Set Up Coop Desktop

Coop Desktop runs on your Mac and connects your iMessage account to Coop. This guide covers installation, connecting to your organization, and verifying the connection.

Connect during onboarding

When you first sign up, the onboarding wizard walks you through connecting Coop Desktop:

1. Complete the consent step
2. Click Open Coop Desktop — the dashboard generates a registration token and opens coop://register?token=... automatically
3. Coop Desktop receives the token and registers with your organization
4. The dashboard detects the connection and advances to the next step

If Coop Desktop isn't installed yet, the onboarding page includes a download link.

Connect after onboarding

To connect a new Mac (or reconnect an existing one) after onboarding is complete:

1. Open Coop Desktop on your Mac
2. Click Open Dashboard — this opens the /connect page in your browser
3. Log in if needed — you'll be redirected back to /connect after auth
4. The page generates a token and opens Coop Desktop automatically
5. Once connected, the page confirms the connection

You can also reach the connect page from the dashboard: go to Settings > Relays, find your relay card, and click Migrate.

Migrate to a new Mac

If you're moving to a new Mac:

1. Install Coop Desktop on the new Mac
2. In the dashboard, go to Settings > Relays and click Migrate on the relay card
3. The /connect page opens and sends a registration token to Coop Desktop on the new Mac
4. The new Mac takes over as the active relay

On the old Mac, open Coop Desktop and use Settings > Disconnect & Reset to wipe all config files.

Verify the connection

In the dashboard under Settings > Relays, your Mac should appear with a green Online indicator. Coop Desktop sends a heartbeat every 30 seconds — if the status changes to offline, the Mac has lost its connection.

Add a second Mac

You can connect multiple Macs to one organization. Each Mac can have a different iMessage phone number. Coop distributes outbound messages across all connected Macs automatically.

To add another Mac: click Migrate or open /connect from the new Mac and follow the connection flow.

Troubleshooting

Status shows offline

• Confirm the Mac is powered on and has internet
• Check that Coop Desktop is running (look for it in the menu bar)
• Verify iMessage is signed in — try sending a message manually from the Messages app

Connection not detected

• Make sure Coop Desktop is the active window when the coop:// link opens
• Try clicking Migrate again from the dashboard to generate a fresh token

Messages aren't sending

• Check queue stats in the dashboard (Messages page) for stuck messages
• Look at the Coop Desktop logs for error details
• Verify the recipient is reachable via iMessage (not all phone numbers have iMessage)