Your machine & desktop
Connecting
Your machine is always on. Connecting to it is just opening a window onto a computer that's already running. There are two clients, and they reach the same machine.
Two ways in
| Native macOS app | Browser | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Daily driving | A quick session, or any non-Mac device |
| Install | Download once | Nothing — just log in |
| Feel | Local: native windowing, Finder drag/drop, system clipboard | Convenient: works anywhere with a browser |
Both give you real VM pixels, readable text, responsive typing, drag, scroll, right-click, and copy/paste. The native app can feel more local because it has deeper macOS integration.
For the everyday moves — copy and paste text and images, and transfer files in and out in both directions — see Files & clipboard. The client-specific essentials are summarized below.
Native macOS app
The Mac app is the accepted daily-driver client.
- Get it — download from wrkr.dev/download, drag it to Applications, and log in through your system browser. Your session is stored in the macOS Keychain, so a valid session reconnects without asking you to log in again.
- It updates itself — the app is signed, notarized, and self-updating, so you stay current without re-downloading. (We don't quote a version number here because it moves; the app keeps itself fresh.)
- Files — drag files or folders from Finder onto the desktop, or copy in Finder and press ⌘V, to send them into your machine's Files. Drag the other way to bring them back.
- Clipboard — text and images sync both ways. The app receiving the paste owns the paste shortcut: most Linux GUI apps use Ctrl-V, terminals use Ctrl-Shift-V, and Mac apps use ⌘V. Copy is the mirror: Ctrl-C in Linux GUI apps, Ctrl-Shift-C in terminals.
- Keyboard — your Mac keyboard maps naturally; Ctrl-click is a right-click. ⌘V on the desktop is reserved for Finder-style file paste; other ⌘ chords pass through to the machine.
- Open in Browser — hand off to the browser client anytime from the app.
Browser
Open wrkr.dev, log in, and your desktop resolves in the tab. Nothing to install — good for a fast session or when you're not at your Mac.
- Files — use the explicit Upload and Download actions to move files between your computer and your machine's Files folder.
- Clipboard — text and image copy/paste work within what the browser allows.
A browser can't offer Finder-style paste or unrestricted local file access — that's what the native app is for — but for getting in and working, it's fully capable.
Reconnecting
You can close the window, sleep your laptop, switch networks, or walk away. Your machine keeps running — this is the point of always-on. When you come back, the client reconnects and you pick up where you left off.
While connecting you'll see plain product states:
Connecting → Opening machine → Live
and if a connection drops, Reconnecting, or Session interrupted with a
Try again. After a long idle, the client refreshes the stream on its own when
you return — no forced restart.
Remember: the machine never sleeps. If anything looks dormant before you sign in, that's the desktop session, not the machine — your running apps and services are unaffected.
Multiple devices
It's one machine, so every client is a window onto the same thing. Connect from your Mac app in the morning and a browser on another computer in the afternoon — same desktop, same files, same running apps. You don't sync anything; there's only ever one machine to be in.