Zero-Friction Peer Pairing

One Mind Across Every Machine · Shipped · workstation, home

Secure 4-digit PIN handshake over mDNS or direct IP, with per-peer tokens and surgical revocation.

Link multiple machines running Halbert into a unified fleet. The satellite discovers the desktop via mDNS, requests pairing, and the desktop displays a 4-digit PIN. Once confirmed, both nodes exchange cryptographic tokens. For Tailscale networks (where mDNS doesn’t cross), manual IP pairing works identically.

Step 1: Satellite POSTs to /api/peers/pair → Desktop returns a PIN. Step 2: User confirms. Step 3: Satellite sends PIN to /api/peers/verify → Desktop validates and returns a bearer token. Each satellite gets its own token. Revocation is surgical: DELETE /api/peers/{node_id}. Token rotation = revoke + re-pair. Federation also includes Wake-on-LAN for sleeping peers.

Limits and invariants

Unauthorized devices on the local network cannot execute remote commands — pairing requires physical confirmation.

Where this lives

• halbert_core/halbert_core/dashboard/routes/peers.py
• halbert_core/halbert_core/federation/