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Move an existing set-up across

The earlier Agents app ran its own daemon on this Mac, paired your iPhone and iPad itself, and reached your servers over ssh. Agents Host moves all of that to a control plane on this Mac, once, when you choose. Your agents and their conversations stay where they are, your devices keep working without pairing again, and your servers become hosts.

Before you start

  • No agent in the middle of a turn. The move refuses to start while one is working.
  • Your iPhone and iPad at hand, and still able to reach this Mac the earlier way (the earlier app's bridge running), so that each can be told where the control plane is.
  • ssh from this Mac to each server still working, as the earlier app used it.

Steps

Move

  1. Install Agents Host and open it. At the top of its window it says You have agents from the earlier Agents app on this Mac. Click Move Across….
  2. The sheet, Move to a control plane on this Mac, lists what is kept: your agents and their conversations, which stay on this Mac as this Mac's host; each paired device, which keeps working without pairing again; and each server, which is added as a host. Click Move Across.

It steps through Letting the earlier app's agents go…, Starting the control plane and this Mac's host…, Moving your devices…, and Adding devbox as a host… for each server. It ends with Moved. Your devices are told where the control plane is the next time they connect., and a line for each server. 3. Click Done.

Nothing is copied. Agents Host's host takes over the earlier app's folder where it is, and the control plane's store starts on this Mac. To keep it in a bucket instead, see Set up Agents on this Mac.

A server that could not be reached

A server joins over your own ssh from this Mac, as the earlier app reached it. If it could not be reached, the sheet says devbox couldn't be reached over ssh, with the reason, and shows a command. Run that command on the server, as the user your agents run as, and it joins. If the command has run out, add the server afresh; see Add a server.

Pair the window

  1. Open Agents, the window. It says Agents Host is running on this Mac. Click Pair.
  2. In Agents Host, click Copy. In the window, paste the code under CODE and click Connect.

Every agent is listed, with its history, under THIS MAC, and each server under its own heading.

Bring your iPhone and iPad across

  1. On each iPhone and iPad, at home, open Agents.

It connects the earlier way once, is told where the control plane is, and connects there from then on, with the key it paired with. It now sees every host.

A device moved across may do everything a window may, on your servers too, as every paired client may; see Connect a window or phone.

If it doesn't work

If the move cannot go on, the sheet says Nothing has changed: and why. Fix the cause, then click Try Again.

  • an agent is working. Let its turn finish, then try again. Wait for the turn to end, or stop the agent in the earlier app.
  • the earlier Agents app's daemon didn't stop. Quit Agents, then try again. Quit the earlier app, then click Try Again.

What to know

  • The move happens once. Afterwards Agents Host no longer offers it.
  • If the earlier app had no paired devices and no servers, there is nothing to move: quit the earlier app, then choose Run It Here in Agents Host, and this Mac's host takes over its agents where they are.