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OpenChamber

Connect a Device

Pair another device — the mobile app, the desktop app, or a browser on another machine — with your OpenChamber server by scanning a one-time QR code. This is the recommended way to connect devices; there are no ports to open and no addresses to type.

Pair a device

  1. On the machine running OpenChamber, open Settings → Remote Instances → Connect to this server and press Add a device.
  2. Give the device a name (e.g. My iPhone) so you can recognize it later.
  3. Pick where you’ll use the device:
    • This computer only — for apps running on this same machine
    • Home network only — connects directly over your Wi-Fi; does not work away from this network
    • Anywhere — works at home and away; away traffic goes through the Private Relay, an end-to-end encrypted tunnel with no setup needed
  4. Press Create QR code.
  5. On the other device, scan the code:
    • mobile app — tap Scan QR code on the connect screen (or in the instances list)
    • desktop app — copy the connection link instead and paste it in Settings → Remote Instances → Other OpenChamber servers → Import Link

The dialog closes on its own as soon as the device connects, and the device appears in the list with a live status. That’s it — you’re paired.

How pairing stays safe

  • The QR code is single-use. It stops working the moment a device redeems it, and it expires on its own if never used.
  • Each device gets its own token. Scanning a code never exposes your UI password, and one device’s token can’t be used to impersonate another.
  • You stay in control. Every paired device is listed with its name, platform, and connection status — revoke any of them at any time.
  • Away-from-home traffic is end-to-end encrypted. With Anywhere, traffic outside your network rides the Private Relay, which cannot read what passes through it.

Manage paired devices

Settings → Remote Instances → Connect to this server lists every device that can reach this server, with a green dot when it’s online and whether it’s connected over the local network or the relay.

  • Revoke cuts a device off immediately. Pair it again with a new QR code if you change your mind.
  • Clear revoked tidies up the list.

The same physical device keeps one entry even if it signs in again later — you won’t collect duplicates.

Connect from the command line

If the server runs headless (no UI open), create a connection link from a terminal on that machine.

For a device on the same network:

Terminal window
openchamber connect-url --port 3000 --qr

For a device that should connect from anywhere — the equivalent of picking Anywhere in the dialog:

Terminal window
openchamber connect-url --relay --qr

A --relay link carries both routes, just like the dialog: the device connects directly over your local network when it can reach the server, and falls back to the Private Relay when away. The relay starts on its own: a running instance picks the link up within a minute, a stopped one on its next launch.

The direct route only works if the server actually listens on your network. By default OpenChamber listens on the machine itself only — start it with --lan to make it reachable over Wi-Fi. The command warns you ([LAN_UNREACHABLE]) when the link’s direct route won’t be usable from other devices; a --relay link still works then, just always through the relay.

The printed link and QR code work exactly like the ones from the settings dialog — single-use, expiring, revocable.