description: Connect the desktop app to OpenChamber on another machine over SSH.
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# Remote Instances
The desktop app can connect to OpenChamber running on another machine over SSH — a work server, a cloud box, a homelab — and bring its UI to your screen as if it were local. Set this up at **Settings → Remote Instances**.
> Remote instances are a **desktop-only** feature. On the web or in VS Code, connect to a remote server with the environment variables in [OpenCode Server](/opencode-server/) instead.
## Add a remote instance
1. Open **Settings → Remote Instances** and add one.
2. Give it the SSH command you'd normally use to reach the machine, plus a nickname.
3. Choose how OpenChamber runs there:
- **managed** — OpenChamber installs and starts itself on the remote machine
- **external** — connect to one that's already running
4. Connect.
OpenChamber walks through the steps — checking the connection, setting up the remote, starting the server, and forwarding the port — and shows where it is at each stage. When it reaches **ready**, the remote UI loads locally.
## Credentials
You decide whether to save the SSH and UI passwords or enter them each time. If the connection drops, OpenChamber reports which step failed so you can fix it — see [Remote access](/troubleshooting/remote-access/).
If a remote machine already runs OpenChamber, the easiest way to connect the desktop app is a pairing link. On the remote server's UI, open **Settings → Remote Instances → Connect to this server → Add a device**, create a link, and import it on your desktop at **Settings → Remote Instances → Other OpenChamber servers → Import Link**. See [Connect a Device](/connect-devices/) for the full flow.
A link created with **Anywhere** carries both a direct address and a [Private Relay](/private-relay/) route: the desktop connects directly when it can reach the server (same network), and falls back to the end-to-end encrypted relay when you're away. The status next to each saved server shows which route is in use.
You can also create a link from a terminal on the remote machine:
`connect-url` starts the server first if nothing is running on that port. Add `--api-only` for a headless server, `--lan` to bind to the LAN when starting, `--ui-password` to protect browser access, and `--name` to label the saved connection. Add `--relay` for a link that also works away from the local network: the device prefers the direct connection when reachable and falls back to the [Private Relay](/private-relay/) — the instance brings the relay up on its own.
The generated link contains a single-use pairing secret. Once imported, the device holds its own client token — separate from the browser UI password — which survives server restarts until you revoke it on the issuing server.
