--- title: Connect devices with Wendy Net description: Enable local connections between enrolled devices and check that they can reach their neighbors. --- 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: ```sh wendy device wendy-net configure --device \ --participate=true --ethernet=true --infrastructure-wifi=true ``` Replace `` 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 ```sh wendy device wendy-net status --device wendy device wendy-net topology --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](../../advanced/wendyos/networking/mdns/#network-requirements-and-privacy). For slow or missing Bluetooth connections, see [Bluetooth setup and recovery](../../hardware/bluetooth/#wendy-net-over-bluetooth). ## 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: ```sh wendy device wendy-net configure --device \ --participate=true --share-uplink=true ``` On a device that should use the gateway when its own Internet connection is unavailable: ```sh wendy device wendy-net configure --device \ --participate=true --roam=true wendy device wendy-net status --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. | State | What it means | | --- | --- | | `local` | The device has a healthy Internet connection of its own. It offers it if sharing is enabled. | | `relay` | It participates in Wendy Net, but Internet roaming is off. | | `roaming` | It is using an authenticated shared gateway. | | `offline` | Roaming is enabled but no usable shared gateway was found. If the detail says it is negotiating a lease, a gateway is selected and the device is still connecting to it; over Bluetooth this can take about a minute. | | `pending-runtime` or `error` | Read the accompanying detail; configuration is not yet active or needs attention. | 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`: ```json { "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](../../guides/wendy-net-services/), then the [network configuration reference](../../advanced/apps/wendy.json/#network). 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. | Option | Purpose | | --- | --- | | `--participate` | Join and relay Wendy Net. Required for roaming or sharing. | | `--ethernet` | Find and connect to peers on Ethernet. | | `--infrastructure-wifi` | Find and connect to peers on ordinary Wi-Fi networks. | | `--nan` | Connect through supported Wi-Fi Aware radios, without an access point. | | `--ble` | Connect through Bluetooth Low Energy. | | `--share-uplink` | Offer a healthy independent Internet connection. | | `--roam` | Use a shared gateway when an independent Internet connection is unavailable. | `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](../../advanced/apps/wendy.json/#admin) can read status and topology through the local agent socket, but cannot change settings.