diff --git a/muxplex/frontend/app.js b/muxplex/frontend/app.js
index d17bf3e..bbfc9ae 100644
--- a/muxplex/frontend/app.js
+++ b/muxplex/frontend/app.js
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ let _previewTimer = null;
 var _previewSessionName = null;  // track by NAME, not DOM element
 
 // ─── Settings state ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+let _sources = [];
 let _settingsOpen = false;
 let _serverSettings = null;
 const DISPLAY_SETTINGS_KEY = 'muxplex.display';
@@ -985,6 +986,36 @@ async function patchServerSetting(key, value) {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Build the list of session sources from server settings.
+ * Local source is always first with url: ''.
+ * Remote instances come from settings.remote_instances array.
+ * Trailing slashes are stripped from remote URLs.
+ * Default device name is 'This device' when device_name is empty.
+ * @param {object} settings - server settings object
+ * @returns {object[]} array of source objects with {url, name, type, status, backoffMs}
+ */
+function buildSources(settings) {
+  var localName = (settings && settings.device_name) || 'This device';
+  var sources = [
+    { url: '', name: localName, type: 'local', status: 'authenticated', backoffMs: 2000 },
+  ];
+  var remotes = (settings && settings.remote_instances) || [];
+  for (var i = 0; i < remotes.length; i++) {
+    var r = remotes[i];
+    if (r && r.url) {
+      sources.push({
+        url: r.url.replace(/\/+$/, ''),
+        name: r.name || r.url,
+        type: 'remote',
+        status: 'authenticated',
+        backoffMs: 2000,
+      });
+    }
+  }
+  return sources;
+}
+
 // ─── Settings dialog ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 /**
@@ -1716,6 +1747,7 @@ if (typeof module !== 'undefined' && module.exports) {
     // Server settings
     loadServerSettings,
     patchServerSetting,
+    buildSources,
     // Fetch wrapper
     api,
     // Header + button with inline name input
diff --git a/muxplex/frontend/tests/test_app.mjs b/muxplex/frontend/tests/test_app.mjs
index a49acec..aaf70d8 100644
--- a/muxplex/frontend/tests/test_app.mjs
+++ b/muxplex/frontend/tests/test_app.mjs
@@ -2004,4 +2004,50 @@ test('createNewSession polls for session before auto-opening (not immediate setT
   );
 });
 
+// --- buildSources ---
+
+test('buildSources returns only local source when no remote_instances', () => {
+  const sources = app.buildSources({ device_name: 'Laptop' });
+  assert.strictEqual(sources.length, 1, 'should return exactly one source (local)');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[0].url, '', 'local source url should be empty string');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[0].name, 'Laptop', 'local source name should be device_name');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[0].type, 'local', 'local source type should be local');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[0].status, 'authenticated', 'local source status should be authenticated');
+});
+
+test('buildSources returns local + remote sources from remote_instances', () => {
+  const sources = app.buildSources({
+    device_name: 'Laptop',
+    remote_instances: [
+      { url: 'https://server1.example.com', name: 'Server 1' },
+      { url: 'https://server2.example.com', name: 'Server 2' },
+    ],
+  });
+  assert.strictEqual(sources.length, 3, 'should return 3 sources: 1 local + 2 remote');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[0].type, 'local', 'first source should be local');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[1].type, 'remote', 'second source should be remote');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[1].url, 'https://server1.example.com', 'remote source url should match');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[1].name, 'Server 1', 'remote source name should match');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[2].type, 'remote', 'third source should be remote');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[2].url, 'https://server2.example.com', 'remote source url should match');
+});
+
+test('buildSources uses hostname fallback when device_name is empty', () => {
+  const sources = app.buildSources({});
+  assert.strictEqual(sources.length, 1, 'should return one source');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[0].name, 'This device', 'local source name should fall back to This device');
+});
+
+test('buildSources strips trailing slash from remote URLs', () => {
+  const sources = app.buildSources({
+    device_name: 'Laptop',
+    remote_instances: [
+      { url: 'https://server1.example.com/', name: 'Server 1' },
+      { url: 'https://server2.example.com///', name: 'Server 2' },
+    ],
+  });
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[1].url, 'https://server1.example.com', 'trailing slash should be stripped from remote URL');
+  assert.strictEqual(sources[2].url, 'https://server2.example.com', 'multiple trailing slashes should be stripped from remote URL');
+});
+