SMS & Messages in the Web Dashboard

The Messages view in the web dashboard turns any laptop or desktop browser into a desk-friendly SMS client for your Android phone. Visit the URL shown in the PlainApp app (for example, https://192.168.1.50:8443/messages) and you'll see a two-pane layout: conversation list on the left, open thread on the right.

Because the dashboard runs as a static web app served directly from the phone, there's no cloud relay in the middle. Your browser sends and receives messages by talking to the phone's telephony stack over an encrypted local connection — the same radios and SIM you'd use if you typed on the phone itself.

The screenshot below shows the two-pane layout with a conversation selected. The input bar at the bottom supports text, file attachments, and SIM selection on dual-SIM devices.

Key capabilities

• Two-pane layout — the conversation list sits on the left, the open thread on the right. On narrow windows the list collapses to a single pane with a back button.
• Keyboard-driven sending — type your reply and press Enter to send. Shift+Enter inserts a newline. The send button is disabled while a message is in flight.
• File attachments — click the attachment button to attach a file from your computer. Images send as MMS; large non-image files trigger a size warning.
• Archived threads — archive a conversation from the thread header to move it out of the main list. Archived threads live under /messages/archived and can be searched and restored.
• Full-text search — search across all conversations from the search box in the top bar. The list filters to matching threads, and the URL updates so you can bookmark the query.
• Call from the thread header — the phone icon in a conversation's header places a call to that contact through the phone's own telephony, the same as the call button on the Contacts page.
• Export conversation — export the open thread as a downloadable file from the header's export action, including attachments when present.

Walkthrough

1. Open the Messages page from the left sidebar. The conversation list loads with the most recent thread at the top.
2. Click a conversation to open it in the right pane. The thread loads recent messages, with older messages fetched on demand as you scroll up.
3. Type a reply in the input bar at the bottom. Press Enter to send; the message appears as a pending bubble until the carrier confirms delivery.
4. Attach a file by clicking the attachment button and picking a file from your computer. The pending attachment appears above the input; tap send to deliver it as MMS.
5. Archive a thread — click the archive button in the conversation header. The thread moves to /messages/archived and the list returns to the next conversation.
6. Search across all messages — type a query into the search box. The conversation list filters to matching threads; click one to open it with the search term preserved in the URL.

Tips & tricks

• On a dual-SIM phone, the SIM chip in the input bar shows the active subscription. Tap it to switch before sending.
• If the NOTIFICATION_LISTENER permission is missing, the thread header shows a warning. Grant it in the app to get reliable delivery receipts.
• Bookmark a search URL like /messages?q=invoice to jump straight to threads matching a query.
• Export a conversation before archiving it — the export preserves attachments and timestamps for your records.

Privacy & security notes

Related features

• Contacts in the Web Dashboard — click a contact's phone number to start a new message thread.
• File Management in the Web Dashboard — manage the files you attach to messages.