Remote access

Remote access lets a phone, tablet or another computer on the same network see this PC’s load, its process list and its alerts. It is off by default: until you turn it on, nothing listens on the network and nothing is announced.

Turn it on

1. Open Settings → Remote access and switch it on.
2. The first time, Windows asks whether to allow Vitals through the firewall. Allow it on private networks. If you decline, the server runs but nothing can reach it.
3. Choose Pair a device and pick a scope (see below).
4. Scan the QR code with your phone’s camera. The page that opens can be added to the home screen.

You can pair several PCs; the phone shows them side by side.

Read and control

Every pairing has a scope:

• Read (the default) sees everything and changes nothing.
• Control can also end, suspend and resume processes. Each action on the phone asks for a second tap to confirm.

Give control only to devices you would hand your unlocked PC to.

What it exposes, honestly

• It works on your local network only. Vitals does not relay traffic through any server and does not open ports on your router.
• It speaks plain HTTP on port 7331. Anyone who can watch traffic on your network could read the metrics and the token. Use it on networks you trust, such as your home Wi-Fi, not on public ones.
• The pairing token is shown once, inside the QR code. It travels in the part of the address the browser never sends to a server, and afterwards Vitals only ever displays its first eight characters.
• While it runs, the PC advertises itself on the network as _vitals._tcp so the phone can find it. The announcement stops when remote access is turned off.

Revoke a device

Settings → Remote access lists every paired device with its scope. Revoke one and its token stops working. Turning remote access off stops the server altogether, so no device can connect until you turn it back on.

Without the desktop app

vitals serve runs the same server from a terminal, for a machine where you do not want the window open.