Waycar
Set up a machine

Waycar Support

Waycar is an iPhone and iPad app for herdr. It connects to computers you control, called Hosts, over SSH or mosh, and shows the herdr Agents running there. Waycar is made by OTREVA, LLC.

Contact us

Email support@waycar.dev. We answer every message by email.

Please tell us your iPhone or iPad model, its iOS version, the Waycar version (Settings › About), and what you see on screen. Never send passwords, private keys, tokens, or other secrets.

For privacy questions or data requests, email privacy@waycar.dev.

What you need

  • An iPhone or iPad with iOS or iPadOS 18 or later.
  • A Mac or Linux computer you control (a Host) running herdr 0.7.5 or later. See herdr.dev.
  • SSH access to that Host. On a Mac, turn on Remote Login in System Settings › General › Sharing.
  • Optional: Node 20 or later and the Waycar herdr plugin, for Scan to Pair, Agent Notifications, and Live Activities.
  • Optional: mosh-server on the Host, for connections that survive network changes.

Set up

  1. Install herdr on your Host and start it.
  2. Add the Host to Waycar in one of two ways.

Scan to Pair (uses the herdr plugin)

  1. On the Host, run: curl -fsSL https://waycar.dev/install.sh | sh
    It needs herdr, curl, tar, and Node.js 20 or later, and installs the Waycar plugin into herdr. It does not use sudo.
  2. Answer Y when it offers to show a Pairing Code. Press c in herdr if you want to copy the code instead.
  3. In Waycar, tap Scan to Pair and scan the code, or tap Paste Pairing Code. The Pairing Code carries the Host's local network addresses, so keep your device on the same network while you pair.
  4. Run the command again whenever you want to pair another device.

Add Manually (no plugin needed)

  1. In Waycar, tap Add Manually on the welcome screen, or + (Add Host) in the Hosts list.
  2. Enter the Host's Address (a DNS name such as mac.example.com works best),Port (usually 22), and User.
  3. Under Authentication, choose a Method:
    • Password: type your login password for that user.
    • Device Key: copy the line Waycar shows and add it to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the Host.
  4. Tap Save. When Waycar asks Trust this Host?, check the fingerprint (see "Host key" below) and tap Trust.
  5. Waycar runs its checks. When they pass, your Agents appear in the Console.

Waycar Pro and billing

  • Waycar is free with 10 Launches in any rolling 30 days. A Launch is starting a new agent or shell from Waycar, resuming a closed agent, or starting an agent by typing its command in a Waycar shell. Opening and reading sessions that are already running never counts.
  • Waycar Pro removes the limit. It is an auto-renewing subscription: $5.00 a month or $40.00 a year in the United States. Prices in other countries are shown in the app before you buy.
  • Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
  • To see Waycar Pro without using a Launch: Waycar › Settings › Subscription › See Waycar Pro.
  • Cancel or change your plan: on your iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, then Waycar. Or openapps.apple.com/account/subscriptions, or use Waycar › Settings › Subscription › Manage Subscription. Apple's instructions:support.apple.com/en-us/118428.
  • Refunds are handled by Apple, not by us. Request one atreportaproblem.apple.com.
  • Restore Pro on a new device: sign in with the same Apple Account, then tap Waycar › Settings › Subscription › Restore Purchases.
  • An Agent you start by typing a command in a Waycar shell after your 10 free Launches keeps running on your Host, but its screen stays hidden in Waycar on that device until you get Waycar Pro. You can always see and stop it in herdr on the Host.
  • Terms: Waycar is licensed under Apple's standard end user license agreement.

Common problems

Host key: "Trust this Host?", "The host key is not trusted", or "The host key changed"

Waycar pins each Host's SSH host key the first time you connect. To check the fingerprint Waycar shows, run this on the Host; one of the SHA256 values it prints must match:

for f in /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key.pub; do ssh-keygen -lf "$f"; done

If you see "The host key is not trusted", open the Host's page and answer Trust this Host?. If you see "The host key changed" and you did not reinstall or replace the Host, do not trust the new key: someone may be intercepting the connection. If you did, open the Host's page and choose Trust New Key.

"herdr is not running on this Host"

Start herdr on the Host. If it is running, check that SSH stream-local forwarding is allowed: Waycar talks to herdr through its socket over SSH. In /etc/ssh/sshd_config, AllowStreamLocalForwardingmust not be no and DisableForwarding must not be yes. The line in~/.ssh/authorized_keys must not contain restrict or no-port-forwarding. Restart SSH on the Host after a change.

"herdr is not on this Host's SSH PATH"

SSH commands do not load your full shell profile. Homebrew installs herdr in /opt/homebrew/bin(Apple silicon Mac) or /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin (Linux). Make sure that folder is on the PATH for non-interactive SSH sessions.

"Authentication failed"

Password sign-in uses SSH password authentication. If the Host only allows keys or keyboard-interactive sign-in, choose Device Key and add its line to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.

Mosh does not connect

Mosh is optional. When it fails, Waycar uses SSH instead. To use mosh, install mosh-server on the Host (brew install mosh or sudo apt install mosh) and allow incoming UDP ports 60000 to 61000 through the Host's firewall and router. Then edit the Host and tap Test Mosh on this Host.

IPv6-only networks

Some cellular and guest networks offer only IPv6. Waycar works there with a DNS name or an IP address; type IPv6 addresses without square brackets.

Pairing Code: "The Host has no pairing in progress for this code"

The code expired or was already used. Run the install command again, or show a new Pairing Code in herdr, and scan the new one.

My computer is not reachable from the internet

Add a Jump Host: a server that you can reach and that can reach your computer. Enter it in the Host's Jump Host section. Waycar checks host keys at both hops.

Privacy

Your SSH keys, passwords, commands, and terminal output go only between your device and your Hosts. If you turn on AI Summaries, your Host also sends recent screen text to its AI provider.Read the full privacy policy.

Company

Waycar is an independent app from OTREVA, LLC. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the herdr project, CodexBar, Anthropic, OpenAI or Google.