When we run Rancher Desktop, the rancher client is...
# rancher-desktops
silly-raincoat-45827
08/15/2025, 1:49 PMWhen we run Rancher Desktop, the rancher client is continuously sending between 938-1004 bytes every 5-6 seconds over port TCP 80 to http://docs.rancherdesktop.io. How do we disable this?
I am on MacOS 15.6 and RD 1.19.3. I have unchecked "Check for updates automatically" and "Allow collection of anonymous statistics ..."
silly-raincoat-45827
08/15/2025, 2:35 PMWhen we block the traffic, the network status in the status bar flips to offline, but I can still access the doc site via https, and I am otherwise not offline.
silly-raincoat-45827
08/15/2025, 2:35 PMimage.png
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fast-garage-66093
08/15/2025, 5:49 PMIt is the check to see if the machine is online or not. There was an offer from somebody to make the check configurable, but nothing materialized: Configure the Internet Connectivity check retry frequency or turn it off entirely · Issue #8785
fast-garage-66093
08/15/2025, 5:55 PMThere should be no other effect than the online checkers not working if you block this; it is not used for anything else.
fast-garage-66093
08/15/2025, 5:56 PMI'm kind of surprised by the size of the request; I didn't think there would be so many request headers, but I haven't looked at it with wireshark.
fast-garage-66093
08/15/2025, 5:57 PMThe response should be small too, given that it shouldn't follow redirects:
Copy code
❯ curl -s -i --max-redirs 0 <http://docs.rancherdesktop.io/> | wc -c
662fast-garage-66093
08/15/2025, 5:58 PMThe check for updates runs every hour I think, and uses a different endpoint. The statistics collection has never been implemented and does nothing
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silly-raincoat-45827
08/19/2025, 2:12 PMDo you need to send/receive data at all? If you can open the port you've verified you're connected to the internet?
silly-raincoat-45827
08/19/2025, 2:13 PMMaking it configurable would be good, though. This caught our security guys by surprise, and now there is distrust of Rancher Desktop.
silly-raincoat-45827
08/19/2025, 2:15 PMAlso, checking every 5 seconds by default seems pretty excessive to me. That probably goes back to the configuration. You may want the green dot to be very up to date, but I don't.
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fast-garage-66093
08/19/2025, 4:35 PMYou do need to receive data, otherwise you don't know if the connection actually works. You could be trapped in a captive portal in an airport... The amount of data transmitted is really minuscule compare to regular web usage. It is about the same as downloading a JPEG every couple of hours, or a short Youtube video once a week.
fast-garage-66093
08/19/2025, 4:44 PMBTW, I realized that you won't be able to download Kubernetes versions unless the online check succeeds. Otherwise the dropdown will be limited to the versions you already have in your cache.
fast-garage-66093
08/19/2025, 5:18 PM(Just re-read the issue, and it already mentions the Kubernetes download thing). So you are just the 2nd person to mention the online check. The first one offered to provide a PR, but never came back, so I guess it wasn't really an issue for them. If we ever touch the code, we will probably make it configurable ourselves, but until then it isn't a priority, and will depend on a contributor to make the change.
You should at least leave a comment on the issue to record that you are interested in this too!