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Running Workbench on another machine

Workbench runs where the code is. Put it on a Mac mini, a Linux box or a VPS and drive it from your laptop's browser; the agents, repos and worktrees all live on that machine.

1. Network: Tailscale, never a public port

Install Tailscale on both machines and note the server's Tailscale IP (tailscale ip -4, e.g. 100.101.102.103) and name (macmini, or macmini.tail1234.ts.net).

Workbench only listens on 127.0.0.1 unless told otherwise:

Variable Example What it does
WB_BIND 100.101.102.103 Address to listen on. Use the Tailscale IP, not 0.0.0.0.
WB_ORIGINS macmini,macmini.tail1234.ts.net Host names your browser will use to reach it (checked on the WebSocket). The WB_BIND IP is always allowed.
WB_SSH_HOST macmini or tiago@macmini What your laptop's editor connects to over SSH for "Open in". Defaults to <user>@<hostname>.
PORT 4242 Port.

2. On the server

git clone <this repo> ~/dev/projects/workbench && cd ~/dev/projects/workbench
make setup
claude            # log in to Claude Code once on this machine, then /exit

macOS server (runs at login via launchd):

WB_BIND=100.101.102.103 WB_ORIGINS=macmini WB_SSH_HOST=macmini make install

Linux server (systemd user service): build the release with make sidecar web && cd server && MIX_ENV=prod mix release, then create ~/.config/systemd/user/workbench.service:

[Unit]
Description=Workbench
After=network-online.target

[Service]
ExecStart=%h/dev/projects/workbench/server/_build/prod/rel/workbench/bin/workbench start
Environment=PORT=4242 WB_BIND=100.101.102.103 WB_ORIGINS=box WB_SSH_HOST=box LANG=C.UTF-8
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
systemctl --user daemon-reload && systemctl --user enable --now workbench
loginctl enable-linger $USER   # keep it running when you're logged out

3. Sign in from your laptop, once

On the server:

make link HOST=macmini
# http://macmini:4242/?token=...

Open that link in your laptop's browser. It sets a cookie for a year and redirects to the app. Without it the page shows a sign-in notice and never reveals the token. (Browsers on the server itself never need the link.)

4. Working with the code

  • Open in Zed / VS Code / Cursor from another machine becomes an SSH deep link (zed://ssh/..., vscode://vscode-remote/ssh-remote+...), so your local editor opens the worktree on the server. Needs SSH access to the server (ssh macmini works) and, for VS Code/Cursor, the Remote - SSH extension.
  • Push in the changes panel runs git push -u origin <branch> on the server and, for GitHub/GitLab remotes, offers Open PR. Pull the branch on your laptop or review the PR.
  • The server needs its own git credentials for pushing (SSH key or credential helper).