Desktop control panel

The desktop app is the main control panel for Happier setup and machine management.

Use it to keep four things aligned:

1. Relay selection
2. Account sign-in
3. Daemon/machine setup
4. Optional secure access for self-hosted Relays

Recommended flow

1. Choose your Relay first

Open the desktop app and choose the Relay you want to use before creating or signing into an account.

This avoids the common mistake where:

• the app signs into one Relay
• the CLI or daemon points at another Relay
• terminal/daemon setup later looks “broken” even though the account is valid

2. Sign in on that Relay

After selecting the Relay, sign in or create an account there.

The app keeps account state scoped to the selected Relay, so switching to another Relay later does not overwrite the first one.

3. Set up a machine

From the desktop app, you can choose between:

• Set up this computer — configure the local daemon/background service against the active Relay
• Add machine over SSH — set up a remote machine from the desktop app

The primary entrypoint for these flows is the in-app /setup screen.

The local flow is best when the daemon should run on your laptop or desktop. The SSH flow is best when the daemon should run on a remote box but you still want to manage it from your laptop.

What the control panel can manage

Relay settings

Use the Relay settings screen to:

• add and save multiple Relay profiles
• switch the active Relay
• see when the daemon is connected to a different Relay
• repair Relay drift from the app instead of redoing setup manually

Machines

Use the Machines screen to:

• set up the current computer
• set up a remote machine over SSH
• continue provider setup for the specific machine that was just prepared

Local self-hosted Relay runtime

If you are running a self-hosted Relay locally, the app can also manage the local Relay runtime:

• inspect status
• install or update it
• start or stop it
• surface the local Relay URL

Private access for other devices

For local or self-hosted Relays, the app can guide secure private access setup so phones or other computers can still reach the Relay without exposing it publicly.

Today this is surfaced as a local secure-access task from the desktop app.

Relay drift

Relay drift means the app is using one Relay while the daemon/background service is configured against another one.

The desktop app surfaces this explicitly and offers a repair action.

This is important because many “why can’t I connect my daemon / terminal / machine?” issues are really Relay mismatches, not auth failures.

Common setups

Hosted Relay + local daemon

• Choose Happier Cloud in the app
• Sign in
• Use Set up this computer

Self-hosted Relay + local daemon

• Add/select your self-hosted Relay in the app
• Sign in there
• Use Set up this computer
• Optionally enable private access for phones and other devices

Self-hosted Relay + remote daemon

• Add/select your self-hosted Relay in the app
• Sign in there
• Use Add machine over SSH
• Continue provider setup for the returned machine

Mixed setup (remote Relay + remote daemon + laptop control panel)

• Keep the desktop app on your laptop as the control surface
• Run the Relay on one machine
• Run the daemon/providers on another machine
• Manage both from the desktop app

CLI fallback

The CLI still exposes the underlying commands (server, auth, daemon, and related subcommands), but the recommended user flow is:

• pick the Relay in the app
• sign in there
• let the desktop app drive machine setup actions

That keeps Relay/account/machine state visible and reduces mismatches.