Connecting to a Mac
- On the Mac: open System Settings → General → Sharing and turn on Screen Sharing.
- In Beam VNC, tap + and enter the Mac's IP address (or Tailscale name) and port 5900.
- For Username, use your Mac's short account name (e.g.
jdoe, not "John Doe"). - For Password, use that Mac's login password.
Connecting from anywhere
To reach your machine securely from outside your home network, use Tailscale and enter the Tailscale IP or MagicDNS name as the host.
Troubleshooting
- Can't authenticate? Each computer has its own account — make sure you use that machine's own username and password, and the short account name.
- "Connection failed"? Confirm Screen Sharing is enabled and that your account is allowed to connect (check the ⓘ next to Screen Sharing).
- Can't reach it remotely? A direct IP only works on the same network — use Tailscale (or a VPN) to connect from elsewhere.
Contact
Still stuck or have a feature request? Email bernard.st@gmail.com — happy to help.