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Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

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Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#111

Post by Scarbutt »

d3Xt3r wrote: post #32
a7fort wrote: post #8

Recently started using it, it works really well and it's much more reliable than AirDrop. But the UX could be improved. But I just wish Apple fixed AirDrop, every time I go to use I have so little confidence in it, it often doesn't see devices or if you have multiple Mac users it will confuse them, showing you the same Mac device twice without telling you which user it is

I'm curious, what do you people use this for? What are all these (presumably large) files that you guys are generating and transferring, that requires the use of apps like these? Like in my case, the only files I generate on my phone are photos and videos, and these get backed up by Immich, which I can then share with someone by sending them a link to the files/album in question. I imagine normal folks would use iClo…

Silly apple. They should remove airdrop and tell users they have to rely on an internet connection and use whatsapp or email for quick, one-off file transfers between their iphones and macbooks.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#113

Post by cachius »

miguel-muniz wrote: post #56

https://github.com/schlagmichdoch/pairdrop A similar project but this one works entirely in the browser and can connect to clients beyond your local network with "public" rooms

Pairdrop is awesome! The docs are a bit hidden, the FAQ is at https://github.com/schlagmichdoch/pairdrop/blob/master/docs/... and the How-To for integration into Share menu on Android, iOS and Windows at https://github.com/schlagmichdoch/PairDrop/blob/master/docs/...

They forked sharedrop after it and snapdrop got acquired and enshittified by LimeWire, whoever that is now.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#114

Post by davely »

askldfhalkdfh wrote: post #100
eigenspace wrote: post #28

My problem is that all these alternatives require the devices to be on the same local network. One beauty of Airdrop is that it creates and handles that local network automatically under the hood (as far as I understand). So you could be out on a hike with friends and Airdrop something. The workaround I've found after switching to an Android device has been to teather my connection to my friend's device, which ends u…

This. Localsend may be very useful for a set of devices you control or influence. The USP of Airdrop is ad hoc sharing with people you don't really know. Classic case is meeting strangers on holiday and you want to swap some photos of the trip you're on. One or both of you doesn't have data or time to install anything, or it's just too hard to persuade someone they should install random app. Pairing Bluetooth or sett…

> With Airdrop you have trivially easy, "just works" sharing with people in proximity.

Funny enough, I encounter so many problems trying to share things via AirDrop with friends, family, and even my own Apple devices that I just tell everyone to install LocalSend and I find that things work better.

I’m not sure why that is, because AirDrop used to work pretty well for me. But it’s been an exercise in frustration more often than not for me.

(Obviously, LocalSend works only as long as everyone is on the same network.)

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#115

Post by 3371 »

satvikpendem wrote: post #102

Look into Sendme [0] and AltSendme [1] (which is a GUI around the former), they use Iroh [2] which is an open-source encrypted peer-to-peer relay service to send data so there are no limits whatsoever for sending and receiving files, because there's no central server. From my earlier comment about a similar thread a couple days ago about which file sharing apps people use [3]: [0] https://github.com/n0-computer/sendm…

This kind of services that requires the user to share a seed/code to the recipient always seems kinda awkward to me. The code is not simple/short enough to be verbally communicated; If I can send the code, I usually can just send the file.

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#116

Post by jrm4 »

As people have noted, the "local" part makes it hard.

Here's my question, y'all. What is the deal with the magic Syncthing uses and why can't we use it for stuff like this? And well, for everything?

(I've been doing this stuff for years and I still can't wrap my head around this question)

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#119

Post by gejose »

jumpconc wrote: post #33
subscribed wrote: post #29

I use it on all my devices and tbh it's the absolute best option I found. Previously I was using syncthing or had to install ftp server, used wormhole after packing all my files into one, etc. Android QuickShare never worked for me (wouldn't help me much with sending to the pc either). It has some rough edges (ie: on multi-homed devices it's less that ideal to see the one octet that matters, when the list is very lon…

For your own trusted devices on a LAN, you should try KDE Connect. KDE is not required.

What do you find to be better about it over LocalSend? (The website seems to be down)

Re: Localsend: An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop

#120

Post by WhyNotHugo »

eigenspace wrote: post #28

My problem is that all these alternatives require the devices to be on the same local network. One beauty of Airdrop is that it creates and handles that local network automatically under the hood (as far as I understand). So you could be out on a hike with friends and Airdrop something. The workaround I've found after switching to an Android device has been to teather my connection to my friend's device, which ends u…

Indeed, Localsend only does the last step of what Airdrop does. With Localsend, you need to:

- Create an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network on one device.

- Connect the other device(s) to that Wi-Fi network.

- Now run Localsend.

The first two steps are a bit of a drag, and the fact that Airdrop handles it is what makes it so frictionless to use.

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