Connect devices with Wendy Net

Wendy Net connects nearby WendyOS devices so applications can communicate across several devices, including through an intermediate device. Start with Ethernet or ordinary Wi-Fi; Bluetooth is useful when a faster connection is unavailable.

1. Prepare your devices

Use current WendyOS images with Wendy Net support and enroll each device in the same Wendy Cloud organization. Sign in with wendy cloud login. Keep a working management connection while changing network settings.

2. Enable the connections you want

For devices on the same Ethernet or ordinary Wi-Fi network, run this for each one:

wendy device wendy-net configure --device <device> \
  --participate=true --ethernet=true --infrastructure-wifi=true

Replace <device> with its name or address. For Bluetooth, add --ble=true. For supported Wi-Fi Aware hardware, add --nan=true. You can enable more than one connection type. Only the options you supply change; other saved settings are preserved.

configure confirms saved settings, including when you repeat the same command. It reports pending-runtime when participation is enabled and disabled when it is off, with no runtime observations. Use status to check runtime state after the agent has had time to apply the settings.

Changing settings restarts local routing and may interrupt existing connections. To disable one connection type, set its option to false. To stop all Wendy Net participation while retaining the saved connection choices, use --participate=false --roam=false --share-uplink=false. Sharing and roaming require participation, so disable them in the same command if they were enabled.

3. Check the result

wendy device wendy-net status --device <device>
wendy device wendy-net topology --device <device>

status shows saved settings and current runtime state. topology shows the selected device's observed peers and routes. Check each device you are testing; one local view does not prove that every device is reachable.

If no peer appears, confirm that both devices participate, belong to the same organization, and share an enabled connection type. On Ethernet or ordinary Wi-Fi, allow local multicast discovery and peer traffic. See the LAN requirements. For slow or missing Bluetooth connections, see Bluetooth setup and recovery.

4. Share an Internet connection

Choose a device with its own working Internet connection as the gateway. Allow it to offer that connection to other enrolled devices:

wendy device wendy-net configure --device <gateway> \
  --participate=true --share-uplink=true

On a device that should use the gateway when its own Internet connection is unavailable:

wendy device wendy-net configure --device <travelling-device> \
  --participate=true --roam=true
wendy device wendy-net status --device <travelling-device>

Both devices still need enabled Wendy Net connection types and a working route between them; the route can pass through other participating devices. A healthy Internet connection on the travelling device takes priority. It uses a shared gateway only when no healthy independent uplink is available.

Sharing and roaming are independent opt-ins. Enabling a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi link does not share Internet access. A device cannot offer an Internet connection it is itself borrowing from Wendy Net. The selected gateway carries Internet traffic and DNS, so choose one you trust to provide that service.

Check State and Gateway principal in status. Allow time for connectivity checks and route recovery after a change; a saved setting is not a connectivity test.

Test an actual Internet request from the device or intended app before depending on it. A connected peer alone does not prove the gateway's Internet access.

To stop offering access, set --share-uplink=false on the gateway. To stop borrowing, set --roam=false on the travelling device. Changes are saved across agent restarts. Existing Internet sessions may be interrupted when a gateway or uplink changes.

Give an app outbound Internet access

Use this entitlement in the app's wendy.json, then redeploy with wendy run:

{ "type": "network", "mode": "bridge" }

This gives the app outbound connections and DNS through the device's available Internet path, including a borrowed gateway. It does not publish the app's ports. Wendy Net service mode is separate and does not grant an Internet default route. Host-networked apps share the host's network access and expose ports they bind; use host mode only when the app needs that access.

5. Connect your applications

Applications opt into Wendy Net in wendy.json and explicitly publish the ports that other devices may access. See the service sharing guide, then the network configuration reference. Device connectivity alone does not publish every app port.

Ordinary Wendy Net apps do not need direct Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Aware control entitlements; the agent manages those connections. Grant direct radio access only to applications that manage the hardware themselves.

Settings reference

Use wendy device wendy-net configure with just the options you want to change. Every boolean accepts true or false; omitted options retain their saved values.

status --json returns saved choices separately from current runtime state. topology --json returns the selected device's observed links and routes. Changing settings requires an authenticated user in the device's organization. An app on the device that holds the admin entitlement can read status and topology through the local agent socket, but cannot change settings.