exe.dev

Run ThinkFleet Gateway on exe.dev (VM + HTTPS proxy) for remote access

exe.dev

Goal: ThinkFleet Gateway running on an exe.dev VM, reachable from your laptop via: https://<vm-name>.exe.xyz

This page assumes exe.dev's default exeuntu image. If you picked a different distro, map packages accordingly.

Beginner quick path

https://exe.new/thinkfleetbot
Fill in your auth key/token as needed
Click on "Agent" next to your VM, and wait...
???
Profit

What you need

exe.dev account
ssh exe.dev access to exe.dev virtual machines (optional)

Automated Install with Shelley

Shelley, exe.dev's agent, can install ThinkFleet instantly with our prompt. The prompt used is as below:

Set up ThinkFleetBot (https://docs.thinkfleet.dev/install) on this VM. Use the non-interactive and accept-risk flags for thinkfleetbot onboarding. Add the supplied auth or token as needed. Configure nginx to forward from the default port 18789 to the root location on the default enabled site config, making sure to enable Websocket support. Pairing is done by "thinkfleetbot devices list" and "thinkfleetbot device approve <request id>". Make sure the dashboard shows that ThinkFleetBot's health is OK. exe.dev handles forwarding from port 8000 to port 80/443 and HTTPS for us, so the final "reachable" should be <vm-name>.exe.xyz, without port specification.

Manual installation

1) Create the VM

From your device:

ssh exe.dev new

Then connect:

ssh <vm-name>.exe.xyz

Tip: keep this VM stateful. ThinkFleet stores state under ~/.thinkfleetbot/ and ~/thinkfleet/.

2) Install prerequisites (on the VM)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y git curl jq ca-certificates openssl

3) Install ThinkFleet

Run the ThinkFleet install script:

curl -fsSL https://thinkfleet.dev/install.sh | bash

4) Setup nginx to proxy ThinkFleet to port 8000

Edit /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default with

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;
    listen 8000;
    listen [::]:8000;

    server_name _;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:18789;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;

        # WebSocket support
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

        # Standard proxy headers
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

        # Timeout settings for long-lived connections
        proxy_read_timeout 86400s;
        proxy_send_timeout 86400s;
    }
}

5) Access ThinkFleet and grant privileges

Access https://<vm-name>.exe.xyz/?token=YOUR-TOKEN-FROM-TERMINAL. Approve devices with thinkfleetbot devices list and thinkfleetbot device approve. When in doubt, use Shelley from your browser!

Remote Access

Remote access is handled by exe.dev's authentication. By default, HTTP traffic from port 8000 is forwarded to https://<vm-name>.exe.xyz with email auth.

Updating

npm i -g thinkfleetbot@latest
thinkfleetbot doctor
thinkfleetbot gateway restart
thinkfleetbot health

Guide: Updating

exe.dev

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