One of the best file sharing programs. I have it on all of my devices.
I’m always annoyed at the “AirDrop alternative” marketing. It’s not. It requires both of your devices to share a network.
The truest AirDrop alternative that uses discovery and ad-hoc connections between devices is FlyingCarpet. It definitely needs a simpler UI though.
I was gonna say… “no internet connection required” is not the key attribute of AirDrop. AirDrop doesn’t even require a network connection. It’s a weird comparison.
Conference meeting test: you and a bunch of strangers gather for a quick q&a after a conference talk, the author wants to share their slidedeck with you. Everyone has whatever solution you are evaluating pre installed but your strangers so you have nothing setup specifically for this group… How many button presses across everyone does it take to share the slides?
Wait, I don’t see you. Are you on the conference wifi? No I’m on call data, join the conference wifi. What’s the password. Ok. Thanks. I joined it, I don’t see the file. Which wifi are you on? Oh I’m on 5g. This is too complicated join my hot spot. Fuck I can’t see your hotspot, turn airplane mode on and off. I joined it but I don’t see anyone…
That does definitely replicate the feature of AirDrop more closely. Do you have any experience with it? Does it work reliably?
A thing to look out for is Wifi Aware, which would enable the functionality if implemented. That is what was recently also used by google to enable android<->ios Airdrop
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LocalSend lets you securely share files and messages with nearby devices over your local network—no internet or third-party servers required. It’s open-source, cross-platform (desktop & mobile), fast, and works fully offline.
Been using localsend for maybe 2 years now.
Super simple and absolutely wonderful program. Something that any OS on any device should have just came as a free and simple implementation from the get go, but instead they make it as hard as can be without passing your data through their grubby little fingers first.
LocalSend is the best way to move and backup your files without the cloud or a data cable.
Not to rain in on localsends parade but you can also send via
echo text | nc -l -p 1234and receive vianc <sender-ip> 1234I have a few qualms with this app:
1. For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem. From Windows or Mac, this FTP account could be accessed through built-in software.
Aren’t both of these solutions unencrypted?
Not through a Wireguard tunnel
