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Server Quick Start

Get the smartap-server running in minutes.

Download

Download the appropriate binary for your server:

Platform Download
Linux x86_64 smartap-server-linux-amd64
Linux ARM64 (Pi 4/5) smartap-server-linux-arm64
Linux ARMv7 (Pi 32-bit) smartap-server-linux-armv7
macOS Apple Silicon smartap-server-darwin-arm64
macOS Intel smartap-server-darwin-amd64
Windows x64 smartap-server-windows-amd64.exe 
# Example for Linux ARM64 (Raspberry Pi 4/5)
wget https://github.com/muurk/smartap/releases/latest/download/smartap-server-linux-arm64
chmod +x smartap-server-linux-arm64
mv smartap-server-linux-arm64 smartap-server

Start the Server

Basic Usage (Auto-Generated Certificate)

The simplest way to start is with auto-generated certificates:

# Start server with auto-generated certificate (signed by embedded Root CA)
./smartap-server server

This will:

  1. Generate a TLS certificate signed by the embedded Root CA
  2. Listen on port 443 (requires root/sudo)
  3. Log all WebSocket messages

Port 443 Requires Root

To bind to port 443, run with sudo: 

sudo ./smartap-server server
Or use a higher port with --port 8443 and configure port forwarding.

Custom Port

# Run on a non-privileged port
./smartap-server server --port 8443

Debug Logging

# Enable debug logging for protocol analysis
./smartap-server server --log-level debug

Custom Certificates

If you have your own certificates:

# Start with custom certificates
./smartap-server server --cert /path/to/fullchain.pem --key /path/to/privkey.pem

See Custom Certificates for details.

Command Reference

smartap-server server [flags]

Flags:
  --cert string       Path to TLS certificate file (optional, will auto-generate if not provided)
  --key string        Path to TLS private key file (optional, will auto-generate if not provided)
  --host string       Server hostname (empty = listen on all interfaces)
  --port int          Server port (default 443)
  --log-level string  Log level: debug, info, warn, error (default "info")

Configure DNS

Your device tries to connect to evalve.smartap-tech.com. You need to redirect this to your server.

  1. Log into your router admin interface
  2. Find "Custom DNS" or "DNS Override" settings
  3. Add entry: evalve.smartap-tech.com → <your-server-ip>
  4. Also add: smartap-tech.com → <your-server-ip>
  5. Save and apply

Option B: Pi-hole

If running Pi-hole:

# Add to /etc/pihole/custom.list
192.168.1.100 evalve.smartap-tech.com
192.168.1.100 smartap-tech.com

Then restart DNS: 

pihole restartdns

Verify DNS

From another device on your network:

nslookup evalve.smartap-tech.com
# Should return your server's IP

Test Device Connection

  1. Start the server with debug logging: 

    sudo ./smartap-server server --log-level debug

  2. Power cycle your device (the one with injected certificate)

  3. Watch the logs for connection: 

    INFO  Starting Smartap WebSocket Server
INFO  Listening on :443
INFO  Device connected from 192.168.1.x
DEBUG TLS handshake successful
DEBUG WebSocket connection established
DEBUG Received message: [hex data]

Expected Output

When everything works, you'll see:

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Smartap WebSocket Server                                        │
│ smartap-server server                                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Host:      0.0.0.0                                              │
│ Port:      443                                                  │
│ TLS:       Auto-generated (embedded Root CA)                    │
│ Log Level: debug                                                │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

INFO  Starting Smartap WebSocket Server
INFO  Auto-generated server certificate signed by embedded Root CA
INFO  Listening on :443

Troubleshooting

"Permission denied" on port 443

# Run with sudo
sudo ./smartap-server server

# Or use non-privileged port
./smartap-server server --port 8443

Device doesn't connect

  • Verify DNS resolution: nslookup evalve.smartap-tech.com
  • Ensure server is reachable from device's network
  • Check firewall allows port 443/8443
  • Verify certificate was successfully injected

TLS handshake fails

  • Device may have wrong certificate - re-run inject-certs
  • Certificate domain mismatch - check server logs for details

Device connects but immediately disconnects

  • This may be normal - protocol not fully understood
  • Check server logs for any error messages
  • Report findings to help with protocol documentation!

Running as a Service

For production use, run as a systemd service:

# /etc/systemd/system/smartap-server.service
[Unit]
Description=Smartap WebSocket Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/smartap-server server --log-level info
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable smartap-server
sudo systemctl start smartap-server

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