Remote mouse, keyboard & gamepad for Mac and Windows
CouchWand turns your iPhone or iPad into a multi-touch trackpad, a keyboard with dictation and a gamepad. Your input travels encrypted, straight from phone to computer over your own Wi-Fi: no account, no CouchWand server.
On your computer · free host app
Free, no ads. macOS 14+ or Windows 10 22H2 / 11. On a Mac, allow Accessibility once so it can move the pointer.
On your iPhone or iPad
iPhone and iPadComing soon to the App StoreiOS 17+. Free with one banner ad; $3.99 once removes it. No subscription.
Flip the phone and switch between Mac and Windows to see the controller and the keys it offers.
Shown in the full version, with Remove Ads. The free version looks the same with one ad banner across the top.
Mac keys: ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧ Esc
01 — Portrait mode
Don't put down your drink just to click "Skip Intro." In portrait the trackpad sits right under your thumb, with scroll gestures, media controls in the shortcut palette, and the iOS keyboard ready when you need to type a search.
02 — Landscape mode
Phone keyboards are miserable in landscape. Rotate your iPhone and CouchWand splits the keyboard in two, one half under each thumb, with the shortcut palette above each half (Esc Tab Ctrl Alt and more) and an arrows key for cursor movement.
03 — The host apps
Download the host app for macOS or Windows from this page. It lives in the Mac menu bar or the Windows system tray, with no window, pairs over your local network, and turns your phone's input into native mouse and keyboard events.
04 — Private by design
When you type a password in CouchWand, it goes straight from your iPhone to your Mac or PC over your local network (or your own Tailscale), encrypted. There are no CouchWand servers, no accounts to create, and no telemetry logging what you type.
Install the free host app, join the same network, pair with a code. It takes about a minute, and you do it once per computer. Here is each step in detail.
Download the host app for Mac or Windows, then:
Connect the phone and the computer to the same Wi-Fi (the computer can be wired to the same router). To connect from anywhere, install Tailscale on both and sign them in to the same tailnet instead.
Click the CouchWand icon in the menu bar or tray and choose Pair New Device…. A window opens with a 6-digit code and a QR code.
Open CouchWand and tap the computer name pill at the top (it says No Host the first time) to open your Computers list. Choose Pair New Computer…, then tap Scan Pairing QR Code, or pick the computer under Computers on this network and type the 6 digits.
When the dot in the pill turns green you're connected: slide a finger on the trackpad and the pointer moves. From now on the app reconnects by itself whenever both are on the network.
Open the Computers list and choose Try demo (Mac or Windows PC) to explore the trackpad, keyboard, shortcut pages and gamepad. Nothing is sent anywhere. Questions: support.
The trackpad, shortcut palette, gamepad and pairing, start to finish.
Recorded from the current CouchWand app on an iPhone in the iOS Simulator, using the built-in demo mode with all features unlocked.
The trackpad reads every finger separately, so it can tell a scroll from a pinch and a tap from a drag. The host app turns each gesture into what your computer expects: Mission Control on a Mac, Task View on Windows.
Scrolling keeps its momentum after you lift your fingers, natural scrolling is a setting, and you can tune pointer speed. If the connection drops mid-drag, the computer lets go of every held button and key straight away, so nothing stays stuck.
While you learn, a ring follows each finger, a pulse marks every click and a small badge names the gesture it recognised: Scroll, Pinch, Drag, Right click or 3-finger swipe. It's on by default; switch off Show touches and gestures in Settings when you no longer need it.
| On the phone | On a Mac | On Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Move one finger | Moves the pointer, with acceleration | Moves the pointer, with acceleration |
| Tap, double-tap, triple-tap | Click, double-click, triple-click | Click, double-click, triple-click |
| Tap, then touch again and hold | Drag | Drag |
| Two-finger tap | Right-click | Right-click |
| Two-finger slide | Smooth scrolling with momentum | Scrolling with momentum |
| Pinch | Zoom in and out | Zoom (Ctrl + scroll) |
| Three-finger swipe up | Mission Control | Task View |
| Three-finger swipe down | App Exposé | Show desktop |
| Three-finger swipe left or right | Switch Space | Switch virtual desktop |
Type with the iOS keyboard you already use. Above it sits a shortcut palette with three pages you swipe between: Keys, Media and System. It speaks your computer's language: Opt and Command for a Mac, Alt and Win for Windows, never a mix. The grid button in the top bar hides the palette when you want more trackpad, and brings it back.
