Aardy Manager (Mac)

Getting started with the Mac

Install Aardy on your Mac, set the admin password, and open the manager from any device.

Aardy for Mac holds your photo library and serves every Apple TV in the house. You set it up with the Aardy Manager, a web page the Mac app serves on your home network.

What you need

  • A Mac that stays on. It must be awake and logged in for TVs to get new photos. TVs keep playing what they have already saved if it is not.
  • One or more Apple TVs on the same network as the Mac.
  • Your photos: in folders on the Mac, on an external drive, on a network drive (NAS), or in the Photos app.

Install

  1. Open the Aardy disk image and drag Aardy onto the Applications shortcut beside it.
  2. Open it. Aardy lives in the menu bar as a small photo-frame icon and has no Dock icon.
  3. If macOS asks, allow incoming network connections. That is how your TVs reach the Mac.
  4. From the menu-bar icon, turn on Start at Login so Aardy comes back after a restart.

Note: If the menu-bar icon ends up hidden, for example under the notch, Aardy opens its web page in your browser instead.

Open the manager and set a password

  1. From the menu-bar icon, choose Open Aardy Photo Server…. It opens http://localhost:8737/.
  2. The first visit asks you to set an admin password. Do this right away: whoever gets there first sets it.
  3. After that, the page asks you to sign in.

The manager has five sections: Source Folders, Packs, Marked, Apple TVs and Settings. Every screen has a ? button that explains it, and there is a Help page with all of these articles.

Open it from another device

From another computer or a phone on your network, use http://<your-mac's-address>:8737/. Settings shows the exact address under How TVs reach this Mac.

Next steps

  1. Add your photos
  2. Make a pack
  3. Pair a TV and assign the pack

Tip: Lost the password? See Manager troubleshooting.

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