Connect with a Code

This is the fastest way to add your own computer, and you never copy a key.

What You Need

• The daemon on the host.
• Tailscale on the host and on the phone, signed in as the same Tailscale user. The daemon asks Tailscale who is calling, and it turns away anyone else.
• On a Mac, Remote Login on.

Add the Host

1. Tap + on the host list. Under Nearby, tap your computer. Or type its Tailscale name in Address, keep Sign in with on Device key, and tap Send key to host below it.
2. The phone shows a six-digit Verification code.
3. On a Mac, an alert asks: Allow “your phone” to sign in? Type the code in the six boxes. On a server, run pocketty approve, and type the code there. See Approve a Phone on a Server.
4. The phone shows Key added for your user. pocketty fills in the user, the address and the port for you. Tap Save.

What Happens behind the Scenes

• The daemon adds your phone’s public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys, once.
• It sends back the host’s SSH keys, and pocketty pins them. So the first connection is already checked.
• A request waits for 2 minutes. You can lock the phone in the meantime. pocketty picks up the answer when you come back.
• Five wrong codes deny the request.