cenotaph

cenotaph is freqhole’s pairing + remote-control protocol (freqhole-player/1): it turns a device into a “player” — a screen/speaker showing a QR code that a phone (or another freqhole client) can scan to pair with, then control playback on, like casting to a chromecast or sonos speaker. once paired, controllers can push queues, play/pause, skip, and see what’s playing, all peer-to-peer.

there are three ways to run a player:

rathole (--player / /player)

freqhole’s terminal client, ideal for a raspberry pi wired up to a screen and speakers. rathole --player starts directly in the pairing screen; typing /player mid-session switches to it too. runs with libmpv — no browser involved. see rathole on a pi for a full systemd setup.

web browser

spume’s own /player route (e.g. https://spume.freqhole.net/#/player) turns any browser tab into a player — handy for repurposing an old phone or tablet as a dedicated screen. runs entirely client-side (no install), same pairing/control protocol as the other two.

charnel (desktop/mobile app)

the charnel app can act as a player too, via the same /player screen rendered in its embedded webview — works out of the box, identical to the web-browser option. desktop builds also have an experimental player config (opt-in, uses mpv directly instead of the webview) for platforms that want it.

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pairing + control

• pairing is by QR code or a short PIN, shown on the player.
• a session can allow everyone who redeems the PIN, or only selected trusted controllers.
• one PIN redemption can also grant admin access (session settings, forgetting controllers, etc.) — the player UI marks these appearances clearly.
• whichever player you’re running, the wire protocol is the same — a controller doesn’t need to know or care which of the three it’s talking to.

physical buttons (rathole only)

rathole can additionally listen on a local unix socket for simple transport commands (play/pause, next, volume, etc.) — handy for wiring up real buttons on a pi. see rathole on a pi and the full reference: docs/rathole-control-socket.md.