6. Remote Control
Remote Control lets you drive several Minecraft clients from one of them, over your local network. One client hosts a session, the others join it, and the host can then run scripts on them, speak as them, share packet queues with them, and disconnect them — all without alt-tabbing between windows.
6.1 What this is for
If you run more than one Minecraft client at a time — a main account and some alts, or several instances for testing — you spend a lot of time switching windows to make each one do the same thing. Remote Control removes that: you set it up once, and afterwards one window drives all of them.
What it is not: it is not a way to control anyone else’s game. Every client in a session must be running Redwire, must be on your local network, and must be given the session code by you. There is no way to add a client that has not chosen to join.
6.2 What you need
- Two or more Minecraft clients, each running Redwire.
- The same Redwire version on all of them. A version mismatch will not work — the clients speak a protocol that changes between versions.
- The same local network. Clients discover each other over your LAN. This works for several instances on one computer, or several computers on one home network. It does not work over the internet.
6.3 Starting a session
On the client that will be the host
- Open Remote Control.
- Click HOST SESSION.
A session code appears — eight characters, shown as something like 1A2B-34CD. This is what the
other clients need.
The code is also shown in Redwire’s top bar, on every page, so you can read it out without coming back here. It is masked by default — anyone on your network who has it can drive this client, so it is not left sitting on screen. Two small icons sit beside it:
- The eye reveals the code, and hides it again.
- The copy mark puts it on your clipboard without revealing it.
Behind the scenes the host has opened a small server on your machine and started broadcasting a beacon on your LAN, so other Redwire clients can find it without you typing an IP address.
On every other client
- Open Remote Control.
- Click JOIN SESSION.
- Type the session code and confirm.
The client finds the host on the network, presents the code, and joins. It appears in the host’s client list within a second or two.
The code is the only credential. Anyone on your network who has the code can join. It is eight characters from a 36-symbol alphabet, so it is not something a bystander guesses, but do not paste it somewhere public.
6.4 The client list
Both the host and the peers see CONNECTED CLIENTS, a table of everyone in the session:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| USERNAME | The Minecraft account that client is logged in as |
| SERVER | Which server that client is currently connected to, or nothing if it is at the menu |
| PING | That client’s ping to its server, with the usual colour bands |
| ROLE | Host for the one with the controls, Peer for everyone else |
On the host, rows are selectable — clicking one chooses it as the target for commands.
6.5 The Client Control panel (host only)
This panel is where the host actually does things. Peers do not see it.
TARGET CLIENT
Choose who a command applies to:
- All Connected Clients — every peer at once.
- A specific client — pick one from the list.
Every button below acts on the current target.
SCRIPT
Run one of your Scripts on the target clients.
- Type or pick the script’s name.
- Start sends the script to the targets and runs it there.
- Stop stops it on the targets.
The script itself is sent along with the command, so the peers do not need their own copy. You write a script once on the host and every client runs it.
SEND MESSAGE
Type into the box and click Send to make the target clients say it in their own chat.
This works for commands too — anything beginning with / is run as a command by each target client,
on whichever server that client is on.
Each target sends the message as itself, on its own connection. If your clients are on different servers, each one talks to its own.
The queue and connection buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Share Packet Queue | Copies the host’s current Packet Interceptor queue to the targets, so they hold the same packets you do |
| Flush Packet Queue | Makes the targets send everything in their queue |
| Clear Packet Queue | Makes the targets throw their queue away |
| Disconnect Client | Disconnects the targets from whatever server they are on |
Session management
| Button | Who sees it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| TRANSFER HOST | Host | Hands the host role, and the Client Control panel, to another client in the session |
| REMOVE PEER | Host | Kicks the selected client out of the session |
| END SESSION | Host | Closes the session for everybody |
| LEAVE SESSION | Peer | Leaves; the session carries on without you |
6.6 Transferring the host role
TRANSFER HOST genuinely moves the session, not just the buttons.
The client that hosts is also the one running the network sockets that everyone else is connected to. A host that could give away the controls but still end the session by closing its game would not have transferred anything real. So Redwire tears the session down and rebuilds it around the new host.
You will see roughly a second where nothing responds. Every client freezes its list with the new host already shown, stops accepting input, rejoins under the same code, and resumes. The session code does not change and nobody has to do anything.
6.7 Troubleshooting
A client cannot find the session.
- Check that both are running the same Redwire version.
- Check they are on the same network. Clients on different Wi-Fi networks, or one on Wi-Fi behind a guest network, cannot see each other.
- Check the code, including the character order. It is not case-sensitive.
- Your firewall may be blocking it. Redwire uses UDP port 45610 to broadcast and find sessions, and a TCP connection to the host for the session itself. Allow Java through your firewall on private networks.
The session ends when the host closes their game. That is expected. Use TRANSFER HOST first if the host needs to leave and the session should continue.
Commands do nothing on a target. Check that the target is where the command needs it to be — a client sitting on the main menu cannot send a chat message, and a script whose blocks need a world will do nothing until that client is in one.