Interactive control palette. Choose the computer type, then swipe or use the arrow keys to change page. Tap a modifier once for the next key only, twice quickly to lock it.
Tap a key to see what the computer receives.
In landscape the keyboard splits into two halves at the bottom corners, sized for thumbs, with the palette split above them. Everything else, including the corridor between the halves, stays one continuous trackpad.
Landscape uses the same layout as the iPhone keyboard split in two, with shift and caps lock, 123 and #+= pages, accent pop-ups, delete repeat, cursor drag on the space bar, emoji and dictate keys, and an arrows key.
A hardware keyboard connected to the iPad passes its keys and modifiers straight through to the computer.
Tap the mic key on the iOS keyboard and talk; words appear on the computer as you speak, corrections included. Dictation is available in portrait with the keyboard up. iOS performs the dictation, and the text it produces is sent to your computer like typed text.
Two clipboard keys move text both ways: Paste in sends the text on your phone's clipboard to the computer and pastes it, and Copy out copies what is selected on the computer and puts it on your phone's clipboard.
Tap the controller button at the top of the screen and the phone becomes a gamepad with five layouts; the sliders button beside it switches between them. In the Touch layout a stick appears wherever your thumb lands and follows it, so you never have to look for it, and it works held upright as well as sideways. In landscape the shaded pad in the middle is a small trackpad for the mouse; held upright, every layout puts a tall pointer pad at the top, the shoulder buttons below it, then that layout's own sticks and buttons. Slide to move, tap to click, two fingers to right-click or scroll.
The On/Off chip at the top is the master Controller switch. It is off by default: while it says Off, your computer sees no controller and no gamepad input is sent, so using CouchWand never leaves a ghost controller behind. It stays as you set it, also across app restarts, and is in Settings under Gamepad too.
Controller switch, sensitivity, dead zone, invert Y, haptics and gamepad orientation (follow rotation, lock the current one, always landscape or always portrait) are in Settings. No ads or upsells appear in gamepad mode.
Customization Studio
Open Settings, then Customize Buttons, Macros & Layout, to design your own shortcut pages. Try everything free in preview mode; saving a layout is part of the one-time Remove Ads + Themes purchase.
A button can press a key or key chord, act as a sticky modifier, type a text snippet (with Return after it if you like), send a media key, click the mouse or run a system shortcut.
Chain key chords, typed text, mouse clicks and timed delays into a macro that runs from a single button.
Developer & Terminal, Couch Media & Streaming, Creative, Video & CAD, and Browser & Window Master. Use one as it is or change it.
Add, rename and reorder palette pages, choose up to five top-bar buttons, set the palette height and tune the landscape split keyboard. Mac and Windows keep separate layouts with the right modifier names, and you can export and import them.
Works with a Mac (macOS 14 or later) or a Windows PC (Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11, 64-bit), from an iPhone or iPad on iOS or iPadOS 17 or later.
Scroll, click "Skip Intro", search with the keyboard or dictation, and change the volume from the Media page.
Step through slides with the arrow keys or a tap, and move the pointer from across the room.
Pair several computers, Macs and PCs mixed, and switch between them from the pill at the top of the app.
On Windows with the free ViGEmBus driver, CouchWand can appear as a virtual controller. On any Mac or PC it can map the sticks and buttons to keys and mouse instead.
Keep the iOS rotation lock on for everything else. In CouchWand you choose how the controller turns, and that choice wins over the system lock. Trackpad mode can be locked where it is, and gamepad mode has its own setting: follow rotation, lock the current orientation, or always landscape or portrait.
Add CouchWand controls to Control Center, the Lock Screen or the Action button. Each one opens the app straight into a mode and connects to the computer you used last. The gamepad controls open the gamepad screen; turn the Controller switch on to send input.
Pair several Macs and PCs. The pill at the top shows which one you're driving, with an Apple or Windows mark, a laptop or desktop icon and a dot that turns green when it's connected. Tap it to open your Computers list and switch.
One app for both. On iPad the trackpad is huge, and a hardware keyboard works too.
Open the Computers list and choose Try demo: Mac or Try demo: Windows PC to look around the trackpad, keyboard, shortcut pages and gamepad. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Screens captured from the app in the iOS Simulator, with example computers.
There is no CouchWand server. Your phone connects directly to your computer and nowhere else. CouchWand itself collects nothing: no accounts and no analytics of our own. Keystrokes and mouse movements travel only over your local network or Tailscale.
