PocketRocket Host — run your Mac without a monitor
Screens off. Mac on.
PocketRocket Host lives in the menu bar of the Mac you connect to. It keeps the Mac within reach—and its displays dark while you’re connected.
Mac with Apple silicon, macOS 26.1 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
Get the highlights.
In the menu bar. Out of your Dock.
Found through iCloud. No IP addresses.
Physical displays go dark during a session.
A virtual display shaped for each device.
Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or Optic ID.1
Updates quietly, between sessions.
How do I use a Mac mini without a monitor? — Monitor optional.
Install PocketRocket Host on the Mac mini, turn on Start at login, and connect from iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro or another Mac on the same Apple Account. Each session gives the Mac a virtual display shaped for your device, so you see the whole desktop without a monitor on the desk—and any attached displays stay dark.
Setting up PocketRocket Host for the first time? You’ll need a display—or Screen Sharing—once, to grant its permissions. After that, your Mac works without a monitor attached.
Can someone at home see my screen during a session? — Nothing to see here.
No. For the length of a session, the physical displays of your Mac go dark, and windows and the pointer live only on the virtual display you’re using. When you disconnect, the displays come back—and if a session ends unexpectedly, PocketRocket Host restores them for you.
At home
On your iPad
A display for every device.
Connect from iPhone and your Mac gets a display shaped like iPhone. Connect from iPad, and it becomes an iPad display, named after it: “PocketRocket iPad.”
Your Mac now has a display named PocketRocket iPhone.
Can I unlock my Mac remotely with Face ID? — Unlock at a glance. Or a touch.
Yes. Save your Mac password once in PocketRocket, and it’s kept in iCloud Keychain on your device. When your Mac shows its login window, PocketRocket releases the password only after Face ID, Touch ID or Optic ID and types it in for you over the end‑to‑end encrypted channel.1
Can I choose how devices connect to my Mac? — Your Mac. Your rules.
Yes. In Settings you decide which connection paths your Mac accepts: local network, VPN, direct from the internet, or relay. Leave them all on and PocketRocket uses the first one that works; turn one off and it’s never offered. You can also cap the bandwidth, anywhere from 1 Mbps to no limit.
Take a closer look.
The settings of PocketRocket Host, pane by pane.
General
Startup
- Start at loginOn
- Keep runningOn
Display
Shown only while a device is connected.
Remote desktop resolution
Network
Maximum bandwidth to use
Allowed connection paths
- Allow NAT (direct from internet)On
- Allow LAN (local network)On
- Allow VPN (tunnel address)Off
- Allow relayOn
Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts
- Scale up⌃⌥⌘=
- Scale down⌃⌥⌘−
- Open diagnostics⌃⌥⌘D
Advanced
Sharpness vs fluidity
Updates
Updates
- StatusChecks at launch and every 24 h
Diagnostics
Permissions
- Screen recordingGranted
- Event posting (Accessibility)Granted
In Advanced, Sharpness vs fluidity sets the lowest frame rate PocketRocket Host drops to on a weak connection: 15, 20, 30 or 60 fps, with 30 as the default.
Scale with a shortcut.
⌃⌥⌘= and ⌃⌥⌘− change the scale, ⌃⌥⌘H switches HiDPI and ⌃⌥⌘D shows diagnostics. A glass indicator confirms each change of scale, and the scale and diagnostics shortcuts are yours to remap.
- ⌃ ⌥ ⌘ =Scale up
- ⌃ ⌥ ⌘ −Scale down
- ⌃ ⌥ ⌘ HSwitch HiDPI
- ⌃ ⌥ ⌘ DShow diagnostics
How does PocketRocket Host stay up to date? — Always ready. Never in the way.
Automatically. PocketRocket Host checks for updates when it starts and every 24 hours, then installs them quietly when no device is connected, so an update never interrupts a session. It’s distributed outside the Mac App Store as a disk image signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
- Start at login
- Keep running
- Wakes the display when you connect
- Updates outside your sessions
It wakes the display, not a sleeping Mac—your Mac needs to be on.
Can two devices use my Mac at the same time? — One at a time.
