diff --git a/browser_cli/cli.py b/browser_cli/cli.py
index d865e1e..93426c4 100755
--- a/browser_cli/cli.py
+++ b/browser_cli/cli.py
@@ -181,6 +181,8 @@ def main(ctx, browser, remote, token):
     ctx.obj["browser_explicit"] = browser is not None
     if browser:
         os.environ["BROWSER_CLI_PROFILE"] = browser
+    ctx.obj["remote"] = remote
+    ctx.obj["token"] = token
     if remote:
         os.environ["BROWSER_CLI_REMOTE"] = remote
     if token:
@@ -211,29 +213,41 @@ def clients_group(ctx):
     if ctx.invoked_subcommand is not None:
         return
 
-    profiles: dict[str, str] = {}
-    if REGISTRY_PATH.exists():
-        try:
-            profiles = json.loads(REGISTRY_PATH.read_text())
-        except Exception:
-            pass
-
     all_clients = []
-    for profile_name, sock_path in profiles.items():
-        display_profile = display_browser_name(profile_name, sock_path)
+
+    remote = (ctx.obj or {}).get("remote") or os.environ.get("BROWSER_CLI_REMOTE")
+    if remote:
         try:
-            result = send_command("clients.list", profile=profile_name)
+            result = send_command("clients.list", profile=(ctx.obj or {}).get("browser"))
             for c in (result or []):
-                c["profile"] = display_profile
+                c["profile"] = c.get("profile") or (ctx.obj or {}).get("browser") or "remote"
                 all_clients.append(c)
-        except (BrowserNotConnected, RuntimeError):
-            # Socket registered but browser no longer connected
-            all_clients.append({
-                "profile": display_profile,
-                "name": "—",
-                "version": "—",
-                "extensionVersion": "disconnected",
-            })
+        except (BrowserNotConnected, RuntimeError) as e:
+            console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] {e}")
+            sys.exit(1)
+    else:
+        profiles: dict[str, str] = {}
+        if REGISTRY_PATH.exists():
+            try:
+                profiles = json.loads(REGISTRY_PATH.read_text())
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+        for profile_name, sock_path in profiles.items():
+            display_profile = display_browser_name(profile_name, sock_path)
+            try:
+                result = send_command("clients.list", profile=profile_name)
+                for c in (result or []):
+                    c["profile"] = display_profile
+                    all_clients.append(c)
+            except (BrowserNotConnected, RuntimeError):
+                # Socket registered but browser no longer connected
+                all_clients.append({
+                    "profile": display_profile,
+                    "name": "—",
+                    "version": "—",
+                    "extensionVersion": "disconnected",
+                })
 
     if not all_clients:
         console.print("[yellow]No browser clients found. Start a browser with the extension enabled first.[/yellow]")
diff --git a/extension/manifest.json b/extension/manifest.json
index 523f29d..72b5ede 100644
--- a/extension/manifest.json
+++ b/extension/manifest.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "manifest_version": 3,
   "name": "browser-cli",
-  "version": "0.7.1",
+  "version": "0.8.1",
   "description": "Control your browser from the terminal via browser-cli",
   "permissions": [
     "tabs",
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 168111f..bcd9744 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "browser-cli"
-version = "0.8.0"
+version = "0.8.1"
 description = "Control your real running browser from the terminal via a browser extension"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index a11a074..c472a5f 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import SimpleNamespace
+import os
 import sys
 
 from click.testing import CliRunner
@@ -140,6 +141,32 @@ def test_clients_exits_cleanly_when_registry_is_missing():
     assert result.exit_code == 1
     assert "No browser clients found" in result.output
 
+def test_clients_remote_uses_remote_endpoint_without_local_registry():
+    def fake_send_command(command, args=None, profile=None):
+        assert command == "clients.list"
+        assert profile is None
+        return [{"name": "Chrome", "version": "1", "extensionVersion": "2.3.4"}]
+
+    with patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True), patch(
+        "browser_cli.cli.REGISTRY_PATH", Path("/nonexistent/browser-cli-registry.json")
+    ), patch("browser_cli.cli.send_command", side_effect=fake_send_command) as send_command:
+        result = CliRunner().invoke(main, ["--remote", "127.0.0.1:8765", "--token", "test", "clients"])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+    send_command.assert_called_once()
+    assert "remote" in result.output
+    assert "Chrome" in result.output
+    assert "2.3.4" in result.output
+
+
+def test_clients_remote_respects_global_browser_route():
+    with patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True), patch("browser_cli.cli.send_command", return_value=[]) as send_command:
+        result = CliRunner().invoke(main, ["--remote", "127.0.0.1:8765", "--browser", "work", "clients"])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 1
+    send_command.assert_called_once_with("clients.list", profile="work")
+
+
 def test_clients_shows_named_profile_and_uses_socket_uuid_for_default(tmp_path):
     registry_path = tmp_path / "registry.json"
     default_socket = tmp_path / "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000.sock"
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 0cde72e..25322ed 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ requires-python = ">=3.10"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "browser-cli"
-version = "0.8.0"
+version = "0.8.1"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "click" },