Pilot Remote KVM · KV01m
Console User Guide
Every setting in the Pilot console, explained in plain English. Keep this open in a second tab while you configure your device.
No settings match that search. Try a shorter word.
Getting in
The Pilot console runs entirely in your browser. There is nothing to install.
From anywhere
Sign in to the cloud console and pick your device:
kvm.katalystbrand.comYour Pilot has to be bound to the cloud first. That happens under Cloud service in the toolbar.
On the same network
Type the Pilot's IP address straight into your browser. You will find the address under Settings › Network, or on the device screen itself.
Over a private network
If you would rather not use the cloud, the Pilot has three mesh VPN clients built in. See Apps center.
Settings
The Settings page holds four groups: Video, Remote Device, System, and Network. If you already know what you are after, type it into the search box at the top of the Settings page and the console will jump you there.
Video
Settings › Video
Controls how the remote screen is captured and delivered to you. If the picture looks wrong or feels sluggish, start here.
- Mode
- Choose Smart or Normal. Smart trims bandwidth use, which helps a lot on weak or metered cellular links.
- Latency mode
- Decides what the connection protects. See the breakdown below.
- Quality
- Ranges from Auto up through Lossless. Higher settings need more bandwidth, so match this to your connection and how much screen detail you actually need.
- Transfer
- Sets the transport for the video stream. Details below.
- Orientation
- Rotates the view in 90° increments for sideways-mounted or portrait displays.
- EDID
- The display profile the Pilot advertises to the controlled machine. The default works in almost every case. If you change it and the screen stops refreshing, reboot the controlled machine.
- View
- Decides how the image scales when you resize the browser window: Adaptive, Best picture quality, or Original pixel.
Lowest latency
Cuts input delay so keyboard and mouse feel immediate. Best for hands-on troubleshooting.
Smooth display
Prioritizes a steady picture and cuts stuttering or dropped frames. Best for watching something play out.
- WebRTC
- The balanced default. Good video, working audio, real-time control.
- WebRTC (FEC)
- Adds error correction that rebuilds lost packets from a little redundant data. Use it when the network is shaky and you are seeing flicker or lag.
- Direct
- Lowest latency and untouched image quality, but no audio.
Remote device settings
Settings › Remote Device
Everything about how your keyboard, mouse, and audio behave on the machine you are controlling.
- Speaker
- Pipes audio from the controlled machine back to you.
- Microphone
- Sends your voice to the far end. Supports one-tap mute and a press-and-hold push-to-talk key.
- Keyboard
- Turns keyboard input to the controlled machine on or off.
- Bad link mode
- Sends every keystroke as a clean press-and-release. Turn this on if a flaky connection is causing stuck keys or repeated characters.
- Show virtual keyboard
- Puts an on-screen keyboard in the console. Useful on a tablet or phone.
- Swap Command and Ctrl for macOS
- Trades the two modifier keys so shortcuts land correctly across operating systems.
- Mouse
- Turns mouse input to the controlled machine on or off.
- Show local cursor
- Draws your own cursor over the remote view.
- Mouse jiggle
- Nudges the cursor at intervals so the controlled machine never idles into sleep. Handy during long remote sessions and unattended server work.
- Scroll rate
- How far the remote screen moves per notch of your scroll wheel.
- Scroll direction
- Four options: Standard, Vertical invert, Horizontal invert, Both invert.
- Mouse mode
- Switches between absolute and relative pointing. See below.
- Relative sensitivity
- Only appears when mouse mode is set to relative.
- Primary button
- Assign left or right as the main click.
Absolute mode
Your cursor maps to exact coordinates on the remote screen and moves in and out of the window naturally. Use it for everyday desktop work.
Relative mode
Position is tracked by movement instead of coordinates, and the cursor locks inside the remote window until you click out. Use it for BIOS screens, older systems, and embedded devices.
System
Settings › System
- Device identity
- Changes how the controlled machine recognizes the Pilot. Identity and EDID stay linked, so editing one updates the other automatically.
- Language
- Sets the console interface language.
- Color mode
- Light or dark theme for the console.
- Time zone
- Sets the clock the console reports against.
- Screen display
- Customizes what appears on the device screen.
- Reset KVM
- Returns the Pilot to factory defaults. This wipes your configuration, so save anything you want to keep first.
Network
Settings › Network
Check and change how the Pilot itself gets online. It has three paths: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and cellular.
- Hostname
- Rename the device directly from the console.
- Ethernet
- Shows the wired IP address when a cable is connected. Click the address to see full details. To pin an address, switch the protocol from DHCP to Static and fill in IP, netmask, and gateway.
- Wireless
- Two modes, covered below.