No—one at a time. PocketRocket Host serves a single device per session; when another device signed in to your Apple Account connects, it takes over the session. To work with several Mac computers at once, turn it around: open each one in its own window on iPad, Apple Vision Pro or Mac.
What your Mac needs.
PocketRocket Host
- Requires a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.1 or later.
- Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
- Updates are checked at launch and every 24 hours.
- Your Mac needs to be on—PocketRocket can’t wake it from sleep, so keep your Mac from sleeping in System Settings.
Set up in three steps.
Download it and move it to Applications
Download PocketRocket Host and move it to the Applications folder—the camera and updates need it there.
Allow the permissions
On first launch, macOS asks for Screen Recording, Accessibility, system audio recording and local network access, your administrator password for the microphone plug-in, and approval of the camera extension.
Turn on Start at login
In Settings, turn on Start at login, and your Mac is reachable right after you log in.
Before you start.
Can I use a Mac mini without a monitor and control it from my iPad?
Yes: your Mac works without a monitor attached—PocketRocket Host gives it a virtual display shaped like your iPad, so you see the whole desktop.
Turn on Start at login in PocketRocket Host. The first setup needs a display—or Screen Sharing—once, to grant permissions.
Do I need a monitor to set up PocketRocket Host?
Only once: the first setup needs a display—or Screen Sharing—to grant permissions, and after that your Mac works without a monitor attached.
macOS asks for Screen Recording, Accessibility, system audio recording and local network access, your administrator password for the microphone plug-in, and approval of the camera extension. PocketRocket Host needs to be in Applications.
Can PocketRocket wake my Mac from sleep?
No: your Mac needs to be on, because PocketRocket can’t wake it from sleep—keep your Mac from sleeping in System Settings; during a session, PocketRocket Host keeps it from idle sleep.
When you connect, PocketRocket Host wakes the display of your Mac.
Can someone at home see what I’m doing on my Mac during a remote session?
No: the physical displays of your Mac go dark for the session, and windows and the pointer appear only on the virtual display you’re using.
When you disconnect, the displays come back—and if a session ends unexpectedly, PocketRocket Host restores them for you.
Can I unlock my Mac remotely with Face ID?
Yes: at the login window, PocketRocket types your Mac password after Face ID, Touch ID or Optic ID, using the password kept in iCloud Keychain on your device and sent over the encrypted channel.
Unlocking works at the macOS login window and uses Automatic login in PocketRocket, where you save your Mac password once.
Can I choose how devices connect to my Mac?
Yes: in PocketRocket Host settings you can allow or switch off each path—local network, VPN, direct or relay—and cap the bandwidth.
Leave them all on and PocketRocket uses the first one that works; turn one off and it’s never offered. The bandwidth cap goes from 1 Mbps to no limit.
How does PocketRocket Host keep itself up to date?
It checks for updates at launch and every 24 hours and installs them quietly when no device is connected.
PocketRocket Host is distributed outside the Mac App Store as a disk image signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
Can two people or two devices use the same Mac at the same time?
No: a Mac running PocketRocket Host serves one device at a time, and a new device that connects takes over the session.
To work with several Mac computers at once, turn it around: open each one in its own window on iPad, Apple Vision Pro or Mac.
Can I access my Mac remotely over the internet without a VPN or port forwarding?
Yes: PocketRocket finds your Mac through iCloud and connects over your local network, an optional VPN, a direct connection or an encrypted relay—whichever works first.
What are PocketRocket’s system requirements?
PocketRocket Host needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.1 or later, and the PocketRocket app needs iOS 26, iPadOS 26, visionOS 26 or macOS 26, or later.
How does PocketRocket stop strangers from connecting to my Mac?
Your Mac only answers devices that prove they know its key, which is shared through your iCloud account; to anyone else, it stays silent.
Leave your Mac at home. Take it everywhere.
Install PocketRocket Host
On the Mac you want to reach. It lives in the menu bar.
Get the PocketRocket app
On iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro or another Mac.
Tap your Mac
Use the same Apple Account, and your Mac shows up on its own.
PocketRocket Host needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.1 or later. The PocketRocket app is coming soon to the App Store.