Guide/Licence and extras
Control it from anywhere
LeanBot can be used from any browser, anywhere: your phone on mobile data, your laptop at work, another PC. You get the full LeanBot: the dashboard, the live map, every setting and the log. The layout folds to fit a small screen.
Most people run LeanBot on a VPS (a Windows computer you rent online that stays on day and night) and check on it from their phone.
Step 1: set a password
Do this first. Without a password, LeanBot turns every other device away. With a weak one, anyone who finds your address can run your accounts and read their passwords.
- On the computer where LeanBot runs (for a VPS: connect with Remote Desktop), open LeanBot.
- Click Access at the top.
- Type a long password (at least 8 characters) twice and press Set it. Use something you don't use anywhere else. On a narrow window, Access is in the ☰ menu.
Step 2: let the connection through
LeanBot listens on port 5210. Windows and your VPS provider may block it until you allow it.
- Windows Firewall: the first time LeanBot opens, Windows may ask whether to allow it on the network. Tick the boxes and press Allow access.
If it didn't ask, or you said no: open Windows Defender Firewall → Advanced settings → Inbound Rules → New Rule… → Port → TCP,
5210→ Allow the connection → give it a name like "LeanBot". - Your VPS provider's firewall: some providers have their own firewall in their control panel. If yours does, allow incoming TCP 5210 there too.
- At home instead of a VPS? On your home Wi-Fi it works straight away. To reach it from outside, see Running it at home.
Step 3: open it on your phone
- Find your VPS's IP address. It's the address you use for Remote Desktop, and it's in your provider's control panel.
- On your phone, open the browser and go to
http://+ that address +:5210. For examplehttp://YOUR-VPS-IP:5210. - Type your password. Done. Add it to your home screen for one-tap access.
The address on the right of the thin line under LeanBot's top bar is the computer's own network address. At home that's the one to use on your Wi-Fi. On a VPS it's often a private address that won't work from your phone: use the IP from your provider's control panel instead.
Good to know
| Staying signed in | Thirty days per device, renewed each time you visit. Restarting LeanBot doesn't sign you out. |
| Changing the password | Also on Access, with Change it (you type the current one first). Every browser is signed out, including the one you're using. The LeanBot window itself never asks for the password. |
| Wrong passwords | Each try takes a second, so nobody can try thousands. |
| Keep the VPS running LeanBot | Close Remote Desktop with the X, don't sign out of Windows, or LeanBot closes with your session. Switch on Autostart (⟳) on your accounts so they come back by themselves after an update. |
The connection is not encrypted (it's http://, not https://). On networks you don't trust, like public Wi-Fi, someone on the same network could see your LeanBot password. Use mobile data there, or the safer option below.
Even safer: a private network (optional)
A free app like Tailscale links your phone and your VPS in a private, encrypted network. Then:
- you don't need to open port 5210 to the internet at all, and
- the connection is encrypted, even on public Wi-Fi.
Install Tailscale on the VPS and on your phone, sign in to both with the same account, and open http:// + the VPS's Tailscale address + :5210 instead. You still need the LeanBot password.
Running it at home
On your home Wi-Fi, use the PC's address (it looks like http://192.168.x.x:5210). To reach a home PC from outside, the simple and safe way is the same private network app (Tailscale) on the PC and your phone. Opening port 5210 on your home router also works, but then your password is the only thing protecting it and it travels unencrypted, so we don't recommend it.