Remote daemon setup (SSH)

Install Happier on a remote host, pair credentials, and optionally install the daemon service.

This page documents hstack remote daemon setup, a workflow to provision a remote machine (VPS, home server, dev box) over SSH:

installs the Happier CLI on the remote host
pairs/authenticates the remote host against your account
optionally installs + starts the daemon as a user service

Quickstart

From a machine where you already have Happier authenticated:

hstack remote daemon setup --ssh user@host

Default behavior:

uses the stable channel (set --channel preview when you want preview binaries)
installs/starts the daemon service in user mode

Preview vs stable channel

hstack remote daemon setup --ssh user@host --channel preview

Equivalent shortcuts:

hstack remote daemon setup --ssh user@host --preview
hstack remote daemon setup --ssh user@host --stable

Self-hosted server targeting

If you’re pairing the remote machine to a self-hosted server, pass the URLs so the local approval step targets the right control plane:

hstack remote daemon setup --ssh user@host \
  --server-url https://api.example.com \
  --webapp-url https://app.example.com \
  --public-server-url https://api.example.com

Notes:

--server-url is the server API base URL.
--webapp-url is the web UI origin used for login/approval UX.
--public-server-url is the server URL that other devices can reach (often the same as --server-url).

Skip daemon service install

If you only want the CLI installed + authenticated (no always-on daemon):

hstack remote daemon setup --ssh user@host --service none

What this wraps (pairing details)

Under the hood, hstack remote daemon setup orchestrates the same pairing flow documented in:

/docs/clients/cli#pairing-json-manual--scripting
/docs/clients/cli#remote-machine-pairing-ssh-automated

If you prefer, you can run pairing directly with the Happier CLI:

happier auth pair-remote --ssh user@host --json

Requirements

SSH access to the remote host (ssh user@host)
Remote host has bash and curl
The remote host must be a Unix-like OS (Linux/macOS). Windows hosts are not supported for this SSH flow.