Contents

Getting Started

Install

Grab the package for your platform from the download page. Current beta: Apple Silicon .dmg for macOS (macOS 12 or later), .AppImage or .deb for Linux (x64), and .exe for Windows (Windows 10 1809 or later, when a build is published).

  • The AppImage needs chmod +x before you run it.
  • Poter does not require an account. An account only affects community sites in Discover and looking friends up by email or Poter ID — everything else works without one.
Poter's download manager
Poter's download manager

First launch

The first launch shows four intro cards: identity, downloads, P2P file storage, and publishing to deWeb. Click Got it! when you are done. Those cards only explain the product — they do not create an identity.

Create or restore an identity yourself under Settings → Identity. The P2P engine already has a local Peer ID, but without a recovery-phrase identity this device cannot issue a device certificate, and others will not accept its chat keys.

If you have never created or restored an identity, opening Chats is blocked with the title Chat needs an identity and a button Open Settings.

Write the 12 words down and keep them offline the moment you create an identity. Losing the phrase means losing this identity permanently, along with every chat, note and published site attached to it. On a second computer use Restore — do not click Create identity again.

Unlock your identity on every launch

This is the easiest trap to fall into: your identity lives in memory only and is locked again when you quit the app. It is still on disk, but nothing gets loaded until you enter your identity passphrase.

While it is locked, note sync, shared notes, comments and registering this device in the multi-device list all fail — and the interface looks completely normal. Chat does not block an identity that already exists on disk but is locked — once the device certificate is in the room, peers still accept this device. The chat page only blocks you if there is no identity at all.

  1. Open Settings → Identity.
  2. Click Unlock and enter the passphrase you set when you created the identity.
  3. Sync with your other devices starts as soon as it unlocks.

An error reading "this device has an identity but it is locked" is exactly this situation; "this device has no identity" means you have not created or restored one yet. Both tell you what to do next.

P2P connection status

The sidebar shows whether P2P is connected. This is about your node's link to the peer-to-peer network, not whether you have internet access.

While P2P is offline, file sharing, chat, deWeb and note sync are all unavailable — plain HTTP and BitTorrent downloads still work. If a feature "does nothing when clicked", check here first.

A tour of the interface

The left sidebar holds the main areas, top to bottom:

  • Downloads — HTTP, BitTorrent and magnet links, plus IPFS and Poter P2P links.
  • Files — your local P2P file library, shareable with others.
  • DeWeb — build and publish decentralized sites.
  • Chat — end-to-end encrypted peer-to-peer messaging and voice.
  • Notes — local-first notes that sync across devices and publish as web pages.
  • Discover — browse local, P2P and community sites, and manage subscriptions.
  • Settings — network, identity, downloads, appearance, notifications, updates, language, account, data, help.

Press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows) to search notes, files, contacts and sites.