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VPN Device Management

BenchPress supports persistent VPN device registration. Each device (laptop, phone, tablet) gets its own WireGuard identity that works across all your lab containers.

Why Register Devices?

Instead of getting a new WireGuard config every time you deploy a bench, you register your devices once and they can access all your containers automatically. Each device gets:

  • A persistent WireGuard keypair
  • A dedicated VPN IP address
  • A downloadable .conf file for the WireGuard app
  • A QR code for mobile import

Registering a New Device

Navigate to the Devices page

From the sidebar, click Devices.

Devices page

Click "Add Device"

A dialog appears with the following fields:

Field Required Description
Device Name Yes A friendly name for your device (e.g., "My MacBook")
Device Type Yes The type of device: Mobile, Laptop, Desktop, Tablet, Server, IoT, Embedded
Auto Generate Keypair Default: checked Let BenchPress generate the WireGuard keys
WireGuard Public Key Only if auto-generate is unchecked Provide your own public key

Click Add Device to register.

Device Card

After registering, each device appears as a card showing:

Element Description
Device name The friendly name you chose
Type badge Device type (Laptop, Mobile, etc.)
Status Active (green) or inactive (gray)
WireGuard IP Allocated VPN IP (e.g., 10.10.0.3)
Received / Sent Data transfer stats from WireGuard

Getting Your WireGuard Config

Option 1: Show Configuration

Click the menu icon (three dots) on a device card and select Show Configuration.

A dialog opens with:

  • The full WireGuard config text (left side)
  • A QR code for mobile import (right side)

Option 2: Download Tunnel File

Click the menu icon and select Download Tunnel File. This downloads a .conf file that you can import directly into the WireGuard app on any platform.

Importing the config

Platform How to import
macOS WireGuard app → Import tunnel(s) from file → select .conf
Windows WireGuard app → Import tunnel(s) from file → select .conf
Linux Copy to /etc/wireguard/benchpress.conf → sudo wg-quick up benchpress
iOS WireGuard app → scan QR code from the config dialog
Android WireGuard app → scan QR code from the config dialog

Removing a Device

Click the menu icon on a device card and select Delete.

A confirmation dialog appears:

"Are you sure you want to remove [device_name]? This will revoke its VPN access immediately."

Click Remove Device to confirm. This will:

  1. Remove the WireGuard peer from the server
  2. Deallocate the VPN IP
  3. Delete the Bench Device doc

After removal, the device can no longer connect to any bench containers via VPN.

Multiple Devices

You can register as many devices as you need. Common setups:

Device Use Case
Work Laptop Primary development via SSH + VS Code
Personal Laptop Backup access
Mobile Phone Quick checks via WireGuard app + browser
Tablet Testing responsive layouts

Each device gets its own IP and can access all your running bench containers simultaneously.

Troubleshooting

Device shows as inactive

  • Check that the WireGuard tunnel is active on the device
  • Verify the server endpoint IP is correct in the config

Cannot connect after registering

  1. Download a fresh config file (the config may have been generated before WireGuard server was fully set up)
  2. Verify the server's UDP port 51820 is open: sudo ufw status
  3. Check the WireGuard server is running: sudo wg show wg0

QR code not scanning

  • Ensure your phone camera can see the entire QR code
  • Try increasing screen brightness
  • Use the "Download Tunnel File" option instead and transfer via AirDrop/email

Next Steps
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