Using CyThrough

Documentation / Contents - CyThrough

• Overview of CyThrough
  • What It Is
  • What It Is Not
  • The Three Programs
  • In This Book
• Setting Up
  • What You Need
  • Build and Install
  • Setup With the GUI
  • Setup Without the GUI
  • Lab Auth File
  • Hardware Display Attach
  • Check That It Works
  • Common Mistakes
• Using CyThrough
  • Connect and Catalog
  • Launch and Running
  • Materialize On Desktop
  • Published Apps Menu
  • Quality and Encryption
  • Stopping Apps and the Daemon
• Command Line
  • cythrough Viewer
  • cythroughd Daemon
  • cythrough-prefs Launcher
  • Password and Knock Order
  • Environment
• How the Protocol Works
  • Framing
  • Channels
  • HELLO and Auth
  • Catalog and Launch
  • Pixels and Input
  • Capabilities and Codecs
  • Manager and Backend
• Keys and Shortcuts
• Files and Paths
  • Client Conf
  • Daemon Conf
  • Catalog Cache
  • Desktop Launchers
• Copyright

Using CyThrough

This page is the Motif launcher and the day-to-day viewer habits. Setup is in Setting Up. Every flag is in Command Line.

Connect and Catalog

Open cythrough-prefs. The Connect face asks for:

• Host (and optional port; default 4900)
• User
• Password
• Knock secret (empty = crypto off / static port path for that standing)

Connect. After AUTH the Icon Catalog fills from the server publish menu. Categories come from that menu. File > Refresh Catalog updates while you are connected. File > Change Server returns to Connect.

Each remote server can be an address-book profile in cythrough.conf so the next visit prefills user, knock, and related fields.

Launch and Running

• Double-click a catalog icon to launch that published app only.
• Windows appear as native X windows on this desk (cywm frames them).
• The Running tab lists live sessions (GNU Screen style). Double-click a Running tile to reattach the same app id when a viewer is not already holding it.
• Right-click a Running entry: Kill this app (APP_KILL on the wire).

One catalog click is one app. Dummy-X gives each launch a private framebuffer so apps do not pile onto one shared Xvfb. Hardware-X (--hw) is the shared-seat exception (SGI/GL).

Materialize On Desktop

Right-click a catalog icon: Materialize On Desktop.

• Writes a 0700 script under ~/Desktop (or $CYTHROUGH_DESKTOP).
• Stores password / knock material as 0700 files under ~/.cyanotype.
• On Linux also writes a 0700 .desktop sidecar.
• Later launches exec cythrough --connect ... --app ID without opening the prefs window.

Use this for Toolchest pins, Fluxbox menus, and CDE exec lines that should feel like local launchers.

Published Apps Menu

Edit (or the Published Apps face) maintains the local publish menu that cythroughd serves. Add, Remove, Import. Builtins may be offered as starters. An empty menu publishes nothing.

Publish means argv the daemon will exec. It is not a scan of every binary on the PATH and not a list of windows already on the glass.

Quality and Encryption

• Quality modes on the viewer: auto, smooth, fast, fastest (--quality). Prefer auto unless you are measuring.
• Encryption on is the default. --no-crypto / -n turns all crypto off (lab/LAN): no SPA, no AEAD. Identity auth still runs.
• --no-knock keeps TCP AEAD but skips the UDP SPA knock (firewalled LAN that already allows the TCP port).
• Standing prefs toggles match those CLI modes so a saved profile does not surprise you.

Stopping Apps and the Daemon

• Close a remoted window: WM_DELETE goes to the published app.
• Ctrl-C on the CLI viewer: BYE, detach; owned dummy-X apps can stay up for later reattach.
• cythrough --stop --connect HOST ... : AUTH then SESSION_STOP (kill all owned apps for the user).
• cythrough --stop --app NAME ... : APP_KILL for one app.
• Prefs: Options > Stop all apps (near Restart Server); Running right-click Kill.
• cythroughd --reap-orphans: sweep leftover dummy Xvfb for this uid only (not Xorg, not someone else's VNC).

Restart Server from prefs stops and starts cythroughd using the conf it manages. Prefer --foreground in a terminal while debugging.