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The Oda web interface

DataMind Oda can serve its interface to a browser on your computer, as the web mode, from a web server built into the app. It is the same Oda: your chats, models and settings are all there, and nothing needs installing beyond DataMind Oda itself. This page is the reference for starting it, the addresses it prints and how a browser signs in; for the walkthrough, see Oda in the browser, and to work in a chat there, see Chat with Oda.

Start the web mode

Open a terminal on the computer where Oda runs.
Start the web mode:
sh
```
oda --profile web
```
Oda serves the interface, prints its address, and opens that address in your default browser. The interface runs until you stop it.

Add options to the start command:

Option	What it does
`--host <host>`	Binds the interface to this host. Oda refuses to bind all network interfaces.
`--port <port>`	Listens on this port; `--port 0` lets the system pick a free one.
`--trusted-host <authority>`	Accepts an extra host, or host and port, for the interface's browser checks; repeat the option for more than one.
`--no-open`	Starts without opening a browser.

When you leave the options out, Oda binds 127.0.0.1, listens on port 3080, opens your default browser, and trusts no extra hosts.

Oda profiles and launchers covers profiles in general, and Command line and flags covers how a flag wins over the configuration.

What Oda prints

The address line gives the command name, then <address>. When the start has a local-network address, the same line adds it in a (LAN: <address>) part. Both addresses carry the sign-in token.
When Oda hands off to your browser, it says so with a line ending opening the default browser; pass --no-open to disable. Over a remote connection, it prints the address and skips the handoff.
The address prints once the interface is ready to serve; a start that cannot serve prints no address.
Responses are compressed with gzip once they pass 1024 bytes, so pages open quickly.
If Oda cannot open a browser, it keeps serving and points you to the printed address with a line that starts web-app: could not open the default browser because <reason> and asks you to use the address printed at startup.
If the interface cannot find its page files, the start stops with a message that the built interface is not resolvable, instead of serving an empty page.

Where the interface can be reached

By default Oda serves the interface to this computer only: the address uses 127.0.0.1 and port 3080.
Oda refuses to bind all network interfaces. A start with --host 0.0.0.0 fails before serving, with error: --host 0.0.0.0 is intentionally not supported yet for safety: it would expose remote code execution to the network; use 127.0.0.1 instead.
Oda reads the computer's local network addresses once, when it starts; a start that has one prints it in the (LAN: ...) part and accepts it. If your addresses change while the interface runs, restart it to read them again.
To reach the interface under another hostname, add it with --trusted-host.

How a browser signs in

Each start of the web mode mints a fresh sign-in token, and the printed address carries it.
Opening that exact address once exchanges the token for a signed cookie kept by that browser, and the page reloads at the same address without the token. Later visits from that browser open the interface directly.
There is no password to type. The sign-in is kept in the browser that opened the printed address, so open it once in each browser you want to use.
A browser that has not signed in yet gets a plain page instead of the app: Sign-in required; reopen the address the server printed when it started. Opening the app's address without the token does not sign a browser in.
The token belongs to one start: an address from an earlier start does not sign a new browser in. A browser that has already signed in keeps working after a restart.

What the address serves

The interface is one page, at the address Oda printed, served with the app's own files (scripts, styles and images) from DataMind Oda's folder on this computer. Open that address, then navigate inside the app; a chat or a screen has no address of its own.
Only those files are served: an address that tries to leave the app's folder is refused, so the address cannot reach other files on the computer.
An address the interface does not serve answers not found or an empty page instead of opening the app, so a mistyped or stale address fails clearly.
The app page asks for the sign-in; the app's own files are served without it.

Warning

Keep the web interface on this computer or on a network you trust. The server adds no encryption of its own, and anything under its address that is not behind the browser sign-in is public to whoever can reach it.

If the page will not load

The page shows	What it means and what to do
`Sign-in required; reopen the address the server printed when it started.`	This browser has not signed in yet. Reopen the exact address from the latest start; if you no longer have it, start the web mode again and use the address it prints.
`not found` or an empty page	The address is not one the interface serves. Check it for a typo, then open the address Oda printed.

If the address does not open at all, the web mode is not running. Start it again; if its port is already in use, the web mode does not start and Oda shows why.

How Oda sees the browser session

While the interface serves a chat, Oda is told: You are interacting with the user through the DataMind Oda Web GUI at <address>.

"this page", "this GUI" and "this app" mean this interface.
"The browser provides no implicit DOM, route, or screenshot context." Oda works from the chat and its tools, not from what you see on the page.
The interface's address is also handed to the shells Oda runs, described as the Canonical local URL of the DataMind Oda Web GUI serving this session, so a command can open or copy it.
Oda is told not to start a replacement server for the interface unless you ask.

Questions, answered

What does Oda print when the web interface starts?

The address line, the command name followed by <address>, with a (LAN: <address>) part when the start has a local-network address; both carry the sign-in token. When it hands off to your browser, it adds a line ending opening the default browser; pass --no-open to disable. The address prints once the interface is ready to serve.

What is the `(LAN: ...)` address?

A second address for the same interface over the local network, printed when the start has one. Oda reads the computer's network addresses once, when it starts, so restart the interface if they change.

Why did `--host 0.0.0.0` fail?

Oda refuses to bind all network interfaces. The start stops with error: --host 0.0.0.0 is intentionally not supported yet for safety: it would expose remote code execution to the network; use 127.0.0.1 instead. Keep the local address, and add any other hostname you reach the interface under with --trusted-host.

Which defaults apply when I add no options?

Host 127.0.0.1, port 3080, the default browser opens, and no extra hosts are trusted. To let the system pick a free port, pass --port 0.

How does a browser sign in the first time?

Opening the exact printed address once exchanges its one-time token for a signed cookie kept by that browser, and the page reloads without the token. There is no password to type, and after that the browser opens the interface directly.

Why does the page say the sign-in is required?

This browser has not been signed in yet. The page answers Sign-in required; reopen the address the server printed when it started., and reopening the exact address from the latest start signs the browser in.

Do I have to sign in again after a restart?

Not in a browser that has already signed in: the sign-in is kept in a cookie there, so you can bookmark the plain address. Each start mints a fresh token, so to sign a new browser in, use the address from the latest start.

Do I have to open the printed address in every browser?

Yes. The sign-in is kept in the browser that opened the printed address, so open it in each browser you want to use.

What does `not found` mean?

You opened an address the interface does not serve. Check it for a typo, then open the address Oda printed. A chat or a screen has no address of its own: open the printed address and navigate inside the app.

Can the server reach other files on my computer?

No. It serves the app page and the app's own files from the app's folder, and nothing else. An address that tries to reach outside the folder is refused instead of served.

Is the web interface encrypted?

The server adds no encryption of its own, and the files the page is built from are served without the sign-in. Keep it on this computer, or use it only over a network you trust.

Is the web interface the same as the browser in a chat?

No. The browser in a chat's side panel is where you and Oda work on web pages together, covered by The browser in Oda. The web interface is Oda's own interface, served to a browser on this computer.