Connect your phone

Rynhult works in a phone's browser, installs on the home screen like an app, and sends a notification when a session needs you. Then you answer it in the session's terminal. It takes four steps, once per phone.

This phone web app is part of v1.0, connected to your self-hosted Linux server. It does not need the future native iOS or Android apps, which come after v1, one platform at a time, in an order not chosen yet. See platform scope.

Before you start: Rynhult is installed and you've signed in from a computer (see Getting started).

1. Reach Rynhult from the phone

Rynhult only answers private addresses: your home or office network, a VPN, or Tailscale. It is never on the open internet.

  • On the same Wi-Fi: open Rynhult's name, for example https://rynhult.example.lan, in the phone's browser.
  • Away from home: connect the phone to your VPN or Tailscale first.

The phone has to find Rynhult's name. Phones can't take a hosts-file entry, so use one of these:

  • a DNS entry for the name on your router or local DNS server (pointing at Rynhult's LAN address, for example 10.0.0.20);
  • Tailscale's MagicDNS name for the machine, for example acc-host.example-tailnet.ts.net (install Rynhult with that name);
  • a Cloudflare zone (chosen at install), which gives Rynhult a public DNS name and a public certificate. The address it points to is still private.

See Install → No DNS server? for computers.

2. Trust Rynhult's certificate

Skip this if Rynhult uses a Cloudflare zone: its certificate is public. Otherwise Caddy signs Rynhult's certificate itself, and the phone has to trust Caddy's root once:

  1. On the phone, open Rynhult (accept the warning this one time), sign in, and open Settings → Certificate.
  2. iPhone or iPad: download rynhult-root.mobileconfig, install it in Settings → General → VPN & Device Management, then turn it on under Settings → General → About → Certificate Trust Settings.
  3. Android: download rynhult-root.crt and install it under Settings → Security → Encryption & credentials → Install a certificate → CA certificate (the menu names vary by maker).

What you should see: Rynhult opens with no warning, and the browser shows the padlock.

3. Install the app

  • iPhone or iPad: in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen, then Add. Open Rynhult from the Home Screen from now on.
  • Android: in Chrome, open the menu and tap Install app.

4. Turn on notifications

In the app, open Settings, select Turn on notifications, allow them, then select Send a test. A notification should arrive within a few seconds. On iPhone and iPad (iOS 16.4 or later) this only works from the Home Screen app. More in Notifications and the app.

Then: on the Overview, dismiss the Connect your phone banner with × (the installed app never shows it).

Answering from the phone

A notification opens the item in the Inbox. Answer in terminal opens the session with the key bar: ⏎, Esc, ^C and the arrows are first, and More keys has the rest. Tapping a key sends it without opening the on-screen keyboard (if the keyboard is already open, it stays open); tap the terminal itself to type, or Ctrl, which opens it for the key to combine.

Troubleshooting

What happens Why Fix
The page doesn't load away from home The phone isn't on your VPN or Tailscale Connect it, then reload
Server not found The phone can't resolve Rynhult's name Add a DNS entry on your router, or use the MagicDNS name (step 1)
A certificate warning every time Caddy's root isn't trusted on the phone Step 2; on iPhone, also the Certificate Trust Settings switch
Turn on notifications does nothing on iPhone Safari, not the Home Screen app Install the app (step 3) and turn them on from there

Direct remote access qualification

Direct access without a VPN is still unavailable. A disposable local test lab has qualified Caddy's device-certificate gate. Disabled LAN pairing preparation is now available under Settings, with owner confirmation and a separately installed device signer. The certificate download in step 2 above installs server trust only and does not pair a device.

Owner qualification still requires real iOS Safari and Home Screen app tests, including certificate selection, reboot, locked-phone/background behavior and notification taps. Android needs actual identity import and certificate-picker tests for each supported browser and device policy. Public release remains blocked pending these checks and the later implementation gates. Continue to use the private address or VPN/Tailscale. See Security for the local test scope and remaining work.

The disabled-by-default device pairing preparation now creates one-use client identity imports on the LAN after owner confirmation. It does not enable remote access or change the server trust download described above. Physical phone/browser qualification remains pending.

This page is generated from docs/wiki/User-Guide/Connect-Your-Phone.md; the same page is under Guide inside Rynhult.