Skip to content

Getting Started

Get qbee-connect installed and establish your first remote connection in under 5 minutes.

Installation

Install qbee-connect on your computer to begin managing secure remote connections to your Qbee.io devices.

System Requirements

Platform Minimum Version Architecture
Windows Windows 10 or later x86_64
Linux Ubuntu 20.04 or equivalent x86_64, arm64
macOS macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later x86_64, Apple Silicon (arm64)

Network Requirements

qbee-connect requires outbound network access to communicate with the Qbee.io platform.

Requirement Details
Protocol HTTPS (TLS 1.2 or later)
Destination Qbee.io API servers
Port 443 (outbound)

No inbound ports need to be opened. All connections are initiated outbound from qbee-connect.


Download

All releases are published on the GitHub Releases page. Download the package that matches your operating system and architecture.


Install

Windows

  1. Download the .msi installer from the GitHub Releases page.
  2. Double-click the downloaded .msi file to launch the installer.
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
  4. Once the installer finishes, qbee-connect is available from the Start menu.

Linux

Download the .deb or .rpm package from the GitHub Releases page, then install it with your package manager.

Debian / Ubuntu (.deb):

sudo dpkg -i qbee-connect_*.deb

Fedora / RHEL (.rpm):

sudo rpm -i qbee-connect-*.rpm

After installation, qbee-connect is available from your application launcher or by running qbee-connect in a terminal.

macOS

  1. Download the .dmg file from the GitHub Releases page.
  2. Open the downloaded .dmg file.
  3. Drag the qbee-connect icon into the Applications folder.
  4. Eject the disk image.
  5. Open qbee-connect from Applications or Launchpad.

Note

On first launch, macOS may display a security prompt because the app is downloaded from the internet. Click Open to proceed.


Verify the Installation

Launch qbee-connect from your application menu, Start menu, or terminal. The application's main window should appear, displaying a Log In button. This confirms that qbee-connect is installed correctly.


Establish Your First Connection

Prerequisites

  • A Qbee account (Login / Register)
  • qbee-connect installed on your computer
  • At least one device in your inventory that is online

Connection Workflow

The first-connection workflow:

1. Launch qbee-connect from your application menu or terminal.

2. Click Log In in the main window and complete the OAuth2 browser authentication flow.

Note

For detailed authentication options (account switching, logout), see Managing Application → Authentication.

3. A dialog appears with a verification link and a user code. Click the link to open the Qbee.io authorization page in your browser. Enter the displayed user code and authorize access.

4. Return to qbee-connect. Once authentication completes, the device table loads automatically with your device inventory.

Device table in qbee-connect

5. Find your target device in the device table. Use the search bar at the top to filter by device name if needed.

6. Click the settings icon (⚙) on the device row to open the connection configuration dialog.

Connection configuration dialog in qbee-connect

7. Configure the connection. In the dialog, select SSH from the Type dropdown. This sets Remote Port to 22 and Protocol to tcp automatically.

Connection dialog with SSH configuration

8. Click Save & Connect. The dialog closes and qbee-connect establishes the port-forwarding tunnel. The device table updates to show the active connection.

Device table showing active connections

9. Click the Active (1) tab to view all active tunnels and their port mappings.

Active connections view in qbee-connect

10. Connect via SSH. Open a terminal and connect using the local port shown in qbee-connect:

ssh -p <local-port> user@localhost

Replace <local-port> with the port number assigned by qbee-connect and user with your device's SSH username.

Congratulations!

You've established your first remote connection through qbee-connect. The SSH tunnel is now active, and you can interact with your remote device as if it were connected directly.


Upgrading

To upgrade qbee-connect to a newer version:

  1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
  2. Install following the platform-specific instructions above

Note

Your existing connections and credentials will be preserved during the upgrade.


See Also

Intent Document
Browse my devices Devices & Connections → Finding Devices
Open a connection to a device Devices & Connections → Creating Connections
Log in to qbee-connect Managing the Application → Authentication
Use the system tray Managing the Application → System Tray
Understand how tunneling works Overview → How qbee-connect Works
Troubleshoot a connection issue Troubleshooting