Mac minis, polished into something we
use every day.