Self-hosting

Connecting desktops

Once your relay is running, point Flockdeck at it instead of the shared one at remote.flockdeck.ai.

Enabling remote access against your relay

From any terminal on the desktop:

flockdeck remote enable -relay https://relay.example.com

or set the FLOCKDECK_RELAY environment variable to the same address before Flockdeck starts, which is easier across a fleet of machines than running the command on each one. The flag wins if both are set. -invite, -join and -name have environment variables too (FLOCKDECK_REMOTE_INVITE, FLOCKDECK_REMOTE_JOIN and FLOCKDECK_REMOTE_NAME), for enrolling with no one at the keyboard.

This registers the desktop with your relay and turns remote access on. With -registration invite, the relay needs an invite code an admin issued. See Admin and invites, where flockdeck-relay invite prints the exact command to hand over:

flockdeck remote enable -relay https://relay.example.com -invite <code>

Everything else works as Flockdeck Remote describes for the shared relay, including pairing a phone with a QR code and notifications, but against your own infrastructure.

A second desktop on the same relay

A plain flockdeck remote enable creates a separate account. To put a second desktop on the same account, run flockdeck remote pair -desktop on a desktop already on the relay, and on the new one run flockdeck remote enable -relay https://relay.example.com -join <code>. Joining never needs an invite and works even with -registration closed; -max-hosts is per account, so a join fails once the account has that many desktops.

Joining by email

On a relay run with -require-verified-registration, flockdeck remote enable asks for an email address and sends a link to it. The desktop prints a match code, and the page the link opens asks you to type it. If the address already has an account, the desktop joins it: same plan, same paired devices, no second account. The page says how many desktops the account has before you go back to the terminal. The account's paired phones and browsers are told a desktop joined, and the address is emailed the same, so a desktop that someone else enrolled does not go unnoticed. If you did not enrol anything, remove the desktop with flockdeck remote remove from another machine.

A desktop that is already on another relay

flockdeck remote move https://relay.example.com

enrols the desktop with your relay first, and leaves the one it was on only once yours answers. Add -invite <code> or -join <code> as for enable, and -yes to skip the question it asks. Every device paired with the desktop has to pair again afterwards, because a device's pairing belongs to the relay it was made on.

Switching a desktop back to the shared relay

flockdeck remote move https://remote.flockdeck.ai

or, step by step:

flockdeck remote remove
flockdeck remote enable

remove takes the desktop off whichever relay it was registered with; running enable again with no -relay flag and no FLOCKDECK_RELAY set registers it with the shared one. Either way the devices pair again.

Confirming it's talking to the right relay

Settings → Flockdeck Remote shows which relay a desktop is currently registered with. If a desktop that should be on your relay is showing up against the shared one instead, check that FLOCKDECK_RELAY is set in the environment Flockdeck is launched from. A value set in one shell profile won't reach a copy of Flockdeck started from a desktop shortcut, a different shell, or a service manager.