#About the control node in Status Communities

Status Communities require a computer called the control node for administration purposes. When you create a community, your computer becomes a control node. The control node is the administration hub and the only computer to change your community's settings and configuration.

As the community Owner, the control node runs automatically in your Status desktop app if you use the same profile and computer where you set up the community.

#The basics

• The computer where you create your Status Community or transfer your community's ownership becomes a control node.
• You can install a new control node when you need to reinstall Status desktop or it becomes unavailable.
• Community Owners can set up additional computers to administer their community or delegate management functions to someone else. Community Owners still need the Status desktop app working as the control node running and connected to the internet.
• There can only be one control node per community.

#Keep your community available

The community's control node maintains your community's settings, configuration and functionality. Keep Status desktop running with your owner profile online daily, or at least once every six days.

If the control node goes offline, your community functionality is affected. You can set up a new control node if the initial Status desktop fails or becomes inaccessible.

The control node is the only computer that manages community members. You can use another computer or delegate tasks, but all actions go through the control node. If it's offline, new members can't be accepted, and join requests stay

#Administer your community from a different computer

If you want to administer your community from another computer, set up the same Status profile on that computer. This process doesn't create a new control node, and you can complete it on as many computers as you want.

Using a different computer is helpful if you run your Status Community on your desktop computer but want to travel with your laptop, for example. Additionally, you can delegate management functions to others using tokens.

#Find your community's control node

If you run Status desktop on multiple computers and are unsure which one is the control node, follow these steps:

1. 1
   From the navigation sidebar, click your community.
2. 2
   At the top of the channel sidebar, click your community logo.
3. 3
   Click

   Overview

   .
4. 4
   At the bottom of the content area, look for the

   This device is currently the control node

   message.