Another computer
Use the Empryo on another computer from the one you sit at. Pair once, then open its projects here. Chats, tools and files stay on that computer.
Copy & share
On this page9 sections
Experimental: connecting to another computer is new. Expect rough edges and report what breaks.
Your laptop can use the Empryo on your home PC as if you sat at the home PC. This page calls the computer that runs the engine the host. The host runs the chats, tools, terminals, accounts, sessions and memory. The computer you sit at draws the screen and keeps its own keyboard, clipboard, voice input and theme.
The two computers reach each other over the same Wi-Fi or wired network, or over Tailscale. They never connect through the Empryo relay that phones can use. Both computers need the same Empryo version.
Connect a computerLink to this section
Turn on remote access on the host
On the host, run
/remotein the terminal UI or the desktop app. To copy the pairing link, presscin the terminal UI. In the desktop app, the Remote access window shows the QR code for phones and, under Another computer, the pairing link with Copy link. If no Empryo window stays open on the host, also run/remote background on, so the host keeps listening after you quit.Bring the link to the computer you sit at
Send the pairing link to yourself in any way you like, for example in a note or a message. The link pairs one device, within 10 minutes of
/remote.Open Connect a device
In the terminal UI, pick Connect a device in the start menu or run
/devices. In the desktop app, pick Connect a device in the Open on row of the start screen, or open Settings › Remote › Other devices. The list shows the hosts that have/remoteon and that this computer can see on the Wi-Fi or on your tailnet. It never lists the computer you sit at.Paste the pairing link
Pick the host if it is in the list, then paste the link. If the host is not in the list, pick Paste a pairing link and paste it.
Allow it on the host
The host asks whether this computer may take full control and shows a key. The computer you sit at shows the same key. Click Allow on the host only if the two keys match.
Pairing happens once. From then on the host shows up next to This computer in the start menu, in the Open on row and in /devices.
The first time you look for devices on the Wi-Fi, macOS asks to let Empryo find devices on your local network. If you choose Not now, Tailscale and pairing links still work.
Open a project on the hostLink to this section
To open a project on the host, pick the host, then pick a project. The list shows the projects open on the host and the projects this computer opened there before. To open another folder, pick Open a folder there and type its full path on the host. The host asks you to trust a folder it has not opened before.
For a host named Home PC, while the link is up, the terminal UI shows ⇄ connected to Home PC in the top line and ⇄ Home PC next to the prompt box. The desktop app shows Connected to Home PC in the status bar. If the link drops, the work keeps running on the host. The terminal shows Home PC not answering · reconnecting, the desktop shows Reconnecting to Home PC, and what you type waits until the link is back.
These work on the host:
- Sessions, memory, settings and the git status line.
- Files, the built-in Neovim and the diff and image viewers.
- Files you drop into the prompt box. Empryo copies them to the host first.
- Signing in to a provider. The browser opens on the computer you sit at, and the account signs in on the host.
Pair a phone while you use the hostLink to this section
/remote belongs to the computer whose engine you use. While you are connected to the home PC, /remote turns on phone access on the home PC and shows its QR code. The phone pairs with the home PC directly and uses the same engine as your window. When another device asks to pair with the home PC, the Allow question also shows up on the computer you sit at, and your answer there counts.
Keep the host reachableLink to this section
With background access on, the host keeps listening after you quit Empryo and after the host restarts. Run /remote background on on the host, or click Keep it on in Settings › Remote › This computer. Opening a project from another computer then starts that project's engine on the host if none runs. The engine keeps running when you disconnect, and connecting again joins it. Without background access the host stops listening shortly after its last window closes.
On Windows, turn background access on at the PC itself. Windows does not let an SSH session add the startup task Empryo needs. When that fails, Empryo says so and keeps remote access running until its last window closes.
While a computer or a phone is connected, or a turn is running, Empryo keeps the host awake on macOS, Windows and Linux. It lets the host sleep again when the work is done.
If phones and computers on the Wi-Fi can't reach a Windows host, see Windows Firewall blocks devices on the Wi-Fi. For a host that runs in WSL, see Nothing on the Wi-Fi reaches Empryo in WSL.
Wake a sleeping hostLink to this section
If the host is asleep, the start menu and the Open on row show Wake Home PC and connect. Empryo sends a Wake-on-LAN packet from the computer you sit at and connects as soon as the host answers, usually within a minute. Settings › Remote › Other devices has a Wake button that does the same.
Wake-on-LAN works under three conditions:
- You connected to the host at least once, so this computer knows the host's network card.
- The computer you sit at is on the same Wi-Fi or wired network as the host.
- Wake-on-LAN is on for the host's network card.
Skip the Allow on an agent boxLink to this section
A computer you only use as an agent box can let your own devices in without a click. Run /remote trust on the host and pick who joins, or type the value directly:
| Command | Who joins without a link or an Allow |
|---|---|
/remote trust tailnet | Computers signed in to your own Tailscale account. Devices shared with you from another account and tagged devices never count. |
/remote trust wifi | Your Tailscale computers, and any computer on the same Wi-Fi or wired network. |
/remote trust link | Anyone with a fresh pairing link. |
/remote trust ask | Nobody. Every computer needs the link and your Allow. This is the default. |
A trusted host shows up under Connect a device as Your Tailscale device or with Joins with one pick. Pick it and you are in. The first time a computer joins this way, it remembers the host's key, and from then on it refuses a look-alike on the network. A container or a virtual machine counts as being on its own network, not on your Wi-Fi, so /remote trust wifi does not let it in.
In the terminal UI, /remote trust with no value opens a list with the current setting marked. In the desktop app it opens Settings › Remote › This computer, where Who may take full control of this computer has the same choices. The setting lives in your global settings as `deviceTrust`. A project's .empryo/config.json cannot change it.
Forget a computerLink to this section
To forget a host, run /devices and pick Forget, or click Forget next to it in Settings › Remote › Other devices. Empryo removes the key on both computers. If the other computer is off, Empryo says so, and you remove this computer there the next time it is on.
Linux, WSL and containersLink to this section
Linux works at both ends. A Linux computer can be the host, and a Linux laptop, WSL or a container can connect to a Mac or Windows host. Without Bonjour or Avahi, Empryo looks for devices on the Wi-Fi itself, so Linux and Windows find them too. WSL reaches the network through Windows, so it counts as being on the same Wi-Fi as the Windows computer.