Make yourself
at home.

Porch is invite-only. Ask an existing member for a one-person registration link, open it, and create your account. The link creates only your account; it does not automatically add you to a community or group conversation.

Use app.porch.chat for the Stable client. Your same account also works in Canary.

Canary gets Porch changes first. It uses the same account and backend as Stable, but it may change more often.

Direct messages and group DMs live in the Home area. Communities have their own icon in the left rail and contain text channels and voice rooms.

Use the person-plus shortcut in the left rail or open User settings → Invites to create an account link. After your friend registers, send a separate community or group invite for the place you want them to join.

Join a voice room in a community, or open a DM and use its call controls. Porch will ask for microphone or camera permission the first time each device is used.

Yes. Choose screen share during a call to select a display, window, browser tab, or a video capture source exposed by your operating system. Capture-card aspect ratios are preserved rather than stretched.

Confirm the camera button is off, then leave and rejoin the call. If the tile remains, reload Porch and report the browser, operating system, and camera or capture-card model.

Open User settings → Notifications, enable desktop notifications, and allow the browser or operating system prompt. Community and channel notification settings can be adjusted separately.

The web app is the current mobile path. In a supported mobile browser, use “Add to Home Screen” to install the Porch PWA.

Porch’s Windows builds are currently unsigned. Download only from releases.porch.chat, then compare the installer with the published SHA-256 file when you want an additional integrity check.

Yes. Stable follows the Stable update feed and Canary follows the Canary feed. The two clients install separately and never switch channels behind your back.

1. Check the Porch status page.
2. Reload the app once.
3. Disable a content blocker for Porch and retry.
4. Try Stable if you are on Canary, or Canary if you are on Stable.

Try a wired connection, stop other high-bandwidth transfers, and confirm that your firewall allows WebRTC traffic. Include whether audio, camera, or screen sharing is affected when you report it.