← root@home

Setting up root@home

Everything your household needs for the beta: installing the server on a computer that stays on, and pairing your Android phone to it. About 10 minutes.

You'll need:

Part 1 — Install the server

Get the installer

  1. On the computer that will stay on, go to rootathome.diy and choose Get beta access.
  2. Enter your invite code and pick your computer's platform.
  3. Click the download link.

Run the installer

macOS — open the downloaded .pkg. It isn't notarized yet during the beta, so Gatekeeper will say it's from an unidentified developer: right-click (or Control-click) the file → Open → Open again to confirm. It installs as a boot service and opens the setup page automatically.
Windows — run the downloaded .exe. SmartScreen will likely show "Windows protected your PC" since it isn't code-signed yet during the beta — click More info → Run anyway. Needs administrator rights (it registers a Windows service) and opens the setup page automatically when done.
Linux — install the .deb (sudo apt install ./rootathome_*.deb) or extract the .tar.gz and follow the included instructions. Registers a boot service and opens the setup page if a browser session is running.

If nothing opens automatically, open http://127.0.0.1:8080/setup yourself in a browser on that same computer.

Create the household

You'll land on this page:

Setup wizard with household name, username, and password filled in
Pick a household name, your admin username, a password, and optionally where to keep files.

Click Create household and you'll see the pairing card:

Setup wizard showing a QR code to pair the first phone
Leave this open — you'll scan it from the phone in Part 3.

Part 2 — Install the Android app

On the phone, open rootathome.diy in a mobile browser, enter the same invite code, and choose Android app (APK):

Download page showing Android install instructions after redeeming a code
The beta isn't on the Play Store yet, so Android will warn it doesn't recognize the app — that's expected.
  1. Open the downloaded file from your notifications or Downloads folder.
  2. If prompted, tap Settings and allow your browser to install unknown apps — a one-time, per-app permission.
  3. Go back and tap Install.

Part 3 — Pair the phone to Home

Open root@home on the phone. If it's on the same Wi-Fi as the server, it usually finds it automatically:

Pair screen listing a discovered server on the local network
Tap the entry under "On this network" — or scan the QR from Part 1 — or type the address directly.

If nothing shows up (common on guest Wi-Fi or a network that isolates devices from each other), type the address shown on the setup wizard page directly into QR or address and tap Connect.

Part 4 — Sign in

Sign in with the admin username and password you created in Part 1:

Login screen with username and password fields

Part 5 — Turn on your private library

Recommended, not required. This encrypts anything you choose to keep in your private library end-to-end — the server only ever stores ciphertext for it.

In Account, under Private library, set a vault password:

Account screen showing the Private library vault setup section

You'll be shown a one-time recovery key — write it down somewhere safe. It's the only way back in if you forget the vault password, since the server never sees it either.

Part 6 — Add another household member

The admin account from Part 1 is the only one that exists so far. Anyone else — a partner, a kid, a roommate — needs their own account before they can sign in from their own phone or computer.

Open Admin (in the app, or in a browser at your server's address — the same one from Part 1's pairing card has an Open in browser link) and sign in as the admin. Under Add user, fill in a username and a temporary password, and pick a role — user for a regular household member, guest for someone who should have more limited access:

Admin screen, Add user form filled in with a username, temporary password, and role

Click Create user:

Admin screen after creating a user, showing the confirmation message

Share the username and temporary password with them in person, not over chat or email — the temporary password only works once.

On their own device, they open root@home (the app, or the browser) and sign in with that username and temporary password:

Sign-in screen with a new user's username and temporary password entered

Since it's their first sign-in, they're immediately asked to set their own password — the temporary one stops working the moment they do:

Choose your password screen shown on first sign-in

From here on, that's their own account: their own password, their own private library and vault password (Part 5), on whatever device they signed in from.

Troubleshooting

Nothing shows up under "On this network."
Some guest Wi-Fi and mesh routers isolate devices from each other, which blocks the discovery root@home relies on. Type the server's address directly (shown on the setup wizard page) instead — Ethernet on the server side is also more reliable than Wi-Fi for this.
"Install blocked" on Android.
You skipped the "install unknown apps" permission — open the downloaded file again and allow it when prompted.
Forgot the vault password.
Use the recovery key you saved in Part 5, from Account → Private library.
Something else.
Ask whoever sent you the invite code — they can check the server's own status page, or reach out to the beta operator.