The catch with the free tier: the free app shows banners from Google AdMob, after the consent step where it applies and subject to your iOS tracking permission. Once you own Remove Ads + Themes, the ad SDK is not started when the app launches, so the app makes no ad network calls at all.
The host app lives in the Mac menu bar or the Windows system tray, with no window and no Dock or taskbar icon. It can start when you log in, and every paired device has its own Remove button.
Menu and pairing window recreated from the Mac app, with its monochrome couch-and-wand menu bar icon (it gains a dot while a phone is connected). Names and addresses are examples.
Tray menu and pairing window recreated from the Windows app, with its real tray icon. With the ViGEmBus driver installed, Virtual controller (ViGEmBus) can be ticked instead.
Choose Gamepad Mapping… in the menu bar or tray menu. Each button can press a key or a key combination, click a mouse button, scroll or move the pointer; each stick can be four keys, mouse movement, scroll or off, with its own dead zone and sensitivity. Start from a preset and change what you like.
The defaults suit most PC games: WASD to move, the right stick to look, A to jump, the triggers for aim and fire. Your mapping is saved as gamepad_mapping.json in the CouchWand folder of your user profile, and the Mac's file also loads on Windows.
The remote itself is free. One $3.99 purchase removes the banner and adds the extras. No subscription and no account.
| Feature | Free | Remove Ads + Themes |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-touch trackpad, scrolling and gestures | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard, dictation and landscape split keyboard | Yes | Yes |
| Shortcut palette with Mac and Windows keys (⌘, Ctrl, Esc) | Yes | Yes |
| Gamepad, all five layouts | Yes | Yes |
| Mac and Windows host apps | Free | Free |
| Encrypted pairing, no account | Yes | Yes |
| Customization Studio (buttons, macros, presets) | Preview; saving needs the purchase | Yes |
| Themes | Classic | Classic, OLED Black, Liquid Glass, Holo Foil |
| Alternate app icons | No | Yes |
| Ads | One banner at the top, no pop-ups | None; the ad SDK is not started |
| Price | Free | $3.99 once (US price; the app shows yours) |
Why there's an ad
You can't judge a remote until you've used it on your own couch, with your own computer and your own Wi-Fi. So there's no 7-day trial and no subscription: the full remote is free for as long as you like.
The free version shows one banner across the top of the screen. No pop-ups, no full-screen ads, no ads in menus, and nothing ever covers the trackpad, palette, keyboard or gamepad. When the banner starts to bother you, pay once and it's gone.
Unlocks with Remove Ads + Themes
The same one-time purchase that removes the banner also unlocks three themes, the Customization Studio and alternate app icons. Classic stays free.
Paid extras
The same unlock also adds alternate app icons: Invert, Midnight, Lilac and more colourways of the CouchWand icon. Pick one in Settings and it appears on your Home Screen.
Install the free host app on the computer you want to control, get CouchWand on your iPhone or iPad, then pair them with a code.
iOS or iPadOS 17 or later. Control Center buttons need iOS 18. The app is not on the App Store yet.
iPhone and iPadComing soon to the App StoremacOS 14 or later. Menu bar app.
Download for MacWindows 10 22H2 or Windows 11, 64-bit (x64). Tray app.
Download installer Download portable .exeDirect downloads from this site. No bundled extras and no background service when the app is closed. On macOS you grant the standard Accessibility permission once, so CouchWand can move the pointer and press keys.
Because a couch remote is something you might only use on Friday nights. Start a trial on Tuesday, don't turn on the media PC until the weekend, and it has expired before you've really tested it. With ads you test on your own schedule and pay once when the banner starts to bother you.
Yes. The one-time purchase happens inside the iPhone app on your Apple Account. The macOS and Windows host apps are free; install them on as many computers as you own.
CouchWand itself sends nothing: no servers, no accounts, no analytics. Mouse movements and keystrokes travel only over your local network (or your own Tailscale) between phone and computer. In the free version the ad network makes its own requests to load banners, after asking for your consent. Once you own Remove Ads + Themes, the ad SDK never starts.
Install the host app, put your iPhone on the same Wi-Fi, and open CouchWand. In the host app's menu choose Pair New Device, then scan the QR code or type the 6-digit code. On macOS, grant Accessibility permission when asked so the host app can move the cursor and type. Full steps are in How to connect.
Yes. Pairing exchanges keys between your phone and your computer only, and every input packet is encrypted and authenticated (X25519, Ed25519 and ChaCha20-Poly1305). The host app accepts only devices you paired, and only from private network or Tailscale addresses. There is no CouchWand server in between, so what you type never passes through us.
