Silip App

Getting started

Silip App provides local rooms and native screen capture through the Silip web interface in your system Browser.

Run A Package

For Android APK installation and the shared browser workflow, follow Getting started. The package, terminal and command-line instructions below apply to desktop App.

Extract the matching platform bundle in full. On Windows and Linux, keep runtime beside the App executable and run silip-app.exe or ./silip-app. On macOS, open Silip App.app; you can move the whole .app to Applications. The launcher opens in the system Browser. If macOS blocks the first launch, follow the Mac opening steps. Linux native capture uses the system dependencies described in the Linux capture guide.

If the page does not open automatically, open the address shown in the terminal or press O there to retry. Keep the App running while using that page.

macOS native capture requires macOS 13 or newer. Windows App and browser sharing are the primary tested paths; macOS/Linux feedback is welcome at support@silip.tech.

Modes

Choose Local room or Public invite, then Open Silip, to start a room service. To supply capture to an existing site, leave the launcher open and approve that site.

App remembers the last confirmed room mode. On first use, Public invite is selected and waits for confirmation. A starred site opens on startup instead.

The launcher does not check for updates. Follow the upgrade steps to replace App with a newer build.

Local Room

Choose Local room for a reachable LAN. Rooms last for this App run.

App selects a sole active address or sole private IPv4 automatically. When several are available, choose Local invitation address in the launcher. For a virtual LAN, choose its virtual IPv4.

Friends use the HTTPS invitation on that address; the Host uses the local loopback page. On first access, friends must confirm the certificate against the App terminal. Repeat confirmation after App restarts.

Public Invite

Choose Public invite, create a room in the opened browser, and send its invitation. The packaged Cloudflare Tunnel helper supplies a temporary trycloudflare.com HTTPS address. It expires when App closes; a later run gets a new address. For a permanent address, use a configured Silip site.

Local and Public invite use P2P picture and sound, outside the web tunnel. They need a usable UDP media path and provide no server media forwarding (SFU) or TURN relay. If the tunnel or media fails, use the network checks and public-invitation checks.

Public invite uses Cloudflare, Google and Twilio STUN services to discover reachable addresses; the second and third also form the NAT-prediction survey. Each contacted operator can see your public IP, port and request timing; these requests contain no media, chat or room password. To choose your own STUN services for public invitations, set SILIP_STUN_URLS before starting App; see App configuration. An approved Site supplies its own STUN_URLS; App Local rooms configure no public STUN.

Approved Site

Keep App running, click App at the top of the Silip site, and confirm its address on the local approval page. See the connection steps.

The launcher lists approved sites:

• Click a site to open it. × revokes its App connections while other sites and Local rooms continue.
• ☆ selects one site to open on startup. Clear the star to restore the launcher; revoking the starred site also clears it. Approving another site keeps existing approvals.
• Click a connected site's App button to reopen the launcher, or use the App launcher address in the terminal.

The browser remembers activation. Reconnect after changing browsers, using a private window or clearing site data. A new public-invite address needs its own approval. The site continues to own its rooms and enabled SFU forwarding.

Capture

The Host page offers Browser and Camera capture alongside available native windows or screens; select the source explicitly. Windows native capture offers VP8/Auto/H264; Auto chooses one codec for the share. macOS and Linux native capture require hardware H264. Source and audio support vary by platform; their setup is covered in the Windows, macOS and Linux capture guides. Adjust native capture through Sharing settings.

When the Windows App's capture runtime supports it, the Apps / Windows and Screens tabs offer Show capture border, off by default. Change it when selecting or switching a source; the Host page remembers your choice. Windows 10, system policy or another active capture can keep the yellow border visible; sharing remains available. See capture-border troubleshooting for an optional Windows 10 workaround.

Configuration And Command Line

The App configuration keeps an optional Local site passphrase. Leave it blank for an open Local site, or enter a password in the launcher before starting. Viewer invitations grant access to their room independently; see rooms and access.

For saved preferences, configuration paths and environment variables, see App configuration. To bypass the launcher in development or automation, select a mode explicitly:

Flag	Mode
--local	Local room; add --lan-address <address> when several LAN addresses are possible
--link	Temporary Public invite
--site <origin>	Save and open a Silip Site

Upgrading

App and site must use the same major version; 2.x and 1.x cannot be used together. Different 2.x versions preserve established sharing and viewing. New features require support from the relevant App and site.

1. Download the latest App from the Silip website.
2. For Local room or Public invite, stop sharing, close App and extract the complete new package. Start it and send a fresh invitation.
3. For a group's site, the administrator updates Server first. Then update connected Apps and refresh all sharing/viewing pages.

Restarting App or Server interrupts active shares.

Terminal And Shutdown

The terminal shows the current mode, entry links and startup state; its language follows the launcher and App-enabled pages. Press o to reopen the Browser, or q / Ctrl+C to end Local rooms and stop the local server and temporary public link. Plain-text output uses Ctrl+C. The Linux desktop entry also opens this terminal. The App keeps running after a Site tab closes. When launched in its own Windows console, a startup or runtime error leaves the error visible until Enter is pressed. Normal shutdown, existing terminals and redirected or automated runs exit directly.

Troubleshooting

Chromium WebRTC Connections

Browser settings, extensions or managed policies can block WebRTC UDP, including the local Browser-to-App media connection. Follow the documentation center's browser WebRTC checks. For codec-specific failures, see Windows H264 troubleshooting.

Diagnostics

Enable Debug launch in the launcher before starting a room or connecting a Site, reproduce the problem, then press D in the interactive terminal to export a local ZIP. Use --debug for failures before the selector opens. Exporting does not stop the share or upload the archive. For Browser diagnostics, open Help → Debug after the theme control, confirm the reload, then use Help → Web report to download. For cooperation failures, include both reports from the same reproduction. The diagnostic reference owns log locations, export commands, retention and privacy boundaries.

For Developers

App development covers source builds, packaging, desktop icons and validation gates. Deployment covers maintained release publication.