Preen’s Mac window connects to a background hub. A separate Preen Surfaces helper runs the Notch, keyboard controls, and Mac data collectors.
Quitting the window leaves your displays running. To stop Preen, choose
Settings → Turn Preen Off, or run preen hub stop. Open Preen again and use
Start Preen to resume.
Background items
Opening Preen registers its bundled hub and surfaces helper. If macOS requires approval, Preen shows a message and a Background Items… button. Enable the items under System Settings → Login Items & Extensions → Allow in the Background. Preen does not add a menu-bar item or open its main window at login.
Background services restart after a crash. If the hub disconnects, the window shows its connection state and the surfaces helper closes its native displays until it can reconnect.
Existing widgets and pairings
The app-managed hub keeps the existing Mac app’s widgets and paired devices. Its TLS certificate and credentials transfer from the app’s Keychain storage to private files before the daemon starts. Phones keep their existing certificate pin and pairing session.
If Preen finds a missing, damaged, or conflicting pairing certificate, it stops and reports the problem instead of replacing your identity. Keep the existing state while resolving the error.
A compatible standalone hub can also serve the window. The standalone default
state directory is Preen Hub; the app-managed default is Preen. Do not start
two hubs on the same ports or point two running processes at the same state.
Permissions and updates
Accessibility access for text selection belongs to Preen Surfaces. The hub handles Local Network access. The main window presents setup and account sign-in. Remote access continues to require an approved account with active Preen Plus.
App updates coordinate shutdown of the bundled background agents before replacement, then register them again after relaunch. A separately installed standalone daemon has its own update lifecycle.