The dashboard can be installed like an app, on a phone, a tablet or a computer. It then has its own Selfhostsms icon on the home screen, in the dock or in the list of applications, and opens in its own window, without the browser's address bar and tabs.
It is the same dashboard, served by your gateway: same sign-in, same roles, same language, same screens. Nothing is downloaded from a store, and nothing is installed on your gateway. Installing it changes nothing for your colleagues: each person installs it on their own devices, or not.
What it brings:
- Quick access: open the dashboard from its icon, like any app, instead of looking for a browser tab.
- Shortcuts: a long press on the icon (Android) or a right-click (computer) offers Quick send, Conversations and Queue directly.
- A clear message when the gateway cannot be reached: if the device is offline or the gateway is stopped, the app shows "The gateway cannot be reached" with a Try again button, in your language, instead of the browser's error page. It comes back by itself when the connection returns.
- Alerts: the browser notifications of the gateway also work in the installed app.
Before you start: an HTTPS address
Browsers only install an app from a secure address:
- an
https://address, which is the case when the gateway was installed with a domain name (see the installation guide); - or
localhost, on the machine that runs the gateway itself.
A dashboard opened in plain http:// on an IP address or a local network name (for example
http://192.168.1.20:8080) cannot be installed, whatever the browser. The dashboard says so in
Settings, Display, Install the app, and shows the address you are using. Open the
dashboard at its https:// address instead, then install it from there.
Install it
Open Settings, tab Display. The Install the app card adapts to your browser:
| What you use | What the card shows | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome, Edge or Samsung Internet (Android, Windows, macOS, Linux) | An Install the app button | Click it, then confirm in the browser's window |
| Safari on iPhone or iPad | Instructions for iPhone and iPad | Tap Share, then Add to Home Screen, then Add |
| A browser that did not offer the button (already declined, another browser) | Instructions to use the browser's menu | In the browser's menu, choose Install app or Add to Home screen |
| The installed app itself | "Already open as an installed app" | Nothing: you are in the app |
A plain http:// address other than localhost |
"Installing needs HTTPS", with the address | Open the dashboard at its https:// address |
Firefox on a computer does not install apps; Firefox on Android does, from its menu.
You can also install without going to the Settings: most browsers show an install icon in the address bar, or an Install app entry in their menu, on any page of the dashboard.
Using the app
- Sign-in: the app shares the session of the browser it was installed from on Android and on a computer. On iPhone and iPad, the app from the home screen has its own session: sign in once in it.
- Language and display: the interface language, text size and theme work as in the browser (see Settings).
- Updates: when you update the gateway, the app picks up the new version the next time it is opened. There is nothing to update on the device.
- Uninstall: like any app (long press, then Uninstall or Remove app on a phone; from the app's window menu on a computer). Your data is not affected: it lives on your gateway.
What stays on the device
The app keeps only the files of the dashboard itself (code, styles, icons) on the device, so that it opens faster. It never keeps your messages, contacts, conversations, settings or any answer of the gateway: every screen is read from the gateway when you open it. That is why nothing can be shown while the gateway is out of reach, and why a lost phone holds no copy of your data. To cut its access, change your password in Settings, My account: every other session of your account is signed out, the app's included.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| "Installing needs HTTPS" | The dashboard is open in plain http://. Open it at its https:// address |
| No install button, but no HTTPS message either | The browser did not offer it (install declined earlier, or browser without the feature). Use the browser's menu |
| The app shows "The gateway cannot be reached" | The device is offline, or the gateway is stopped or not reachable from this network. Check, then Try again |
| The app still shows an old screen after an update | Close the app completely and open it again |