Folding@Home In The Dark v8.5 Web Client: BETA

Connecting To Folding@Home Client 8.5 Requires config.xml Addition

<config>
   <allowed-origin-exprs v='^https://webclient\.lar\.systems$ ^https://([a-z0-9-]+\.)*foldingathome\.org$ ^http://(127\.0\.0\.1|localhost)(:\d+)?$'/>
<config>

This line needs to be added to your folding@home config.xml file inside the <config> section to allow this webclient to connect to your local folding@home service instance.

Shout out to Artoria2e5 and Calxalot for helping to figure this one out on the folding@home forums! https://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?p=372713#p372713

Folding@home v8 — Locating config.xml

These instructions apply specifically to Folding@home (F@H) version 8. The v8 client uses a local service with a web-based control interface and reads its settings from config.xml at startup.

Important: Always stop the F@H v8 client before editing config.xml, then restart it after saving changes.

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Windows (F@H v8)

Config file location:

C:\ProgramData\FAHClient\config.xml

The ProgramData directory is hidden by default.

1. Stop the Folding@home v8 client:
   • Service install: Press Win + R, run services.msc, stop FAHClient
   • User install: Exit Folding@home from the system tray
2. Enable Hidden items in File Explorer
3. Navigate to C:\ProgramData\FAHClient\
4. Edit config.xml using a text editor
5. Save the file and restart Folding@home v8

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macOS (F@H v8)

Config file location:

/Library/Application Support/FAHClient/config.xml

1. Quit Folding@home v8 from the macOS menu bar
2. Open Finder and press Cmd + Shift + G
3. Enter /Library/Application Support/FAHClient/
4. Edit config.xml (administrator access is required)
5. Save changes and relaunch Folding@home v8
6. Stop Service: sudo /bin/launchctl stop org.foldingathome.fahclient
7. Start Service: sudo /bin/launchctl start org.foldingathome.fahclient

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Linux (F@H v8 — System Install)

Config file location:

/etc/fah-client/config.xml

1. Stop the Folding@home v8 service:

   sudo systemctl stop fah-client

   Some distributions may use fahclient as the service name.

2. Edit the configuration file:

   sudo nano /etc/fah-client/config.xml

3. Save the file and restart the service:

   sudo systemctl start fah-client

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Linux (F@H v8 — User-mode Install)

Common config location:

~/.config/fah-client/config.xml

1. Stop the Folding@home v8 process:

   pkill fah-client

2. Edit the file:

   nano ~/.config/fah-client/config.xml

3. Restart Folding@home v8 manually

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F@H v8 in Docker / Containers

When running Folding@home v8 in a container, the configuration file is usually mapped from the host system.

Typical container paths:

/etc/fahclient/config.xml
/config/config.xml

1. Identify the mapped configuration volume:

   docker inspect <container-name>

2. Edit config.xml on the host at the mapped path
3. Restart the container:

   docker restart <container-name>

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After Updating config.xml

• Confirm Folding@home v8 starts normally
• Open the F@H v8 Web Control interface
• Check logs if the client fails to load or the UI cannot connect

Connecting to Remote Folding@home v8 Hosts

To connect to a Folding@home (F@H) v8 service instance that is not running on the same localhost as your browser/webclient, you must configure both:

• The remote folding machine (F@H v8 client configuration and network access)
• Your local browser (security policy for insecure WebSocket connections)

This is required because F@H v8 typically exposes its WebSocket/API without SSL and expects local-only access by default.

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1) Configure the Remote Folding Machine (F@H v8)

Edit the config.xml on the remote folding machine to allow access on the required interfaces (IP and port). Be as restrictive as possible.

Example settings (add within the <config> section):

<http-addresses v='0.0.0.0:7396'/>
<allow v='127.0.0.1 10.0.0.0/8 192.168.0.0/16 172.16.0.0/12 169.254.0.0/16'/>
<deny v='0/0'/>

• <http-addresses> controls which interface(s) and port the F@H v8 service binds to.
• <allow> defines which source IPs/subnets may connect.
• <deny> blocks everything else (recommended).

After saving changes, restart the Folding@home service on the remote machine so it loads the updated configuration.

You must also ensure any firewall, NAT, and other security controls allow access to the remote machine’s IP and port 7396 from the device running the webclient.

Reference: Folding Forum post with configuration examples: https://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=39050&sid=df8063710143bbf55257212a9d4abfee

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2) Browser Settings Required (Most Direct Method)

On the device/browser where you are loading this webclient, you may need to adjust security settings to permit connecting from an HTTPS web page to an insecure WebSocket endpoint (ws://) on a remote machine.

This is commonly required because the F@H v8 WebSocket does not use SSL by default and is normally accessed via localhost.

Chrome-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave)

1. Open Settings → Privacy & Security
2. Find site-specific permissions for Insecure content
3. Set Insecure content to Allow for the domain webclient.lar.systems

Tip: In many browsers, you can click the lock icon beside the page URL and open Site settings to adjust this quickly.

Firefox

1. Open Firefox and type about:config in the address bar
2. Accept the warning and proceed
3. Search for network.websocket.allowInsecureFromHTTPS
4. Set the value to true

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3) Alternate Approach (Recommended): Use Port Forwarding to Avoid Browser Security Changes

If you are familiar with port forwarding (for example, using SSH tunneling), you can avoid changing browser security settings by forwarding the remote F@H v8 port to your local machine.

High-level approach:

1. Forward the remote folding machine’s port 7396 to 127.0.0.1:7396 on the computer running the webclient
2. In the webclient, keep the host as 127.0.0.1 and the port as 7396

Because the webclient connects only to localhost, this typically works without relaxing browser mixed-content protections.

Connecting to multiple remote machines via port forwarding

If you want to connect to multiple folding machines (or if port 7396 is already in use locally), you can map each remote machine to a different local port.

Example strategy:

• Remote Machine A 7396 → Localhost 127.0.0.1:7397
• Remote Machine B 7396 → Localhost 127.0.0.1:7398
• Remote Machine C 7396 → Localhost 127.0.0.1:7399

In the webclient, you would then keep the host as 127.0.0.1 and select the appropriate local port for each machine.