macchina.io REMOTE provides secure remote access to connected devices via HTTP or other TCP-based protocols and applications such as secure shell (SSH) or Virtual Network Computing (VNC). With macchina.io REMOTE, any network-connected device running the macchina.io REMOTE Device Agent software (WebTunnelAgent) can be securely accessed remotely over the internet from browsers, mobile apps, desktop, server or cloud applications.
This even works if the device is behind a NAT router, firewall or proxy server. The device becomes just another host on the internet, addressable via its own URL and protected by the macchina.io REMOTE server against unauthorized or malicious access. macchina.io REMOTE is a great solution for secure remote support and maintenance, as well as for providing secure remote access to devices for end-users via web or mobile apps.
Visit macchina.io/remote to learn more and to register for a free account. Specifically, see the Getting Started page and the Frequently Asked Questions for information on how to use the macchina.io REMOTE device agent.
There is also a blog post showing step-by-step instructions to connect a Raspberry Pi.
This repository contains a documentation and sample configuration files to customize the web user interface of macchina.io REMOTE server deployed in a Docker container.
You should already be familiar with setting up a Docker container for the macchina.io REMOTE server, as described in the following repositories:
- https://github.com/my-devices/meta-reflector-docker
- https://github.com/my-devices/meta-reflector-aws
The changes described in this repository must be applied to one of the above repositories.
The web user interface of macchina.io REMOTE server can be customized by providing a so-called extension bundle, which will:
- provide a custom stylesheet
- provide a custom logo
- customize certain other aspects of the web user interface by overriding default configuration settings
- provide user interface text in a different language
Please see the macchina.io REMOTE Server Set-Up and Administration Guide, section 5.7.4 - Changing the Style and Branding of the Default Web User Interface, for detailed information about customizing the web user interface.
The key point is to create an extension bundle containing the necessary resources
and meta-data. Unlike the example in the manual, which creates the extension bundle
manually using a Zip utility, with Docker, the bundle can be created with the
BundleCreator utility (bundle) included in the Docker image. To do so, the
Dockerfile must be extended to copy the bundle sources into the build image
and run the bundle utility to create the bundle and copy it to the
/home/reflector/lib/bundles directory, where it will be picked up by
the server.
The sources for the bundle have been added to the reflector directory
in the repository. The following files and directories have been added:
branding: directory containing all resourcesbranding/branding.bndlspec: An XML file containing bundle metadata. The file can be left as is.branding/bundle: directory containing the bundle resources (properties, stylesheet, images, ...).branding/bundle/bundle.properties: configuration properties, as well as text for the user interface. This can be changed as desired.branding/bundle/css/customstyles.css: custom stylesheet for web user interface. This can be changed as desired.branding/bundle/images/custom-logo.png: custom logo (references fromcustomstyles.css). This can be replaced with your own logo.
In addition, two commands have been added to the Dockerfile:
COPY branding /home/reflector/branding
RUN cd /home/reflector/branding && bundle -o/home/reflector/lib/bundles branding.bndlspec
The first command copies the extension bundle sources to the Docker image, and the
second command runs the bundle command to generate a bundle file
(net.my-devices.reflector.custom-branding.bndl) in the /home/reflector/lib/bundles
directory.