# Desktop App access to web server on local network **URL:** \ **Category:** Help and Support\ **Created:** [December 20, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870 "2023-12-20T02:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/u/b1ackcat)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/1 "2023-12-20T02:17:27Z")
Hi, I am trying to monitor pages on my local network as well as pages on the internet. I installed the desktop app with particular interest because the pages can load very slowly and often time out using the Chrome extension. However, when I try to browse to these pages on my local network using the desktop app, I just get a blank screen. I am able to browse to them using Chrome. Does the desktop app use local hosts file? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/u/ajitk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 12:39pm UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/2 "2023-12-20T12:39:22Z")
Accessing internal sites is a very good use case for browser extensions and the Desktop app. Entries in the hosts file is used for all requests made by the app. Are you not able to access any of the local sites or only a few specific ones? ---
**Author:** ![b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/u/b1ackcat)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/3 "2024-01-18T19:41:57Z")
Thank you for your reply. I am sorry for my own delay. No local sites render on the destop app. There is no error message or delays, just a blank window. Here is the behavior on the app: ![scrape2](https://forums.distill.io/uploads/default/original/1X/4fd41b2969ff7951f8ba8b7d6fa9d708c9ce9df2.jpeg) Here is the same site on Chrome: ![scrape1](https://forums.distill.io/uploads/default/original/1X/98d5ee07c6a71b7b82ddd62cf2996d1717f9fcf1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/u/ajitk)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 6:21am UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/4 "2024-01-19T06:21:39Z")
It looks like website’s HTTPS certificate isn’t trusted by the OS. As a result, Distill’s browser couldn’t load any content. It currently doesn’t show any error in case the page failed to load. There are two potential solutions: 1. If the HTTP version of the site is accessible, try monitoring that using the desktop app. 2. If HTTPS is a must, the certificate being used needs to be added to the OS’s truststore. Checkout [Installing the trusted root certificate | Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/skype-sdk/sdn/articles/installing-the-trusted-root-certificate) for more information. Hope this helps! ---
**Author:** ![b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/u/b1ackcat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/5 "2024-01-20T02:38:48Z")
Thank you. We will work on that. I don’t think it’s possible to get a certificate from a third party certifier when the content is not visible third parties. We’ll have to figure something out. ---
**Author:** ![ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/u/ajitk)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 2:44am UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/6 "2024-01-20T02:44:20Z")
> [@b1ackcat](#): > > I don’t think it’s possible to get a certificate from a third party certifier when the content is not visible third parties. One can’t get a certificate from existing root certificate providers for private and local domains. You need to install the local **HTTPS server’s** certificate on the OS connecting to the server. Checkout the following article that touches on this exact topic and should help sort it out for you. > **[How to Create Your Own SSL Certificate Authority for Local HTTPS Development](https://deliciousbrains.com/ssl-certificate-authority-for-local-https-development/#installing-root-cert)** > > Learn how to set up your own SSL Certificate Authority for local HTTPS web development. ---
**Author:** ![b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@b1ackcat](https://forums.distill.io/u/b1ackcat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 11:58pm UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/7 "2024-01-20T23:58:18Z")
1. If the HTTP version of the site is accessible, try monitoring that using the desktop app. We tried that, but desktop app doesn’t load it. Is that to be expected? ![scrape2](https://forums.distill.io/uploads/default/original/1X/056da9dd295153c69f26d638ec9b4253dd4a5bbd.jpeg) ![scrape1](https://forums.distill.io/uploads/default/original/1X/41e24cc1bb42533ea688feef7a56712c3d034cb1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/u/ajitk)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 11:40pm UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/8 "2024-01-22T23:40:41Z")
The problem with the desktop app is that it isn’t displaying the error encountered when loading the page. We will fix this by showing a clear error message in the next release so that you can see what error was encountered. That will help you fix the problem. ---
**Author:** ![ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@ajitk](https://forums.distill.io/u/ajitk)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 10:41am UTC](https://forums.distill.io/t/desktop-app-access-to-web-server-on-local-network/2870/9 "2024-01-25T10:41:58Z")
Version 3.9.0 of the desktop app was just released: > [@Distill Desktop App 3.9.0](https://forums.distill.io/t/distill-desktop-app-3-9-0/2965/1): > > Hello everyone, We are excited to announce that Distill Desktop App 3.9.0 is live with two new features: Error pages in the custom browser: We have seen users facing issues where the custom browser shows a blank page when the url encounters an error. We have fixed this and now clear error messages are shown to the user for an error url. Macros upgrade: Macros now utilize the library Playwright which has allowed us to support macro steps like drag and keypress, which were previously unsupp… Can you try using the latest version 3.9.0 of the app to see if it displays an error message?