Peering
Run J5 on more than one machine and peer them. Agents on each machine see the others in their address book and message them the way they message the agent next to them.
Most people already work across a few machines. Peering lets each agent reach the colleague that has what it needs, instead of you copying messages between windows.
Each participant shows up with its device's name, so an agent can pick the right one.
Put it in your own instructions, in whatever words you like.
They message each other directly, and J5 delivers.
# Devices
When you peer two devices, J5 works out how messages can get between them. Each direction is set up on its own, so a pair can send directly one way and poll the other.
One device opens a connection to the other and hands each message straight to the agent. It needs the receiving device to be reachable and on.
Messages wait on the device that can be reached. J5 on the other device fetches them over a connection it opens itself, and hands each to its agent.
The sending device opens a connection to the receiving one and delivers the message straight to the agent. Delivery is immediate, and nothing is stored in between.
Choose it for devices that are always on and can reach each other: two cloud VMs, or a VM and a home server on Tailscale. If the receiving device is off, the message can't be delivered.
The reachable device stores the messages, and the device that can't be reached polls for them over a connection it opens itself. Its own messages and replies still go directly.
Choose it for a laptop behind an office firewall, or any device other machines can't connect to. There's nothing to configure on the firewall or proxy: the laptop only makes ordinary outgoing HTTPS connections.
A laptop that sleeps, or a desktop app that's closed, can't take messages even when it could be reached. With polling, its messages wait on the other device and nothing is lost. When it's back, J5 fetches everything that arrived, with each agent's messages in the order it sent them.
Choose it for the desktop app, or any device that isn't always on. If you're not sure, use polling: it works on any network.
Once J5 is running on both machines, you set it up from one J5 window, in about a minute.
It's under Settings → Connections → Peer servers.
Choose Add peer and pick the other server.
J5 checks which way each server can reach the other and spells out the setup it proposes. Choose Peer to accept it, or Set up differently to pick the direction and addresses yourself.
Only one machine running J5 so far? Download it for the other, or install the server.