Run it on a server

No Splitkick server build yet

Splitkick does not publish its own server build yet. This page says what exists upstream and what you can do today. See the roadmap.

What exists upstream

Jean, the app Splitkick is built on, ships jean-server: a headless Linux build (amd64 and arm64) with the same Web Access UI, token login, a Docker image, a systemd installer, and Install via SSH from the desktop app's connection dialog. Its documentation is in the upstream repository: docs/headless-server.md.

What you can do with Splitkick today

• Connect the Splitkick desktop app to an upstream jean-server. Click the server icon in the sidebar footer to open the Server connections dialog, then click Add remote → Existing URL. The versions should match; Splitkick warns when they do not, and lets you connect anyway.
• Use your Mac as the host and reach it from other devices over Tailscale, as described in Use it from your phone. This is the supported way to work cross-device today.

Remote windows

Each connection opens in its own window. The main window always shows the Splitkick on this Mac. When you open a connection that already has a window, Splitkick brings that window to the front. It does not open a second one.

A window connected to another Splitkick shows a badge with the remote's name next to the title; hover it for the host. The macOS Window menu and Mission Control show the name of the connection. The window reconnects by itself after a drop, as soon as the server answers again.

Zoom and theme come from the settings of the connected Splitkick. So two windows can look different.

Actions that need the host 1.5.1

Some actions open something on the machine that runs Splitkick: Finder, a terminal, the worktrees folder. In a remote window, that machine is the other one, where nobody looks. These actions show disabled, with the text Host only.

• Open in editor still works. It opens the remote path in Zed on your Mac, over ssh://.
• Browse… in a dialog uses the folder browser of the remote, or you type the path.
• Settings → Show Logs opens the logs of the app on your Mac.
• Copy Path gives the path on the remote machine.

The same rule applies to Web Access. The Browser for agents setting is read-only in a remote window.

Content from the remote

• HTML pages from the remote. Click an HTML file in a chat, or let the agent open one, and it loads in the browser pane with its styles, scripts and images. ⌘-click opens it in your browser. Only static files: a dev server on the remote machine is not reachable. A path that starts with / (for example /css/site.css) does not load.
• Preview links and the token. These links are signed with the remote's access token. When you make a new token on the remote, every preview link stops working.
• Cloudflare Access. When the remote is behind Cloudflare Access, log in to it in the browser pane.
• Images from the remote. The image viewer shows Open in browser instead of Reveal in Finder, because the file is on the other machine. Copy image works as in a local session. See Session tools.

Work with the remote

• Transfer a session to the remote, with its conversation: see Move and transfer sessions.
• Let agents use it. Since 1.5.1, an agent on this Mac can run Splitkick MCP tools on a connected instance, for example to start a session there. The connections are kept in Splitkick's backend, their tokens in the macOS Keychain. See Work on your other Splitkick instances.

Security notes that apply to any host

• Bind to 127.0.0.1 or to the Tailscale address, not to a public interface.
• Keep token login on. A long random token: openssl rand -base64 32.
• For a browser over Tailscale, tailscale serve in front of 127.0.0.1 gives you HTTPS; browsers block the clipboard and other secure-context features on plain HTTP.