Desktop app and local network

Where: on the cash desk PC (Windows, macOS or Linux); in the panel, Configuration → Desktop app. Who: the desktop app settings are reserved to the owner.

The desktop app is Arenile installed on the cash desk computer: no server to rent, no terminal, no internet. The archive (bookings, customers, takings) stays in a folder of that computer. It is the right choice for those who work mainly at the desk and do not need online booking.

Download

Ready-to-install packages are on arenile.app/download Available, no sign-up needed: for macOS the .dmg (universal, or Apple Silicon only, or Intel only), signed and notarized by Apple; for Windows the x64 or arm64 installer (Surface, Snapdragon); for Linux the x86_64 AppImage. They are not published on GitHub.

On Windows the installers are not signed yet: on first launch SmartScreen shows Windows protected your PC; choose More info → Run anyway. The Microsoft signature will come with a future update.

How it works

• Its own window: on Windows and macOS the panel opens in a window of the app, not in the browser; on Linux it opens in the default browser. Open in the browser is always available.
• System tray icon (menu bar on macOS), with the menu: Open panel, Open in the browser, Back up now, Restore a backup…, Open data folder, Start at login, Local network mode, Show local network QR, Quit.
• Closing the window: on macOS the window hides and Arenile stays in the menu bar until you choose Quit. On Windows closing the window quits Arenile, unless you turn on Keep running in the system tray when the window is closed (recommended if you use the local network).
• First start: the Welcome to Arenile page asks for Company or establishment, Full name, Email and Password of the owner (Create the user and continue), then the guided setup starts.

What the desktop app does not have

The app cannot be reached from the internet, so the public page and online payments are not available (their pages explain it: No public page on desktop, Payments at the cash desk only). Cash, card terminal, bank transfer and the other methods are recorded from the cash desk as usual. The app sends no email.

Settings and backups

In Configuration → Desktop app:

Section	Settings
Backup	Backup folder (also on a USB stick), Automatic backups to keep, Daily automatic backup, Backup when the app closes.
Startup and updates	Start Arenile when the computer starts, Keep running in the system tray when the window is closed, Check for a new version (once a day it only reads the latest version number from the Coste360 website, without sending any data of the beach).
Local network mode	Enable local network mode and Port (default 8443).

Remember to Save settings.

Available backups lists the copies with Date, Type (Manual, Daily, On exit, Before restore) and Size. Back up now makes one right away; the oldest automatic backups are deleted, manual ones are always kept.

Restoring a backup

1. In the backup row choose Restore (or Restore a backup… from the icon menu).
2. Confirm with Restore and restart.
3. Arenile restarts for a few seconds and the page reloads by itself.

Before restoring, the current archive is saved as a Before restore backup: the operation can therefore be undone by restoring that copy.

A copy outside the PC

If the cash desk PC breaks or is stolen, the backups in its folder go with it. Set the Backup folder to a USB stick or a synchronised folder, or regularly copy a backup elsewhere.

New version notice

When a new version is out, Arenile X is available appears at the top of the panel with What’s new and Download (the package for your system, from arenile.app/download), plus a system notification. Close the notice with the X: it comes back only for the next version. Make a Backup now before installing.

The check is on by default and is turned off with Check for a new version. Once a day the app reads the latest version from the Coste360 server: the request carries only the version, edition and operating system (and, like any request, the IP address), used only for aggregate counts; no data of the beach, no identifier. When the check fails, the line “Couldn’t check for updates automatically.” appears under the switch, nothing more.

Local network mode

With the local network mode the other PCs, tablets and phones connected to the beach Wi-Fi use Arenile from the browser, on the same archive as the cash desk PC. There is still a single server, with the same guarantees against double bookings.

1. Turn on Local network mode from the icon menu, or Enable local network mode in Configuration → Desktop app, and save.
2. Choose Show local network QR from the icon menu: the Local network page opens (Configuration → Devices → Local network) with the Panel address (for example https://192.168.1.20:8443/admin/), its QR code and the Certificate fingerprint.
3. On the other device, connected to the same Wi-Fi, open the address in the browser or scan the QR code with the camera.
4. The first time the browser warns that the connection is not private: this is expected, because the certificate is created by the cash desk PC and not by a public authority. Open the certificate details and compare the SHA-256 fingerprint with the one on the Local network page.
5. Only if every character matches choose Advanced and then Proceed (Safari: Visit this website). If it does not match, do not continue.
6. Sign in with your panel user.

Good to know:

• Beach network only: only connections from the local network are accepted; those from the internet are refused even if the router forwards the port by mistake.
• Fixed address: reserve a fixed IP address for the cash desk PC in the router, so that the panel address does not change.
• PC switched on: the other devices work only while Arenile is open on the cash desk PC. On Windows turn on Keep running in the system tray when the window is closed.
• Certificate renewal: the certificate lasts a long time and does not change on restart. When the renewal gets close, the Local network page, the icon menu and a notification show the date: from that day browsers will ask to accept the new certificate and paired apps must be paired again. Plan it on a closing day.

Remote mode

The desktop app can also connect to an existing Arenile (online or on an on-site server) instead of starting its own archive: it shows that instance’s panel in a dedicated window and can act as a fiscal bridge to the fiscal printer connected to the cash desk PC.

The PC is paired from the instance’s Devices page (Pair a device), and in the app’s Pair this PC window you enter the Instance address and the Pairing code. In the panel window you then sign in with your own user. In remote mode the app needs the connection: without network the window does not work.

Moving to an online instance

If later you want online booking, the desktop app backup is the same archive as the server edition and moves without conversions:

1. Make a backup from the app.
2. Install Arenile on a server (see Choose how to install).
3. Restore the backup on the server (see Backup and restore).
4. Start Arenile on the server and enable the public page and online payments from there.

No synchronisation

The desktop app and an online instance do not synchronise: after the move, work only on the online instance (you can connect the desktop app in remote mode). Two archives that synchronise could not guarantee that a spot is never sold twice.