Install WoHo Server

Requirements

• Linux x86-64 with systemd (Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, RHEL 8+)
• 512 MB RAM
• Port 8080 reachable by admins — put a reverse proxy with HTTPS in front of it — and port 9000 reachable by the managed machines
• A TLS certificate for the hostname agents will connect to, or -tunnel-insecure for a local trial

Install

1. Download the binary

   curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/woho https://woho.cesbo.com/server-latest
   chmod +x /usr/local/bin/woho
   woho -version

2. Create the service user and data directory

   useradd --system --no-create-home --shell /usr/sbin/nologin woho
   mkdir -p /var/lib/woho
   chown woho:woho /var/lib/woho

3. Write the config file

   config init writes /etc/woho/woho-server.yaml with every setting, commented, plus the flags you pass.

   Production, with a trusted certificate for the hostname agents connect to (the woho user must be able to read both files):

   woho config init \
       -tls-cert /path/to/fullchain.pem \
       -tls-key /path/to/privkey.pem \
       -rp-id woho.example.com -rp-origin https://woho.example.com

   Local trial only, no TLS:

   woho config init -tunnel-insecure

   -tunnel-insecure runs the agent tunnel in cleartext

   Connection keys, sudo passwords, file contents and terminal I/O cross the network unencrypted. Every agent must then be installed with -insecure. WoHo never falls back from TLS to plaintext on its own.

   The server will not start without one of the two. See Server Configuration for the full schema.

4. Check the file

   woho config check -config /etc/woho/woho-server.yaml

   Prints every setting and where its value comes from, and exits non-zero on any problem. It also prints the certificate’s SPKI pin, which agents need when the certificate is not publicly trusted.

systemd Service

1. Create /etc/systemd/system/woho-server.service

   [Unit]
   Description=WoHo Remote Support Server
   After=network-online.target
   Wants=network-online.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   User=woho
   Group=woho
   WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/woho
   ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/woho -config /etc/woho/woho-server.yaml
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=5
   NoNewPrivileges=true
   ProtectSystem=strict
   ProtectHome=true
   ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/woho
   PrivateTmp=true
   LimitNOFILE=65535
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

   Every setting lives in the config file. A flag added to ExecStart would override the file and make it misleading.

2. Enable and start

   systemctl daemon-reload
   systemctl enable --now woho-server
   systemctl status woho-server

First Login

Open http://your-server:8080 and sign in as admin / admin.

The default password is public

Until it is changed, anyone who can reach the panel can log in and set it. Do the first login on a trusted network or behind the firewall, then expose the panel.

The first login lands on Account & security, and nothing else works until a new password is set:

1. Enter admin under Current Password.

2. Enter a new password — 8 to 128 characters, different from the current one — twice.

3. Click Change Password. You are signed out; sign in again with the new password.

Then open Settings → Connection keys and set Server Domain to the host and tunnel port agents connect to (woho.example.com:9000) and Client Download URL to where the agent binary is published. The panel needs both to build the agent install command.

Locked out with no other admin

The bootstrap account is created only while no admin exists. Delete the row and restart, and it is seeded again with the same forced change:

sqlite3 /var/lib/woho/woho.db "DELETE FROM admin_users WHERE username = 'admin';"
systemctl restart woho-server

Next Steps

• Install the agent on the machines you want to reach
• Put the panel behind HTTPS and set rp_id / rp_origin for passkeys
• Set a proxy domain so Web tabs get their own origin
• Register a passkey for your account

Updating

systemctl stop woho-server
curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/woho https://woho.cesbo.com/server-latest
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/woho
systemctl start woho-server

The database and config file are preserved; migrations run on start. The changelog says for each release whether the agents need updating too. Agents can be updated from the panel.

Building from Source

The web UI is embedded into the binary at compile time.

git clone https://github.com/cesbo/woho.git
cd woho
npm install
npm run build:prod
go build -o bin/woho-server ./cmd/server