MacServe help and setup guides
Everything from first setup to a domain serving traffic: what to do, what to expect, and how to recover when something doesn’t work.
Set up MacServe on your Mac
Install the app, choose how much CPU and memory Linux may use, and link the Mac to your account. Takes a few minutes, mostly downloading.
What your Mac can realistically host
Match the work you want to host to the Mac you already own: how far 8, 16 and 32 GiB go, and the point where you should rent a server instead.
Change how much CPU and memory Linux gets
Raise or lower the Linux server's share of your Mac from the app, the panel or an authorized assistant. The change applies on the next restart.
Restart, turn off or remove a Mac
Stop Linux to give your Mac back its memory, start it again, and take a Mac off your account for good. Your files survive a stop; removal is final.
Read what your connection status means
Every state a Mac, a server and a published app can be in, what each one means, and which of them need you to do something about it.
Connect over SSH from another computer
Add your public key, get the host and port for your server, and open a terminal on it from any computer. Your private key never leaves that computer.
Point your own domain at your server
Add two DNS records once, then watch verification, certificate issue and HTTPS go live. Works with a domain from any registrar.
What you can and cannot host on MacServe
The workloads MacServe is built for, the ones that are not allowed, and where responsibility for what you publish actually sits.
Plans, data transfer and what you pay for
What annual access covers, how data transfer is measured and shared across your Macs, and why renewal is a deliberate act rather than a subscription.
Your account, sessions and security
Change your details and password, see every browser signed in to your account, and read the record of changes made to it and by whom.
Let an AI assistant run your server
Connect Claude, Codex or Cursor to MacServe, choose exactly which Macs and permissions it gets, and take that access back at any time.
Agent workflow: tools, order and limits
The order an assistant should work in, from installing the app to publishing a running site, and what each MacServe tool will and will not do.
Fix a Mac or server that is not working
Work through the failures people actually hit: a Mac that stopped reporting, a site that will not go public, SSH refusing a key. Delete nothing.