🚀 Getting Started with On My Disk Direct

Welcome to On My Disk Direct — your decentralized personal cloud and private AI workspace. Unlike traditional cloud providers, On My Disk 3.0 never stores your files on central servers: your browser, phone, and computer nodes communicate peer-to-peer over encrypted WebRTC DataChannels, backed by self-sovereign cryptographic identity (W3C DID + GunDB SEA).

1. Sign In or Create Your Decentralized ID (DID)

Open direct.onmydisk.net in any modern browser, or launch the native On My Disk Android / iOS app.

Sign in or connect

Choose how you want to sign in or connect (see Decentralized Identity (DID) for full details):

  • Sign in with ID / Create your ID: Generate or unlock a self-sovereign cryptographic identity (did:gun:<pub>) directly in your browser without relying on third-party OAuth providers:
    • Any Display Nickname (No “Username Taken”): Pick any display name you like (e.g., Alice or Max) — nicknames do not have to be unique, and your profile automatically receives a 4-character #tag fingerprint derived from your public key.
    • One-Click .json Keyfile Backup: Right after creating your ID (or anytime in Settings → Security & Keys), save your portable omd-did-*.json keyfile in one click.
  • Sign in with Keyfile (.json): Instantly sign in or recover your DID on any browser or mobile device by selecting your saved .json keyfile — no password entry required.
  • Sign in with Google / Sign in with Apple: Instant multi-device login. Your root identity unlocks automatically and issues a signed device certificate (SEA.certify) so all your nodes and browser peers appear in the sidebar and workspace.
  • Connect a device: Attach or pair a storage device right from the welcome screen — no persistent identity is created.

2. Workspace Onboarding Wizard

Right after signing in (or creating your DID) for the first time, a quick setup wizard configures your default storage and AI compute in three steps:

Step 1: Choose Where to Save Your Materials (2. Storage)

Pick the default workspace folder used for collaborating on documents and saving AI-generated files:

  • Browser internal storage (OPFS) (/Private/OnMyChat): Fast, private Origin Private File System built into modern browsers — works on any OS immediately with zero file-permission prompts.
  • Local folder on your computer: Mount a real folder from your disk via the browser’s File System Access API.
  • Connect an On My Disk device (Recommended): Pair an always-on Linux/Windows On My Disk Node so your files stay accessible 24/7 across all devices.

Onboarding Step 2 — Choose Storage

Step 2: Choose Your AI Node (3. AI Node)

Select which compute backend powers On My Chat, RAG search, and Creations:

  • Automatic (Auto) (Recommended): Uses your personal AI node whenever it is connected and online, and automatically falls back to the secure On My Chat Public Cloud AI Node when no personal node is available.
  • On My Chat Public Cloud AI Node: Start chatting immediately with zero local hardware setup.
  • Custom node by LinkID: Connect to a shared team or friend GPU node by its LinkID.

Onboarding Step 3 — Choose AI Node

Step 3: All Set (4. Done)

Review your configured Storage folder, AI Node, default AI Assistant (June), and Privacy mode (E2EE + WebRTC P2P), then jump straight into Start chatting in On My Chat or Open On My Disk files.

Onboarding Step 4 — All Set

3. Connecting Additional Folders & Hardware Nodes

You can attach storage in two ways:

  • Directly from a Browser or Mobile App: Share a local folder right from your browser tab (acting as a live WebRTC peer while open) or enable Camera Auto-Sync / SD-card folders in the mobile app.
  • Always-On Storage & AI Node: Install the lightweight On My Disk Node daemon on Linux or Windows (see Node Deployment & Modes) so your files, SSH terminal, and On My Chat assistant stay online 24/7 in the background.

To add a folder on any connected device:

  1. Navigate to your device in the sidebar or workspace (or click Connect a device in the top-left corner to pair a new one).
  2. Click Add folder inside an empty device view, or click the + button in the top-right toolbar.
  3. Choose the directory to publish. It immediately becomes accessible across all your authorized devices over P2P.

Add Folder Screen

4. Working with Files

Main Sidebar & Workspace

  • Connect a device & Device Tree: Pair a new node or browser folder with Connect a device, and browse all your online Linux/Windows nodes, mobile devices, and browser peers in the sidebar or workspace cards — including direct P2P cross-device copy/move without cloud staging.
  • Shared with me / Shared by me: Direct DID user-to-user shares and public links you created.
  • Chats: On My Chat AI assistant (SSE streaming, RAG source chips, Creations mode, and MCP document tools).
  • Settings: Manage your account, recovery credentials, storage preferences, and On My Chat AI assistant configuration.
  • Terminal: Built-in browser WebSSH terminal (xterm.js + libssh2 WebAssembly over P2P DataChannel) — available only for Always-On Nodes with the advanced desktop/server client installed (paired Linux or Windows nodes running an SSH server).

File Operations & Context Menu

Right-click any file or folder for quick actions:

  • Open / View: Built-in viewer and Craft preview for PDFs, images, video/audio, Markdown, code, and Office documents (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .odt).
  • Add New / Upload: Click Add New (or +) or drag-and-drop files and folders directly into the browser.
  • Download (Ctrl+D): Stream single files or multi-file ZIP archives directly from the peer node.
  • Copy / Cut / Paste / Rename / Delete: Manage files locally or directly across two different P2P devices.
  • Share Link…: Create a public P2P link or share directly with another On My Disk user.

File Manager and Context Menu

5. Sharing Files & Folders

  1. Right-click a file or folder and select Share Link….
  2. A live Public P2P Link (https://direct.onmydisk.net/shared/...) is generated — click Copy link to share it immediately, or configure optional protections and click Update Share:
    • Password Protection: Require a password to decrypt and view the share.
    • Link Expiration: Choose Never Expires or automatically disable access after a time limit.
    • Folder Write Access: When sharing a folder, optionally allow visitors to upload/edit files inside that shared directory (ScopedGuest sandbox).
  3. Visitors connect directly to your node over WebRTC P2P (with transparent relay fallback) without gaining access to anything outside the shared item.

Sharing Modal

Managing & Revoking Access

  • View all active public links and user-to-user shares in Shared by me.
  • Adjust settings with Update Share or click Revoke Share at any time — access is cut off immediately on your node.