Ask HN: Use phone to check status of currently running process on laptop

by anongraddebt on 8/17/2022, 1:19:05 AM with 7 comments
I have two laptops (Mac + Linux) and one phone (iPhone). Sometimes, my girlfriend has me download a large media file on one of the laptops. I’m quite lazy, and would like to check the download status while using my phone in another room.

Thoughts? App suggestions? Scripts? Mac, Linux, and/or cross-platform suggestions all welcome.

In fact, I’m lazy enough to be willing to get an Android phone and/or Windows laptop. Really, pretty much any combo that would allow me to take quick glances at the download status.

  • by compressedgas on 8/17/2022, 2:01:17 AM

    I think I would recommend http://ariang.mayswind.net/ https://github.com/mayswind/AriaNg which is a web interface to https://aria2.github.io/

    You must have a new enough aria2 that has the --rpc-allow-origin-all option: aria2c --enable-rpc --rpc-allow-origin-all.

  • by tomcam on 8/20/2022, 5:02:23 AM

    If you are super fit, ignore me. I am not. You might reconsider the lazy way. I use occasions like this to get me out of my seat. Consequently I go up and down a very steep set of stairs about 30 times a day. That can’t be bad for me.

  • by smabie on 8/17/2022, 7:18:39 AM

    You're lazy enough to be willing to buy a windows laptop to put in a room to check the download status of a computer in another room?

  • by solmanac on 8/17/2022, 1:49:59 AM

    How abut ssh from termux installed on your phone?

  • by muzzletov on 8/18/2022, 11:37:00 AM

    I wrote an sse http server for that exact reason, that you can pipe data into from a posix terminal

  • by phendrenad2 on 8/18/2022, 6:18:32 AM

    Use the Twitter API to send yourself a private message every 5% completion.

  • by suyula on 8/17/2022, 2:24:41 AM

    I use Transmission, which has a web interface for this.