Install Switchboard¶

Switchboard has three parts:

The server

On one computer that stays on: a Mac mini on a shelf, a desktop that never sleeps, a small Linux box. It keeps the list of your computers and chats, so the board is there even when your laptop is closed. If you only have one computer, it can be the server too.
The helper

On each computer where you use Claude Code: sb.py, a small Python program that is Claude Code's status line and hooks, and switchboard-node, which links the computer to the server.
The app

On the computers you look at the board from: Mac, Windows or Linux. It talks only to your server.

Setup takes three steps, about ten minutes in all.

What you need¶

	Server	Each Claude Code computer	The app
System	macOS or Linux (best), or Windows with less	macOS, Linux or Windows	macOS 11 or newer, Windows, or Linux x86_64
Python	3.9 or newer	3.9 or newer	not needed
Claude Code	not needed	installed and signed in	not needed

Macs have Python once the command line tools are installed (xcode-select --install). Most Linux systems come with it. On Windows, run winget install -e --id Python.Python.3.12.

Keep it on your own network

Your devices reach the server on ports 8130 (the apps), 8131 (downloads for adding computers) and 8132 (terminals and linked computers). A home network and Tailscale both work. Switchboard has no passwords: anyone who can reach those ports can use it. Never forward them to the internet. Why, and what is protected

1. Install the server¶

One line (Mac or Linux)From the desktop appFrom a copy of the repositoryWindows

On the computer that stays on, in a terminal:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/nicglazkov/switchboard/releases/latest/download/get-server.sh | bash

It downloads the server kit from the newest release, checks its SHA-256, and runs the installer from it. Options for the installer go after bash -s --:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/nicglazkov/switchboard/releases/latest/download/get-server.sh | bash -s -- --no-hub

On a Mac or Linux computer that will be the server, open the app. When it finds no server on the network, pick Run the server on this computer. It checks the computer (Python, the ports, a server already there), then installs the server from the copy inside the app, as you, with no administrator password. When it is done the app connects to http://localhost:8130.

The Windows app doesn't carry the server, so on Windows use the PowerShell line instead.

Run switchboard setup in a terminal afterwards to add your other computers.

git clone https://github.com/nicglazkov/switchboard.git
cd switchboard
scripts/install/install-server.sh

Without a ready-made hub (native/dist/switchboard-hub-<os>), the installer builds it with Rust, or installs without it when Rust is missing.

In PowerShell, in a copy of the repository:

git clone https://github.com/nicglazkov/switchboard.git
cd switchboard
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\install\install-server.ps1

See A Windows server for what works there.

The installer needs no sudo and changes nothing outside your own account. It:

puts the server in ~/.local/share/switchboard/app;
uses a ready-made hub, or one you give it with --hub-binary, or builds it with Rust;
sets up three services that start when you log in: the server (8130), the downloads (8131) and the hub (8132). These are systemd user services on Linux and LaunchAgents on macOS;
adds the switchboard command (~/.local/bin/switchboard);
runs first-run setup.

In a terminal it first checks the machine: the system, Python, whether ports 8130 to 8132 are free, systemd user services and linger, disk space, and whether it runs on a battery. Then it shows each step with how long it took. The output of the commands it runs goes to ~/.local/share/switchboard/logs/install.log; when a step fails, it shows that step's last lines. At the end it lists the addresses to use, with a QR code when qrencode is installed.

The server installer in a terminal: it checks the machine, installs in five steps, links a laptop with a one-time code, picks a folder and ends with the addresses to use

Linux: keep running after you log out

systemd stops user services when you log out. To keep Switchboard running, run this once: sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER

Installer options¶

Option	What it does
`--hub-binary PATH`	Use this `switchboard-hub` instead of a ready-made or built one
`--node-dir DIR`	Copy the `switchboard-node` builds for other systems from this folder into the downloads
`--no-hub`	Install without the hub: no terminals and no linking with a code; computers are added over ssh
`--no-service`	Don't set up services; start everything in the background instead
`--no-start`	Install, but start nothing
`--no-setup`	Skip first-run setup (run `switchboard setup` later)
`--yes`, `-y`	Ask nothing, and skip first-run setup (run `switchboard setup` later)
`--plain`	Plain `== <step>` lines instead of the checklist (also with `NO_COLOR` or when the output is not a terminal)
`--uninstall`	Take the server out (see Uninstalling)

get-server.sh itself takes --kit URL|FILE (a kit somewhere else, or SWITCHBOARD_KIT_URL) and --sha256 HEX; everything else goes to the installer.

