Configuring headless clients

Configuring the client to run in a headless mode for Windows

Configuring PowerFolder to run in a headless mode as a system service on Windows is straightforward:

1. Create a user account for PowerFolder in the web interface of the server, if not already done.
2. Download, install and start PowerFolder using an administrative account. The administrative account is required to install PowerFolder as a system service.
3. Enter the user account name and password to activate the client.
4. Click on Preferences > Plugins.
5. Select System Service and click on Enable.
6. Select System Service and click on Configure.
7. Click on Install and then on OK.
8. Close PowerFolder.
    Closing the PowerFolder user interface after configuring it as a system service should automatically take care of starting PowerFolder as a system service.
   
   

Configuring the client to run in a headless mode for Linux

Configuring PowerFolder to run in a headless mode as background process on Linux requires an existing PowerFolder.config file, which includes the relevant information to connect to the server:

1. Create a user account for PowerFolder in the web interface of the server, if not already done.
2. Follow Step 1 & 2 from our Installing on Linux Guide. Tough we are not installing a server, the first two steps are the same for installing a client.
3. Create a sub-directory called /powerfolder in the home directory of the dedicated user for PowerFolder.
4. Download and extract the latest PowerFolder Linux .tar.gz package file into the directory created in the step before.

5. Create a PowerFolder.config file in the same directory with the contents below:

   PowerFolder.config

   config.url=http://powerfolder.example.com:8080
   nick=
   server.connect.username=username
   server.connect.password=password

    Replace the value for config.url with the URL of the PowerFolder Server web interface.
    Replace the value for server.connect.username and server.connect.password with the username and password created in the first step.
    Replace the value for nick with a name under which the device should appear in the web interface. 

6. Change file permissions for the PowerFolder-Client.sh file:

   chmod +x PowerFolder-Client.sh

7. Execute the PowerFolder.sh file:

   ./PowerFolder-Client.sh start

 PowerFolder should now start and connect to the server specified in the config.url parameter. Click on Devices in the web interface to see if the client connected successfully to the server. If that is the case, it should be listed there. 

 If the client doesn't show up in the web interface of the server, add the line verbose=true to the PowerFolder.config file. PowerFolder will then generate logs in a sub-directory called /logs, where errors are listed.