Pairing

Pairing adds a server to your panel in three steps:

1. On the server, open MiniControl and choose This Mac is a server. It stays in the menu bar so it can be paired with later.
2. On the Mac you’ll use, choose Control my Macs. It lists the servers it finds, at home or over Tailscale. Click Pair.
3. Both Macs show the same six-digit code. On the server, check it and click Allow.

That’s it: the server is in your panel.

What pairing sets up

• This Mac’s own key (~/.ssh/minicontrol_ed25519) goes into the server’s authorized_keys.
• The server’s host key is pinned in ~/.ssh/minicontrol_known_hosts.
• ~/.ssh/config gets Host blocks: one over Tailscale and one on your home network, so Terminal and your code editor use them too. The old file is kept as config.bak.

The server lists paired devices in Settings → This Mac. Remove takes a device’s key out again and closes its open sessions.

Why the code is safe

The code comes from both sides’ keys and random values, so someone in between would show a different code on each screen. The device commits to its value before it sees the server’s, so nobody in between can keep trying until the codes match.

Pairing uses TCP port 47474, advertised over Bonjour as _minicontrol._tcp. Both Macs need the same pairing version: an older MiniControl is told to update.

Without pairing

You can also add a Mac you already reach with ssh <host>: see SSH and your config.