Host your own kit¶

The server kit is a tarball of server/, agent/sb.py, scripts/install/, the ready-made hub and node builds, the Rust sources for the hub, and python-zeroconf (so a Linux server without avahi still announces itself on the network). Each release has one. To make your own, in a copy of the repository:

scripts/install/pack-server-kit.sh --base https://<your server>/<folder>
# writes dist/server-kit/: switchboard-server-kit.tar.gz, its .sha256, and get-server.sh

Put the three files in that folder on any web server, then on the new server machine run curl -fsSL https://<your server>/<folder>/get-server.sh | bash. With no web server at all, copy the kit and get-server.sh over and run bash get-server.sh --kit switchboard-server-kit.tar.gz.

pack-server-kit.sh also takes --out DIR, --no-binaries, --no-sources and --no-vendor.

A Windows server¶

A Windows server reaches computers over ssh only. The hub, which carries terminals and linking with a code, doesn't run on Windows yet, so there are two logon tasks instead of three services (the server on 8130 and the downloads on 8131), and the installer needs the OpenSSH client. It prints a firewall rule for ports 8130 and 8131 to run as administrator. install-server.ps1 takes -NoStart, -NoSetup and -Uninstall.

If you can, put the server on a Mac or a Linux computer. Any Windows PC can still be one of your computers.

2. First-run setup¶

Setup runs at the end of the installer. Run it again any time with switchboard setup. It asks three things.

The server's address. This is what the app and your other computers use to reach the server. It lists the addresses it finds: this machine on your network, its Tailscale name if Tailscale is running, and its own name. Pick one, or type another. The Tailscale name works away from home too.
Your computers. Add each computer where you use Claude Code, with a one-time code (recommended) or over ssh. Add your computers explains both.
Each computer's Claude folder. This is where new chats start and where folders are picked from. Setup lets you browse the computer's folders, starting from its home folder. Change it later in Settings, Machines.

3. Open the app¶

Install the app on the computers you look at the board from. The apps has the details for each system.


Mac	`Switchboard-<version>.dmg`: open it, then drag Switchboard to Applications or open Install Switchboard.
Windows	`Switchboard-Setup-<version>.exe`: installs for your account only, with no admin password.
Linux	`Switchboard-linux-x86_64.tar.gz`: unpack it and run `Switchboard`.

On the same network as the server, the app finds it by itself and connects. Otherwise it asks for the address you picked in setup, such as 192.0.2.10 or a Tailscale name.

The app on first run: it searches the local network, finds the server, connects, and shows the board

Once connected, the server tells the app every address it has: its network addresses, its .local name and, when Tailscale is running on the server, its Tailscale address and name. The app keeps them, so if you connect once at home, it also works away from home over Tailscale, with nothing to type. Settings, Machines, Server addresses lists what it keeps and lets you remove any of them.

Finding the server on Linux

A server installed from the kit announces itself on the network with what the kit carries. One installed from a copy of the repository on Linux needs avahi-utils or python3-zeroconf for that.

Updating¶

The app updates itself: when a new release is out it offers Restart to update or Install on quit. Updates explains how.

To update the server, run the one line from step 1 again, or git pull and run the installer again. Your computers, settings and history stay.

Uninstalling¶

curl -fsSL https://github.com/nicglazkov/switchboard/releases/latest/download/get-server.sh | bash -s -- --uninstall

From a copy of the repository, scripts/install/install-server.sh --uninstall does the same. On Windows, install-server.ps1 -Uninstall. This removes the services, the server, the downloads and the switchboard command, and keeps your settings and history: delete ~/.config/switchboard and ~/.local/share/switchboard too if you don't want them.

On each computer, python3 ~/.claude/switchboard/sb.py uninstall takes the helper out of Claude Code's settings, removing only what it added.