Aprox adds two controls to Control Center on iPhone and iPad: one shows how a cluster is doing, the other starts or shuts down a guest with one tap, without opening the app. On Android, the Aprox icon offers launcher shortcuts that open All Clusters or a particular server directly. All of this is free.
Where to find it
- iPhone and iPad: Control Center › edit › Add a Control › Aprox.
- Android: touch and hold the Aprox icon on the home screen or in the app drawer.
Android has no Quick Settings tiles for Aprox. The Wear OS tile is described in Watch app.
The Control Center controls (iPhone and iPad)
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cluster Status | A button that shows "Running guests and node health for a Proxmox VE cluster." It shows the cluster name and "x/y running", or "N node(s) offline" with a warning icon when a node is down. Tapping it opens Aprox. |
| Start or Shut Down Guest | A toggle for one guest. Its state reads Running or Stopped. Tapping it starts a stopped guest (Start) or asks a running one to shut down cleanly (Shut Down). It runs without opening Aprox. |
Add a control
- Open Control Center: swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen.
- Touch and hold an empty area, or tap + at the top left.
- Tap Add a Control.
- Search for or scroll to Aprox.
- Tap Cluster Status or Start or Shut Down Guest.
- Choose what the control shows:
- For Start or Shut Down Guest, the guest picker opens right away. Each entry shows the guest's name with its server and VMID. Pick a guest, for example
plex. - For Cluster Status, the control shows your first cluster. To pick another one, see the next section.
- For Start or Shut Down Guest, the guest picker opens right away. Each entry shows the guest's name with its server and VMID. Pick a guest, for example
You can add several controls, for example one Start or Shut Down Guest toggle each for plex and home-assistant.
Change the guest or cluster of a control
- Open Control Center and tap + (or touch and hold an empty area) to edit it.
- Tap the Aprox control.
- For Cluster Status, choose a Cluster ("Choose which Proxmox VE cluster this control shows."). For Start or Shut Down Guest, choose a Guest ("Choose which virtual machine or container this control starts and stops.").
A guest toggle without a guest shows Select Guest. Tapping it reminds you: "Press and hold the control, then choose a guest for it."
Start or shut down a guest from Control Center
- Open Control Center.
- Tap the Start or Shut Down Guest control:
- If the guest is Stopped, Aprox starts it.
- If the guest is Running, Aprox asks it to shut down cleanly, the same as Shut Down in the app.
The toggle never stops a guest hard. To cut power, use Stop in the app or in Siri and Shortcuts.
Requirements
- The guest or cluster must have been seen by Aprox on this device at least once. Open Aprox and sign in to the server first.
- The server needs a saved password (Save password to Keychain) or an API token, so Aprox can sign in without you. Otherwise the control reports: "Aprox has no saved credentials for <server>. Open Aprox and sign in, choosing to save the password or using an API token."
- A server that asks for a two-factor code must already be signed in in the app.
- The Proxmox account needs permission to power the guest, for example
VM.PowerMgmt.
Good to know
- Cluster Status shows "Not connected" until Aprox has connected to a Proxmox VE cluster on this device.
- Both controls show what Aprox last saw. Opening Aprox brings them up to date.
- Control Center controls are not available on the Mac. There, the menu bar extra does the same job; see Aprox on the Mac.
- Starting and shutting down guests is free, so the guest toggle works on the free plan too.
Launcher shortcuts (Android)
Launcher shortcuts take you straight to a screen in Aprox.
Use a launcher shortcut
- Touch and hold the Aprox icon.
- Choose one of the shortcuts:
- All clusters opens the All Clusters dashboard.
- A server name, for example "Homelab", opens that server. Up to 3 of your servers are listed. The built-in demo is not.
Most launchers also let you drag a shortcut from this menu onto the home screen, where it stays as its own icon.
The list follows your servers: a renamed server is renamed here too, and a removed one disappears. Launcher shortcuts only open a screen. They never start, stop or change anything.