# connect

Connects to an existing remote Cartesi machine server at the specified address. Returns a [RemoteCartesiMachine](/cm/api/remote-cartesi-machine) instance that can be used to interact with the remote server. This is the main entry point for connecting to a running remote machine server from your application.

## Function Signature

```ts
connect(address: string, timeout?: number): RemoteCartesiMachine
```

* `address`: The address (`host:port`) of the remote machine server to connect to.
* `timeout` (optional): Maximum time in milliseconds to wait for the remote server to connect before giving up and returning an error. Use `-1` for no timeout.

## Example

```ts twoslash
import { connect } from "@deroll/cm";

// Connect to an existing remote machine server on localhost:5000
const remoteMachine = connect("127.0.0.1:5000");

// You can now use remoteMachine as a RemoteCartesiMachine
const version = remoteMachine.getServerVersion();
console.log("Remote server version:", version);

// When done, you can shutdown or disconnect as needed
remoteMachine.shutdown();
```