Run the Host Service

Tascarrel’s server owns workspace VMs and serves both the startup page and application UI. The recommended installation runs it as a per-user service. The experimental desktop application starts the same server on demand.

Use the Installed Service

tascarrelctl daemon start
tascarrelctl daemon status

The UI is available at http://tascarrel.localhost:8272 by default. The installed service uses a systemd user unit on Linux or a LaunchAgent on macOS and starts automatically when the user logs in.

Pair each new browser with a single-use key created through the private control socket:

tascarrelctl auth pair --label "Local browser"

Enter the printed key in the browser. Existing browser sessions reconnect without another key until they expire or are revoked.

tascarrelctl daemon restart
tascarrelctl daemon stop

Use the installed service when the server should start independently of the desktop app or browser. A Linux user service starts at boot without an interactive login only when lingering is enabled for that user:

sudo loginctl enable-linger "$USER"

Use the Experimental Desktop Application

Open Tascarrel from the application launcher. Opening it again focuses the existing window. Closing the window leaves the server and workspace VMs running, so reopening the app reconnects to the same state.

The startup page appears immediately after the server begins listening. It reports host capability checks, payload validation and extraction, service initialization, and actionable failures such as missing QEMU. A failed retryable check can be repeated from the page. The desktop application creates its browser session automatically through the private control socket.

Run the Server in the Foreground

tascarrel

Create a pairing key, then open http://tascarrel.localhost:8272 in a browser. The same server-hosted startup page appears before the application is ready. Stop the installed service first because two server processes cannot share the same runtime or web address.

Inspect Service Logs

tascarrelctl daemon logs
tascarrelctl daemon logs --follow

Run tascarrelctl doctor when the server cannot create its startup listener. Use tascarrelctl workspace info <name> for the current VM state or startup failure.

The CLI normally discovers the service through Tascarrel’s control socket. Use the global --socket <path> option, or TASCARREL_SOCKET, only for an intentionally non-default runtime.