Desktop and local gateway

Opening Jian starts its built-in gateway automatically. You do not need Docker, a separately installed PostgreSQL server, or a gateway login for this local installation. The app creates the local credentials and opens the panel against it.

First launchCopy Anchor Link

1. Install and open Jian.
2. Follow Welcome to connect a provider and select or create an agent.
3. Start a conversation in This computer, the local gateway.

Welcome completion is remembered per browser or desktop installation. It can be reopened from Settings → General → Show onboarding. Provider and agent availability comes from the selected gateway.

What starts in the backgroundCopy Anchor Link

The app launches the gateway in an Electron utility process. That process opens an embedded PGlite database and uses a local executor for runs. It listens only on 127.0.0.1 and is authenticated with a token the app supplies automatically.

The local address is kept stable across launches because GitHub and MCP sign-in callbacks can depend on it. If another application takes the port, Jian can choose another address and asks you to reconnect affected sign-ins.

Local data and credentialsCopy Anchor Link

Within Electron's application userData directory, Jian keeps:

userData/
  gateway/
    database/       Embedded gateway database
    workspaces/     Agent workspaces
  local-gateway.json

The exact base directory depends on the OS and app installation. local-gateway.json contains the local gateway token and encryption key, normally sealed using the OS credential storage. On Linux without an available keyring, the implementation falls back to an owner-readable file. Protect the whole application data directory and its OS account.

This directory is not the owner's normal home directory. Gateway shell commands work in agent workspaces, not automatically in your Documents folder. For full desktop and local-user machine access, understand Jian Remote and Computer Use.

Closing the window versus quittingCopy Anchor Link

Closing a window is not necessarily quitting the application. On Windows and Linux, Jian remains in the notification area; use its menu to quit. When the application actually quits, it asks the local gateway to shut down cleanly. Local agent work and schedules cannot continue after that process stops, or while the computer is asleep.

A remote server gateway remains independent of the desktop client's lifetime. Its work can continue when you quit the app, although tasks requiring this computer's app-managed worker can no longer use it.

Failures and logsCopy Anchor Link

The local gateway writes to local-gateway.log in the app's log directory. If it exits before becoming ready, Jian shows the reason with Try again now and Show the log. Unexpected exits are retried with increasing delays, up to one minute.

Start with that log for startup failures. Deleting the database or credentials is not a normal recovery step: they contain state and the key needed to read stored secrets.

What local mode does not provideCopy Anchor Link

Messaging channel setup is disabled because a personal computer is not assumed to remain available for incoming messages. Use a server gateway for WhatsApp, Telegram, or API channels. The loopback listener is not a supported substitute for exposing the desktop's private gateway as a public service.

Implementation referenceCopy Anchor Link

Local process lifecycle and local credential storage.