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Merged
gzdunek merged 3 commits into from
Sep 9, 2025
Merged

Add docs for running Connect in background #58858

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Add docs for running Connect in background
gzdunek Sep 8, 2025
17ac905
Review fixes
gzdunek Sep 8, 2025
5493109
Review fixes
gzdunek Sep 9, 2025
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8 changes: 8 additions & 0 deletions docs/pages/connect-your-client/teleport-connect.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -160,6 +160,13 @@ The top bar of Teleport Connect consists of:
The **status bar** at the bottom displays **cluster breadcrumbs** in the bottom left, indicating
which cluster the current tab is bound to, and the **Share Feedback** button in the bottom right.

### Background mode
Teleport Connect can run in the background (via the menu bar or system tray),
so you can continue using VNet and connections to databases, Kubernetes clusters,
and apps without keeping the main window open.
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gzdunek marked this conversation as resolved.

See [the `runInBackground` configuration option](#configuration).

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@ptgott ptgott Sep 8, 2025

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Would it make sense to add an example configuration snippet here so the user doesn't need to hop around?

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@gzdunek gzdunek Sep 8, 2025

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I considered it, but ultimately decided to keep it as a link to the config option. It provides the platform defaults and details about Linux requirements.

## Connecting to an SSH server

1. Open a tab with cluster resources by clicking on the plus symbol at the right end of the tab bar.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -591,6 +598,7 @@ Below is the list of the supported config properties.
|-------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `theme` | `system` | Color theme for the app. Available modes: `light`, `dark`, `system`. |
| `skipVersionCheck` | `false` | Skips the version check and hides the version compatibility warning when logging in to a cluster. |
| `runInBackground` | `true` on macOS/Windows, `false` on Linux | Keeps the app running in the menu bar/system tray even when the main window is closed. On Linux, displaying the system tray icon may require installing shell extensions. |
| `terminal.fontFamily` | `Menlo, Monaco, monospace` on macOS `Consolas, monospace` on Windows `'Droid Sans Mono', monospace` on Linux | Font family for the terminal. |
| `terminal.fontSize` | `15` | Font size for the terminal. |
| `terminal.windowsBackend` | `auto` | `auto` uses modern [ConPTY](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/windows-command-line-introducing-the-windows-pseudo-console-conpty/) system if available, which requires Windows 10 (19H1) or above. Set to `winpty` to use winpty even if ConPTY is available. |
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion web/packages/teleterm/src/mainProcess/windowsManager.ts
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Expand Up @@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ export class WindowsManager {
? 'Keep Teleport Connect running in the menu bar?'
: 'Keep Teleport Connect running in the system tray?',
detail:
'VNet and connections to databases, kube clusters and apps will remain active.',
'VNet and connections to databases, Kubernetes clusters, and apps will remain active.',
buttons: ['Keep Running', 'Quit'],
noLink: true,
defaultId: 0,
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