Understand connection status

Only apps you might want to share

Connect an app suggests named, running apps. Built-in DNS, address-configuration, clock and local-discovery services are hidden, as are sockets whose app name could not be identified. Those are not an invitation to expose your server’s internal networking. SSH has its own setup section.

If there are no apps to connect, choose Connect your AI assistant or Set it up yourself to install and start your first app. A process such as python3 or node may be your running website; its name does not prove who installed it, that it is HTTP, or that it is safe to make public.

If your intended app is missing, choose My app is running but isn’t listed, then use manual setup with its known port and protocol. This does not install software or change its listening address. Filtering suggestions is not a port firewall and does not remove existing connections.

Change one connection

Open Public access and choose Settings beside the connection. You can rename it, change its Linux port, pause it or enable it again. Its public port and protocol stay fixed. Confirm the interruption before changing the port of an enabled connection.

Saved is not the same as applied: MacServe waits for the relay’s installed-routing confirmation. Forwarding configured does not prove your application is running; your Mac, account access and data allowance also need to be available. Another browser or agent’s edit makes old forms stale; use the latest details before saving.

Archive removes forwarding after confirmation and moves the connection to Archived connections. It never deletes Linux files or stops software. Public ports stay reserved for your account, so another customer cannot receive traffic sent to your old address. Restore brings the connection back paused; enable it separately. Move or park assigned domains before archiving. Permanent port reclamation is operator-managed and is not advertised as an automated delete feature.

Relays have finite route and port capacity. Pending domains and archived connections retain reservations. If capacity is reached, new requests fail clearly without changing existing connections; contact your inviter/support rather than recreating Linux.

A connected Mac is not the same as a public website

Mac connected means the MacServe helper has checked in. Server running describes the Linux VM. Public access describes whether the relay is allowing incoming connections. DNS and HTTPS describe your domain’s setup. Your application must also be running.

Find the right Linux port

This screenshot shows the connection fields in the current panel. The example uses port 8765; enter the port printed by your own app when it starts, not the number in the picture. Editing this field does not install or start the app.

Pausing and reconnecting

After Disconnect public access, MacServe shows Pausing until the relay confirms the setting. Reconnect shows Reconnecting until confirmed. If confirmation is missing or too old, the panel shows an unknown/unavailable state instead of claiming success.

Paused public access blocks websites, remote SSH and other forwarded connections. It does not delete your files or stop Linux’s normal outbound Internet access. Open terminal in the app remains your local recovery route.

The panel refreshes while visible and when you return to it. A failed refresh is shown explicitly. Connection changes are not instantaneous.

Understand the Mac app’s connection controls

Public access enabled means both MacServe’s confirmation and your Mac’s connection are ready. The app and menu bar offer Disconnect public access in that state. Public access paused offers Reconnect public access. Pausing or Reconnecting means a change is still waiting for confirmation.

Public access unavailable or not confirmed offers Check connection, which checks status without changing your settings. View connection details in panel opens this Mac’s page. Keep public access off is a separate optional action if you want to prevent access from coming back automatically. Unavailable status alone does not identify a billing problem.

Close the window without stopping hosting

Closing the main window leaves background hosting running. Use the menu bar companion to return to MacServe. A sleeping, powered-off or disconnected Mac cannot serve applications; keeping only the window open is not enough.

A server restart interrupts applications and SSH connections. Save your work first. Resource changes can require a restart of the same VM; they should not create another server.