Device Pairing

Pair your Companion Hub with your CI Account at hub.ci.computer to enable remote management, the Cloudflare Gateway, and the remote App Store.

A CI Account is optional. Hub works fully on your local network without cloud pairing.

Device registration screen

How pairing works

You create a CI Account at hub.ci.computer
In your account, click Add Device and name your Hub — hub.ci.computer generates a 6-character pairing code
On your Hub, paste the code on the device registration page (or during first-time setup)
Hub sends the code and device ID to hub.ci.computer; your account provisions DNS and a Cloudflare tunnel
Your Hub appears in the dashboard at hub.ci.computer

Get a pairing code (hub.ci.computer)

Sign in at hub.ci.computer
Click Add Device
Enter a name for your Hub (e.g. “Home Server”)
Copy the 6-character pairing code shown

Pairing codes are single-use — once a code successfully pairs a device it can’t be reused. There is no time limit, but if a code is lost or fails, just click Add Device again to generate a fresh one. You do not need to reset Hub first.

Enter the code (Hub)

From the dashboard:

Open the device registration page (shown automatically when Hub is unregistered, or after resetting registration)
Paste the pairing code
Wait for confirmation — DNS and tunnel setup can take a few minutes

From the CLI:


cihub register    # prints device ID and hub.ci.computer registration URL

During first-time setup: the registration page prompts for the code automatically when Hub detects it is unregistered.

Confirm success

Once paired:

Your device appears in your CI Account dashboard
Cloudflare Gateway becomes available for exposing apps
Remote App Store installation is enabled
Hub shows a connected status in Settings → Network & Connectivity

Managing devices from hub.ci.computer

From your CI Account dashboard you can:

View all paired Hubs and their online status
Enable or disable the Cloudflare Gateway per device
Expose individual apps with public URLs
Install apps remotely on a paired Hub
Add devices to Organizations for team access

Re-pairing and resetting registration

If you need to move Hub to a new CI Account, fix a broken tunnel, or start fresh:

From the Hub dashboard

Go to Settings → Network & Connectivity → Reset registration. This:

Clears local registration state
Deletes the Cloudflare tunnel token from disk
Returns Hub to the unregistered state so you can enter a new pairing code

From the CLI

Stop the stack, remove the tunnel token, and restart:


cihub down
rm -f <ROOT_FOLDER_HOST>/tunnel/token
cihub up prod --detached

Then generate a new pairing code at hub.ci.computer and pair again.

Resetting registration removes your Cloudflare tunnel. Public URLs for exposed apps will stop working until you re-pair and re-expose them.

Adding multiple devices

Each physical Hub gets its own device ID and dashboard entry. Run a separate Add Device flow at hub.ci.computer for each machine — do not reuse pairing codes across devices.

Deep linking

The desktop app registers the cihub:// URL scheme. If you start Add Device at hub.ci.computer on the same machine as the desktop app, the pairing code is passed automatically — no copy-paste needed. Supported links:

cihub://pair?code=ABC123 — pair using a 6-character code
cihub://pair/ABC123 — same, path form
cihub://auth?token=… — complete CI Account sign-in
cihub://install/{appSlug}?storeId=ci-marketplace — open the Hub store app page and show the install form (also supported as cihub-dev://install/... in dev builds)

Opening one of these focuses the desktop app and applies the code or token.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
”Pairing code invalid”	Generate a fresh code at hub.ci.computer (codes are single-use)
Pairing succeeds but no public URL	Wait 2–5 minutes for DNS propagation; check device status in your account
Hub shows degraded cloud status	Verify outbound internet; Hub validates with hub.ci.computer periodically
Need to switch CI Accounts	Reset registration on Hub, then pair with the new account

Hub only needs outbound internet for pairing. No inbound ports must be opened on your router.