The status panel

The panel listens locally on port 9090. In this release candidate, open it with Plugboard Status or plugboard panel as the installation owner. A bare URL does not authenticate. Native publication remains disabled for this release.

This page describes the native launcher panel. Linux x64 is the current native release target, subject to published asset availability. Windows/macOS shortcuts below apply only to a separately built and validated reference package that includes them; those platforms are not current releases.

This is where setup happens and where you check on the deployment afterwards. It replaces a terminal for everything most administrators need.

Getting to it

Platform
Windows reference package, if supplied	Start Menu, Plugboard, Plugboard Status
macOS reference package, if supplied	Plugboard Status in Applications
Linux	The Plugboard Status desktop entry
Installed native/reference launcher	plugboard panel from the install directory

plugboard panel works even when the service is stopped. It shows an offline page with a Start button, because the service being down is precisely when you need a way in that is not the service.

On a fresh install

A short wizard asking for three things:

• Who administers this install, by email. They get the one-time link that creates the first account.
• Your licence key, unless a configuration file from onboarding already carries it.
• Your public address, the hostname staff will type.

It writes them and applies them on restart.

Afterwards

Live status. Health, running version, build date, whether TLS is configured, and whether an update is staged.

Check for update and Install update, so a version does not have to wait for the overnight window.

Restart, which is also what re-issues an expired administrator link.

Download a diagnostics report, which is the thing to attach when you email [email protected].

It gathers running state, recent logs and a redacted configuration summary. Setup, repair-tracking and feedback link paths are redacted in live logs and native diagnostics, including encoded copies. Old copied links are not revoked by redaction. Settings that name a secret come out as <redacted>, and a connection string keeps its host, port and database but loses the username and password — DATABASE_URL reads postgresql://<redacted>:<redacted>@your-db:5432/plugboard. It is a plain text file; open it before you send it.

Read the recent log, without going to find where logs live on this platform.

Who can reach it

It listens on the local machine only. Somebody has to be at the console, or on a remote desktop session to it, to use it.

The panel configures the deployment and can restart it, so keep it off the network. Your staff do not use it; they use the address you configured.

The protected installation .env holds PANEL_TOKEN. The launcher proves it is talking to the expected panel before creating a single-use opening link. It never sends the owner key to the browser. The opening link expires in 30 seconds; the resulting browser session expires after eight hours or a panel restart. Browser sessions require both a cookie and a proof stored for the exact panel origin. Reopen the panel after a restart, including an offline-to-service handover.

For the Linux service, run:

sudo -u plugboard /opt/plugboard/plugboard panel --url

Open that private link promptly on the server, or forward port 9090 over SSH to the same local port first. Keep the link private. Binding another interface with PANEL_HOST does not remove owner authentication. See panel settings.

If it does not open

Symptom	Cause
Nothing on port 9090	The launcher is not running. Start it from the shortcut, or run plugboard panel
The panel loads but says offline	The service is stopped. Use the Start button
It asks for setup again	The configuration file was replaced or moved
Port 9090 is taken	Something else on the machine is using it. Stop that, or set PANEL_PORT in .env and restart
It returns “Forbidden” when reached by hostname	The panel answers only to loopback, your PANEL_HOST and the names in PANEL_ALLOWED_HOSTS. Add the name you use and restart

For anything the panel cannot resolve, see when it will not start.