Client Settings

The Client Settings screen is the local configuration panel on each client PC. It shows the server connection and lets an authenticated administrator update connection fields or end the current session. Admin credentials remain server-managed.

Accessing the Settings Screen

The Settings screen is only available to an administrator. After an admin signs in on the client, the Settings screen is displayed in place of the normal customer desktop. Standard members and guests never see this screen. This keeps the local configuration restricted to staff.

The screen header shows the Settings title along with two actions, Exit Program and Logout, described at the end of this page.

Server Connection

The Server Connection section defines how the client reaches the server.

• Server IP Address is the host name or IP address of the machine running the HandyCafe server.
• Server TCP Port is the TCP port the server listens on. The default value is 5001. The port must be between 1 and 65535. A value outside this range is rejected with a validation message.
• Protocol Password is the password used to authenticate the connection. The field hint states that it must match the Connection Key set on the server. If the two values do not match, the client cannot connect.

Select Save to store the connection settings. After saving, the client confirms that settings were saved and that a restart is required to apply connection changes.

Restore Defaults

Select Restore Defaults in the Server Connection section to reset the server host, port, and protocol password to their default values. The fields update immediately to reflect the restored configuration, and a confirmation message is shown. Use this when a client has been misconfigured and you want a clean starting point before entering the correct values.

Admin Credentials

Admin credentials are managed on HandyCafe Server. During normal runtime sync, the server sends only an Argon2id one-way verifier to a connected client. The client keeps it in process memory for the current boot. No local admin credential file is created or trusted. Use the server to change the cafe admin credentials.

Disconnected Client Admin Access

The client does not expose a password-recovery button, an offline recovery code, or local admin setup. Recovery starts automatically only after three rejected login attempts while the normal HandyCafe Server connection is unavailable. A connected client never enters this recovery flow.

The login screen locks while the client discovers HandyCafe Server through mDNS and waits for a decision. The server opens the Reconnect client prompt for an administrator. The prompt shows the reported client name and MAC address. Select I know it / Connect only when you recognize the station. Reject closes only the current request. The client can request recovery again after three new rejected login attempts. Reject & block also suppresses new recovery requests from that MAC address. The block ends after 30 minutes or when HandyCafe Server restarts.

Approval sends the current TCP port, file port, connection key, admin username and one-way admin password verifier through the request's encrypted LAN response. The plaintext admin password is never included. The client applies the values in memory, attempts to persist the connection settings, opens admin access and immediately starts a normal server reconnect. A diskless or read-only client can complete the current recovery even when its local overlay cannot be written.

This path does not require an existing authenticated TCP connection or a client-side recovery secret. The client and server must still be running on the same reachable LAN so mDNS and the recovery UDP port can work.

On the server, this same approval queue is one of the three tabs in the Connection Wizard. See Network Settings.

Logout

Select Logout in the header to end the current admin session on this client. The client returns to its locked state, ready for the next login.

Exit Program

Select Exit Program in the header to close the HandyCafe client application. A confirmation dialog titled Exit HandyCafe asks you to confirm before the application exits. Choose the confirm action to quit, or cancel to stay in the client.