- Cellular
- With a SIM installed, this page reports carrier, phone number, ICCID, and the active APN profile. SIM settings handles APN and MTU. AT command lets you query the modem directly. Cellular firewall sets rules for the mobile connection.
Station mode
The Pilot joins an existing Wi-Fi network as a client. Use Switch Wi-Fi at the bottom of the page to scan for and connect to a different network.
AP mode
The Pilot broadcasts its own Wi-Fi so a laptop or phone can connect directly. Good for close-range work with no network available, but it cannot reach an upstream network over Wi-Fi in this mode.
Toolbox
Four utilities that save you round trips: clipboard, shortcuts, Wake-on-LAN, and terminal.
Toolbox
- Clipboard
- Push text from your machine straight to the controlled machine without transferring a file. Good for license keys, long commands, and passwords.
- Shortcut
- Fires key combinations without opening the virtual keyboard. Common ones are preloaded; click Modify to change the list.
- Wake-on-LAN
- Powers on or wakes a machine on the same network. Click Add device and pick from the discovered list, or use Add manually and enter a name and MAC address.
- Terminal
- Click Access to open a shell on the Pilot itself for advanced configuration.
Virtual media
The Pilot can present itself to the controlled machine as a USB drive or an optical drive. That is how you move files across, and how you reinstall an operating system from hundreds of miles away.
Virtual Media
File sharing
Emulates a read-write USB drive so files move both directions.
Sending files to the controlled machine:
- Drag files onto the upload box, or click it to browse. You can also pull a file in from a URL.
- Click Mount to remote, then File sharing.
- The console confirms the steps in a pop-up window.
- A drive named KATALYST appears on the controlled machine with your files on it. If it does not open automatically, look for it under This PC.
- When you are done, open Virtual Media in the toolbar and click Stop sharing.
Pulling files back from the controlled machine:
- On the controlled machine, copy or move the files into the KATALYST drive.
- Back in the console, open Virtual Media in the toolbar and click Stop sharing.
- The files now appear under Virtual Media, ready to download to your own machine.
Image mounting
Presents a read-only CD or DVD drive to the controlled machine, and it is available during BIOS and UEFI startup. This is how you reinstall an operating system or run an installer remotely.
- Upload your file. It has to be mountable as an ISO.
- Click Mount to remote, then Image mounting.
- Select the file and click Mount image.
- The console confirms the mount in a pop-up window.
- The image is now available as a CD drive on the controlled machine.
Storage
- Replace storage drive
- Plug a USB stick into the Pilot to use it instead of the internal storage. Useful when you need to mount an image larger than the built-in space allows.
- Format
- Erases the disk and rebuilds the file system. Everything on it is gone.
- Disable
- Turns virtual media off. The Pilot reboots immediately when you do this.
Apps center
Three mesh VPN services are built in. Any of them gets you to the Pilot over a private network without port forwarding or firewall rules. Once connected, you reach the console by typing the device's virtual IP into a browser.
Apps Center
- Tailscale
- A WireGuard-based mesh VPN. Put the Pilot and your own machine on the same Tailscale account. After it binds, the console shows the linked account and unlocks exit node and subnet route options.
- ZeroTier
- Builds an encrypted overlay network that makes scattered devices behave as if they share a LAN. Join the Pilot and your machine to the same network. The console then displays the network ID and virtual IP.
- NetBird
- An open-source zero-trust network, also WireGuard-based. After binding, the console shows the assigned virtual IP.
Toolbar
The controls in the top right corner of the console, plus reboot and logout.
Top right of the console
- Text recognition
- Grab text off the remote screen with OCR. Use the arrow to pick your recognition language, click the T icon, then draw a box around the text. The console reads it and hands you something you can copy. This is how you get an error code or a serial number off a screen you cannot select from.
- Collapse
- The up arrow hides the toolbar. The down arrow at the top brings it back.
- Fullscreen
- The square icon expands the remote view. Press and hold Esc or click the grid icon to come back out.
- Upgrade
- Click the firmware version to check for an update. Update settings covers local upgrades, beta enrollment, and saving your current configuration. Grab firmware from the Katalyst firmware page before running a local upgrade.
- Cloud service
- Binds the Pilot to kvm.katalystbrand.com so you can reach it from anywhere. Once bound, the console reports its cloud status here.
Security
A KVM gives whoever holds the login full keyboard and BIOS access to the machine behind it. Lock it down before you deploy.
Toolbar › Security
- Admin password
- Change it from the default the first time you log in. This is the one step nobody should skip.
- Two-factor authentication
- Adds a second verification step to the console login.
- TLS certificate
- Browser access uses the preinstalled certificate by default. To use your own, open TLS certificate, choose Custom certificate, and upload your certificate file and private key.
Still stuck?
Firmware, spec sheets, and a human who picks up the phone.