Skip to content

multiple-devices.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
83 lines (59 loc) · 2.79 KB

multiple-devices.md

File metadata and controls

83 lines (59 loc) · 2.79 KB

Using bb on multiple devices

You can run bb on one machine — your desktop, laptop, or workstation — and use it from a browser on any other device on the same private network. Phones, tablets, other laptops; anything with a browser can be a control surface for the same projects, threads, and connected hosts.

The machine running bb does the work. Other devices are just browsers.

What you'll need

  • One machine actually running bb. This is where you start the server.
  • Tailscale installed and signed in on every device you want to use, all on the same tailnet.
  • MagicDNS enabled (optional, but it gives your bb machine a stable name so you don't have to memorize an IP).

Set it up

On the machine running bb, configure BB_APP_URL to the URL your other devices will use. Replace <machine>.<tailnet>.ts.net with that machine's Tailscale name:

npx bb-app config set BB_APP_URL http://<machine>.<tailnet>.ts.net:38886

If you don't use MagicDNS, the Tailscale IP works too:

npx bb-app config set BB_APP_URL http://<tailscale-ip>:38886

If bb is not already running, start it:

npx bb-app

Then open that same URL in a browser on any other device. The project list should load and you're in.

Optional: use HTTPS for voice and clipboard

Plain HTTP works for browsing, reading threads, and sending prompts. But some browser features — microphone capture for voice input, clipboard access — only work on https:// URLs, even when the traffic is already encrypted by Tailscale. This mostly comes up on phones and tablets.

If you want those features, enable HTTPS for your tailnet, then put bb behind Tailscale Serve:

tailscale serve --bg --https=443 http://127.0.0.1:38886

Update BB_APP_URL to the HTTPS URL:

npx bb-app config set BB_APP_URL https://<machine>.<tailnet>.ts.net

bb picks up the new URL while it is running.

A note on access

bb has no built-in user authentication on the server today. Tailscale ACLs are your access boundary — keep bb on the tailnet, and don't expose it through Tailscale Funnel or the public internet.

If something isn't working

A few quick checks:

  1. Open the /health endpoint at your bb URL from the device giving you trouble — for example, http://<machine>.<tailnet>.ts.net:38886/health. It should return {"ok":true}. If it doesn't, that device isn't reaching the server — check Tailscale on both sides.
  2. Make sure BB_APP_URL is configured to the same URL you typed into the browser.
  3. Try the Tailscale IP instead of the MagicDNS name (or vice versa).
  4. Phones on cellular are fine as long as Tailscale stays connected.