Talk, help, and hang out.

Shack started as team chat you can actually own. Now there's San-jay, for seeing and controlling a computer that isn't in front of you — and something new on the way for simply being around each other.

Our products

One messenger, one remote desktop, one thing coming soon

Available now

Team messenger

Shack Messenger

The basic Shack: secure team chat for teams that have to know where their data lives — self-hosted on your own server, or hosted by us.

  • Team chat, file sharing and calls
  • Calls end-to-end encrypted, attachments encrypted at rest*
  • Access log, enforced second factor and IP allowlisting — built to support HIPAA and GLBA programmes
  • Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android
  • AI stays off unless you turn it on
  • Pay once — yours for life, or a monthly or yearly subscription
Get Shack Everything it does
Early access

Remote desktop

San-jay

See and control another computer from yours — to help a colleague, or to fix a machine that isn't in front of you. Enter its ID and PIN, and its screen is yours.

  • Peer to peer: the screen and your input go straight between the two computers
  • End-to-end encrypted by WebRTC†
  • Desktop app for macOS and Windows; take control from a web browser with nothing to install
  • Its own subscription, per technician — or included with Shack hosted by us
How San-jay works Request early access
Coming soon

Something new

Virtual offices

A new, fun way of connecting with people: a shared 3D office where your team meets as avatars around one table, from a VR headset, a computer or a phone.

  • Avatars you make yourself, and voices that come from where people sit
  • Share your screen on the wall at the front of the room
  • A working preview today; there's nothing to buy yet
See what it looks like Tell me when it's ready
Early access

San-jay: control a computer from anywhere

San-jay is peer-to-peer remote desktop, in the spirit of AnyDesk or TeamViewer. The computer you want to reach shows a 9-digit session ID and a PIN. Type them in on your side, its screen appears, and when you press Take control your mouse and keyboard drive it.

The screen and your input stream directly between the two machines over WebRTC. The San-jay server only helps them find each other; the picture and your keystrokes don't pass through it. On the roughly 10–20% of networks where a direct connection isn't possible, a relay forwards the traffic — still encrypted end to end, so the relay can't read it either.

Why the name? In the Mahabharata, Sanjaya was granted distant sight so he could narrate a far-off war, live, to the blind king Dhritarashtra. The original screen share.

How a San-jay connection flows Two computers, a controller on the left and a host on the right, are joined by a direct line carrying the screen and input, encrypted end to end. Above them, a signaling server is linked to both by dashed lines: it only helps them find each other. Below, a relay is linked to both by dotted lines: a fallback that forwards encrypted data it cannot read. Signaling server helps them find each other Relay (fallback) forwards what it can't read Controller app or browser Host ID 123 456 789 PIN •••• screen + input, direct encrypted end to end How a San-jay connection flows A host computer at the top and a controller below it are joined by a direct line carrying the screen and input, encrypted end to end. A signaling server above is linked to both by dashed lines: it only helps them find each other. A relay at the bottom is linked to both by dotted lines: a fallback that forwards encrypted data it cannot read. Signaling server helps them find each other Relay (fallback) forwards what it can't read Host ID 123 456 789 PIN •••• Controller app or browser screen + input, direct encrypted end to end
The direct line is the normal path. The relay is used only when the two networks can't reach each other directly.

How it works

  1. Install San-jay on the computer to be helped

    It shows its own 9-digit session ID and a PIN, and waits for a connection. On a Mac, allow Screen Recording and Accessibility once, the first time.

  2. Enter the ID and PIN on the other computer

    Use the San-jay desktop app — or the browser controller, with nothing to install on your side.

  3. See the screen, then take control

    The remote screen appears. Press Take control to send your mouse and keyboard.

Security and platforms

How it's kept safe

  • Screen and input are end-to-end encrypted between the two computers by WebRTC (DTLS-SRTP)†
  • Relayed traffic stays encrypted: the relay forwards packets it can't read
  • Signaling runs over TLS (wss)
  • The PIN is checked by the computer being controlled — not by the server, and it's never stored there
  • Relay credentials are short-lived, issued fresh for each request
  • The relay refuses to forward to private IP ranges

Where it runs

  • Desktop app, macOS and Windows. Always shows its own ID and PIN to accept connections, and can dial another computer's ID to control it.
  • Browser controller. Control a desktop from a web page with no install: open it, enter the ID and PIN. It takes control; it can't be controlled.
  • macOS permissions. Screen Recording and Accessibility, granted once.

Early access: what isn't built yet

San-jay does the core job — see a remote screen and control it — and it is early. These are not there yet, so please don't plan around them:

  • Accounts and sign-in — today a connection needs only the ID and PIN
  • Choosing between multiple monitors
  • Clipboard sync and file transfer
  • Audio
  • Unattended access
  • Controlling a Linux computer
  • Signed and notarized installers

How you pay for San-jay

On its own

San-jay subscription

A subscription per technician — one seat for each person who takes control — billed monthly or yearly.

  • Each seat connects to as many computers as it needs
  • The computer being controlled needs no seat
  • Monthly or yearly — pricing confirmed on your invoice
Request early access

Bundled

Included with Shack hosted by us

If your organization has a Shack subscription that we host — managed hosting at yourname.shackchat.app, billed monthly or yearly — San-jay is included at no extra cost.

Self-hosted Shack and pay-once licences don't include San-jay. You can add a San-jay subscription alongside them.

Shack hosted by us — monthly Yearly

What's included

San-jay comes with Shack when we host it. Everywhere else, it's its own subscription.

Shack hosted by usSubscription · monthly or yearly Shack self-hosted or pay-onceLicence on your own server San-jay on its ownSubscription · monthly or yearly
Shack Messenger — chat, calls, files Included Included Not included
San-jay remote desktop (early access) Included, no extra cost Not included — add a San-jay subscription Included
Who runs the Shack server We do, at yourname.shackchat.app You do, on infrastructure you control No Shack server
How it's billed Per person, monthly or yearly Per person — pay once, yours for life, or a self-hosted subscription Per technician, monthly or yearly — the controlled computer needs no seat
Get it Monthly · Yearly Pay once Request early access

No prices are shown yet: pricing is confirmed on your invoice, and card checkout through Stripe is coming soon. Virtual offices is coming soon; how it's offered will be announced when it's ready.

Pick where to start

Get Shack today — hosted by us, San-jay comes with it.
Or ask for San-jay on its own while it's in early access.

Get Shack Request San-jay early access