No. There is nothing to sign up for, on the phone or on the computer. You pair once with a QR code or a 6-digit code. The optional purchase goes through the App Store on your Apple Account.
It works on your own local network: the phone on Wi-Fi, and the computer on the same Wi-Fi or wired to the same router. Away from home, use Tailscale (see below). CouchWand does not connect over the open internet or through a relay.
Yes. There is a free host app for macOS 14 or later and for Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 (64-bit). One phone can pair with several computers, Macs and PCs mixed, and the shortcut palette switches to the right keys for each one.
CouchWand is built for low latency: pointer and key events travel as small UDP packets straight to the computer, and clicks and key presses are confirmed and resent if one goes missing. In the project's own loopback benchmark the median one-way time was under 0.2 ms. Real Wi-Fi adds its own delay, so a good signal helps.
Free: the trackpad, keyboard, dictation, split keyboard, shortcut palette, all five gamepad layouts, the Classic theme and a preview of the Customization Studio, with one banner ad at the top. Remove Ads + Themes ($3.99 once in the US; the app shows your price) removes the banner, unlocks the OLED Black, Liquid Glass and Holo Foil themes, lets you save Studio buttons, macros and layouts, and adds alternate app icons. The Mac and Windows host apps are free either way. See the free vs paid comparison.
Make sure the host app is running, both devices are on the same Wi-Fi (or the same Tailscale network), Windows Firewall allows CouchWand on private networks, and no VPN or guest Wi-Fi with client isolation sits in between. Then pair again if needed. The full checklist is in How to connect.
Yes. Tap the computer name pill at the top, then choose Try demo: Mac or Try demo: Windows PC in the Computers list. You can look around the trackpad, keyboard, shortcut pages and gamepad; nothing is sent anywhere.
Yes, with Tailscale. Install Tailscale on the phone and the computer and sign them into the same tailnet. The host shows its Tailscale address in its menu and pairing window, and the QR code carries both addresses, so the app can reach the computer at home or away. CouchWand never uses a relay server of its own; outside your network and your tailnet it simply doesn't connect.
macOS only lets apps move the pointer and type for you once you allow it. Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, and turn on CouchWand. The menu bar item shows whether permission is granted and has a shortcut to the right settings page. If you replace the app with a newer copy, switch it off and on again there.
The Mac app is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens normally. The Windows app is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may say it doesn't recognize it. Choose More info, then Run anyway, if you downloaded it from this site.
Windows only accepts a software Ctrl+Alt+Del when a system policy allows it and the host runs with administrator rights. Do this once:
1. In the tray menu, turn on Run with Administrator Access (Control UAC/Admin Windows). This also lets CouchWand control windows that run as administrator.
2. In an administrator Command Prompt, run:reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v SoftwareSASGeneration /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
If something is missing, the app tells you which step when you tap Ctrl+Alt+Del on the System page.
Not yet. The iPhone and iPad app is coming soon to the App Store; this page will link to it as soon as it is available. The Mac and Windows desktop apps can be downloaded now.
Any iPhone or iPad that runs iOS or iPadOS 17 or later. The Control Center, Lock Screen and Action button controls need iOS 18; on iOS 17 everything else works as normal.
Yes, through keyboard and mouse mapping. macOS doesn't allow apps to add a system-wide virtual controller without approval, so the Mac app turns the sticks and buttons into keys and mouse actions. Gamepad input is ignored until the Controller switch on your phone is on. Pick a preset under Gamepad output in the menu bar, or choose Gamepad Mapping… to rebind every button and stick. Games need to accept keyboard and mouse input.
Install the free ViGEmBus driver from its GitHub releases page (this needs administrator rights, once), then restart the CouchWand host. It then creates a virtual XInput-compatible controller. ViGEmBus is a separate third-party project that is no longer updated by its author; CouchWand doesn't include it. Without it, the host uses keyboard and mouse mapping (editable under Gamepad Mapping… in the tray menu) and shows a one-time notice. The virtual controller is plugged in only while the Controller switch on your phone is on, so using the trackpad never leaves a ghost controller in Windows.
On the computer, open the menu bar or tray menu, find the device under paired devices and choose Remove. On the phone, swipe left on the computer in the Computers list and delete it. Pairings never expire on their own.
Tap the computer name pill at the top, then the gear to open Settings, and tap Restore Purchases (under Ads), signed in with the same Apple Account you bought it with.
CouchWand
Mac menu bar
Windows tray
