Holdwire · Remote Desktop

Support & FAQ

Write to support@jijilabsdigital.com. We read every message. Please never send private keys or passwords.

How do I add my computer and open its screen?

Tap “Add your computer”, choose Mac, Windows or Linux and follow the steps. The computer needs an SSH login (on a Mac: System Settings › General › Sharing › Remote Login; on Windows: OpenSSH Server). Mac: also turn on Screen Sharing in the same place; Holdwire asks once for the password you use at the Mac’s lock screen and keeps it in this iPhone’s Keychain. Linux and Windows: tap “Turn on screen” once and Holdwire puts its small screen helper in ~/.holdwire on that computer. The computer must be on, and on Windows signed in and not locked. On a Linux desktop that uses Wayland, click Share on the computer once. A computer with no desktop (a server) gets a private desktop that exists only while you look at it.

What is free and what is Pro?

Free: the terminal on all your computers and servers, the screen of one computer with every screen tool, sending files, forwarding a port of your own computer while the app is open, and agent approvals, with sessions kept running on one computer. Holdwire Pro: the screens of all your computers, Reach from anywhere, the external monitor, sessions kept running on every computer and the assistant. Open Settings › Holdwire Pro in the app to see the plans.

What is Reach from anywhere?

Away from home, your iPhone cannot reach a computer behind your router. With Reach (Holdwire Pro) on, that computer keeps one outgoing link to Holdwire’s relay and your iPhone connects through it. No port is opened on your router. Your SSH connection stays encrypted from your iPhone to your computer, so the relay cannot read it. Turn it on for a computer while you can still reach it, in the computer’s settings. See the Privacy Policy for what the relay sees.

How do I send a file, or wake a sleeping computer?

With a screen open, use the file button to choose files from Files or Photos; they are saved in the Downloads folder of that computer. To wake a computer, add its network-card (MAC) address in its settings and choose an always-on computer on the same network under Wake-on-LAN; Holdwire asks that computer to send the wake-up signal. Wake-on-LAN must be switched on in the sleeping computer’s firmware and network settings.

What does “kept running” mean?

Your shell runs inside a small session keeper on the computer, not on your iPhone. When the phone sleeps, changes network or closes Holdwire, the keeper keeps the shell running and holds what it printed. When you come back, Holdwire reconnects and shows what you missed (the latest 1 MB). This holds on computers where the helper is installed; without it Holdwire is plain SSH and says so. A session still ends if the computer restarts or the helper is stopped.

What does Holdwire install on my computer?

The session keeper holdwired and, if you open the screen of a Linux or Windows computer, the screen helper holdwire-screen, both in ~/.holdwire in your home folder (on Windows %USERPROFILE%\.holdwire), plus small runtime files there. On Windows a per-user scheduled task is added for each. No root or administrator rights, no system changes, no open ports. It works on Linux and macOS (Intel and ARM). Turn off “Keep sessions alive” for a server if you don't want it there.

How do I remove it?

In the app, open the computer and choose “Remove Holdwire from this server”: it ends the sessions, turns Reach off, removes the scheduled tasks and the agent lines it added, and deletes the .holdwire folder. By hand on a Mac or Linux computer, end your sessions in the app, then run rm -rf ~/.holdwire.

My computer is Windows, or a router.

Windows 10 (1803) or later with OpenSSH Server (tested so far on Windows 10 22H2): Holdwire installs its session keeper there too, so sessions are kept alive like on Linux and macOS. “Install my key” also sets up the key for administrator accounts. On a router or any host where the keeper can't be installed, Holdwire connects with plain SSH and shows a yellow “this session can drop” note.

A computer has two addresses, one at home and one away.

Edit the computer and add its second address (for example its Wi-Fi IP) under “Other address”. Holdwire tries both at once and uses whichever answers.

How do I bring my computers over?

Tap + › Import and paste your ~/.ssh/config or a list of user@host lines, or pick the file. Only addresses are imported, never keys or passwords.

Where are my keys?

In the iPhone Keychain, on this device only. Keys made in the Secure Enclave can't be copied off the phone. Tap “Install my key” on a server to add its public key there.

The keyboard is hidden.

Tap the terminal, or the round keyboard button at the bottom right. Choose which keys sit above the keyboard in Settings › Key bar.

Which agents can alert me?

Any program that rings the terminal bell or sends a notification signal can alert you. Today Holdwire reacts to the terminal bell and to the OSC 9 and OSC 777 notification codes, and shows a banner when a session you are not looking at sends one (this works while the app is open or has only just been left, and stays on your iPhone). Support for OSC 99 is planned, not shipped. Alerts that reach the Lock Screen while the app is closed are optional and go through the Holdwire relay; see the Privacy Policy for exactly what it sees. Your server needs a helper version that supports them; if it does not, the app says so.

For precise “done” and “needs your input” alerts we are testing hooks for Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Aider, opencode, Goose and Cursor CLI. They are listed here only as being tested. We will mark an agent as supported once it has passed on a real server, not before.

How do I add my Mac?

Yes. On the Mac, open System Settings › General › Sharing and turn on Remote Login; choose which users may log in. Then add the Mac in Holdwire with the address shown there (it looks like youruser@your-mac.local). Two things to know: the Mac must be awake, because a sleeping Mac cannot answer (Apple's guide: Allow a remote computer to access your Mac), and away from home, a .local address does not reach your Mac from outside your network. Turn on Reach from anywhere (Holdwire Pro) for the Mac, or add an address that works from outside your network under “Other address”. Holdwire can keep sessions alive on a Mac too, using the same helper.

How do I restore or cancel Pro?

Restore: open Settings › Holdwire Pro in the app and tap Restore Purchases. Cancel: Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions on your iPhone.