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EngineLink

EngineLink lets you run a powerful chess engine on your computer and use it from The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton on your iPhone. This gives you much stronger analysis, and also helps conserve your phone’s battery life. Your phone just presents the chess board and the engine analysis, your computer at home does all the heavy lifting.

How it works:

  1. Install EngineLink on your computer
  2. Launch it - a QR code appears on screen
  3. Scan the QR code from the app on your iPhone - done!

Your computer runs the chess engine; your phone sends it positions and receives analysis. No technical setup required.

Download

Platform Download Notes
macOS (Apple Silicon) EngineLink.dmg Stockfish engine included
Windows EngineLink-Setup.exe Stockfish download required (see below)
Linux x86_64 (GUI) EngineLink.AppImage · EngineLink.deb Stockfish download required (see below)
Linux x86_64 (Terminal) enginelink.gz For terminal/server use; Stockfish download required (see below)

Setup Instructions

Jump to your platform:

macOS

Stockfish is already included - no extra downloads needed.

  1. Open the downloaded EngineLink.dmg file
  2. Drag EngineLink into your Applications folder
  3. Open EngineLink from Applications

If macOS shows a security warning (“Apple could not verify…”):

  1. A large QR code appears on screen - you’re ready to connect from your iPhone

Windows

  1. Run the downloaded EngineLink-Setup.exe installer and follow the prompts

If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning (“Windows protected your PC”):

  1. Download Stockfish (see Getting Stockfish below)
  2. Launch EngineLink from the Start menu
  3. On the first launch, a configuration screen appears
  4. Click Browse… and select the Stockfish file you downloaded
  5. Click Save & Connect
  6. A QR code appears - you’re ready to connect from your iPhone

Linux (GUI)

Two download options are available — pick whichever suits your system:

AppImage:

  1. Download the .AppImage file
  2. Make it executable and run it: 
    chmod +x EngineLink.AppImage
./EngineLink.AppImage

Deb package:

  1. Install the downloaded package: 
    sudo dpkg -i EngineLink.deb
  2. Launch EngineLink from your application menu or run enginelink in a terminal

Then, for either option:

  1. Download Stockfish (see Getting Stockfish below)
  2. On the first launch, a configuration screen appears
  3. Click Browse… and select the Stockfish file you downloaded
  4. Click Save & Connect
  5. A QR code appears - you’re ready to connect from your iPhone

Linux (Terminal)

This version runs entirely in your terminal - no graphical desktop required.

  1. Download and extract the file: 
    gunzip enginelink.gz
chmod +x enginelink
  2. Download Stockfish (see Getting Stockfish below)
  3. Run EngineLink in a terminal: 
    ./enginelink
  4. On the first launch, a configuration screen appears with text fields
  5. Type the full path to your Stockfish file (e.g. /usr/local/bin/stockfish)
  6. Use Tab to move between fields, then press Enter to save and connect
  7. A QR code appears in your terminal — you’re ready to connect from your iPhone

A standard 80x24 terminal window is large enough to display the QR code.

Headless mode

If you want to run EngineLink in the background - for example on a server or over SSH - you can skip the interactive interface entirely with --headless. Pass the path to Stockfish directly on the command line:

./enginelink --headless --engine-path /usr/local/bin/stockfish

The QR code prints once to the terminal and status updates appear as plain text. No interactive UI is drawn, so it works over SSH and in scripts. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

You can also set engine options:

./enginelink --headless --engine-path /usr/local/bin/stockfish --hash 512 --threads 4

If you have already configured EngineLink (by running it interactively at least once), you can omit --engine-path and it will use your saved settings:

./enginelink --headless

Connecting from Your iPhone

  1. Open The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton on your iPhone
  2. Open the app settings (the gear in the top right corner)
  3. Find the “Remote Engine” section and press “Connect Remote Engine…”
  4. Point your camera at the QR code displayed by EngineLink on your computer
  5. Once connected, remote engine analysis is available in the app

In any screen that provides engine analysis (like the analysis board or the course editor), you can switch between using the local or the remote engine.

If you disconnect from the remote engine, you don’t have to scan the QR code again: The app will remember how to connect to EngineLink on your home computer, as long as you keep the EngineLink app running.

Your phone and computer do not need to be on the same network - EngineLink works over the internet.

Getting Stockfish

macOS users can skip this section - Stockfish is already included in the app.

Stockfish is a free, open-source chess engine and one of the strongest in the world. EngineLink needs it (or any other UCI-compatible chess engine) to provide analysis.

  1. Go to stockfishchess.org/download
  2. Download the version for your operating system:
    • Windows: Download the Windows ZIP file, extract it, and note where you saved the stockfish executable
    • Linux: Download the Linux version, extract it, and make it executable: 
      chmod +x stockfish
  3. When EngineLink asks for the engine path, point it to the Stockfish file you just downloaded

Any UCI-compatible engine works with EngineLink, but Stockfish is recommended.

Troubleshooting

macOS: “Apple could not verify” warning Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway. This only needs to be done once.

Windows: “Windows protected your PC” warning Click More info, then click Run anyway. This only appears the first time you run the installer.

QR code not appearing EngineLink needs an internet connection to set up the relay. Check that your computer is online and try again.

Engine not starting Make sure the engine path in the configuration screen points to the correct file. On Linux, ensure the file has execute permissions (chmod +x stockfish).

iPhone can’t connect after scanning Make sure your iPhone has an internet connection. Try closing and reopening The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton, then scan the QR code again.

Need to change settings later?