TwinDesk

All your computers and your phone, working as one desk.
Screens, apps, files, clipboard, calls, texts, notifications, mouse and keyboard, shared between Mac, Windows, Linux and Android.
Free and open source. No account, no cloud, and now no shared network needed.

⬇️ Download 2.2 · Website · What's new · How it works

Your devices are good at their own jobs and bad at working together. TwinDesk fixes that. Put a Mac and a Windows PC side by side and use them with one mouse and keyboard. Open the PC's apps on the Mac. Turn an old laptop or your Android tablet into a second screen. Answer your phone's calls and texts from the computer, send a file in two taps, and paste on one device what you copied on another.

• Any combination. Mac ↔ Windows, Mac ↔ Mac, PC ↔ PC, Linux ↔ anything, and Android ↔ any computer. Or, with TwinDesk Mesh, all of them at once.
• Anywhere. Same Wi-Fi, a USB cable, or no shared network at all: Bluetooth and a direct Wi-Fi link of their own.
• No account, no cloud. Devices talk only to each other, on an encrypted link.
• No extra hardware, no root. Install the app on each device and pair once.

💻 Computer features One mouse and keyboard · second screen · the other computer's apps in windows · files and folders · clipboard · terminal · sound · notifications

📱 Phone and tablet features Phone screen and apps in windows · tablet as a second screen · calls · texts · photos · phone files · share menu · clipboard · notifications

📡 Connectivity features Bluetooth sessions · Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot links made on demand · USB cable · same Wi-Fi · picked for you, moved for you

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✨ New in 2.2

Meet TwinDesk Mesh. Your laptop, your desktop, the Linux box in the corner, your phone and your tablet, all connected at once. Copy on one and paste on any of them. A text on your phone shows up on every screen. Glide your mouse from screen to screen to screen. However many devices are on your desk, they now work as one.

	What's new
🕸️	Every device at once. Computers and phones, all connected together	More
📋	One clipboard. Copy anywhere, paste everywhere	More
🔔	One notification pool. Every alert, on every screen	More
🖱	One mouse, every screen. Each edge leads to the device you put there	More
🤝	Pair once, join all. A new device meets the rest by itself	More
✨	Every feature introduces itself. Each tab shows what it does with an animated picture, until you turn it on

TwinDesk Mesh is built on the work of Erdoğan Yeşil (@erdodo) in #29. Thank you! 🙌

🕸 Introducing TwinDesk Mesh

Until now TwinDesk paired two devices at a time. Mesh connects all of them: every computer and phone you own, each talking straight to the others, no cloud and no hub in between. Your phone no longer has to choose between your two computers.

• One clipboard. Copy a link on your laptop and paste it on your desktop, your other laptop or your phone. The newest copy always wins.
• One notification pool. Your phone buzzes, and every computer on your desk shows it.
• Pair once, join all. Pair a new device with one computer and it meets the rest by itself. No codes to type again and again.

🖱 One mouse, every screen

Line your devices up on the map once. Push the pointer off any edge and it lands on the device you put there, then keeps going to the next one: from the PC to the Mac to the Linux laptop to your phone, with one mouse and one keyboard. Every device sees the same map, so it works the same from wherever you sit.

🧪 Try the beta

TwinDesk Mesh is in beta on Windows, Mac and Linux. Turn it on in the Multi-device tab; TwinDesk restarts, and your pairings come with it. Turn it off any time and everything is just as you left it. Devices that don't have it on (or run an older TwinDesk) still connect as before.

Connecting just two devices? Keep it off, you won't need it. A few things are still being polished: files dragged across a screen edge go to one device at a time, the phone app connects to one computer at a time, and Linux joins other computers over the same Wi-Fi only.

✨ New in 2.1

TwinDesk 2.1 is the biggest update yet. Devices no longer need to be on the same network, and the phone is now on your computer in full: its calls, texts, photos and files.

	What's new
📡	Bluetooth sessions. Phones and computers nearby connect with no shared network	More
⚡	Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot. A fast link of their own for files, screens and apps, made when needed	More
📞	Calls. Answer, decline and dial; talk and listen on the computer	More
💬	Messages. Read and reply to your texts	More
🖼	Photos. Browse the phone's photos and videos, save them to the computer	More
🗂	Phone Files and shared folders. The phone's storage on the computer, folders shared both ways	More
✨	And more. Pair over USB, live file progress, Take over and Switch, mouse and keyboard without developer options	More

_{The 2.1 screenshots are the real app. The people, texts and photos in them are demo data.}

📡 Connectivity features

📶 Bluetooth connection

On a train, in a café with guest Wi-Fi that blocks devices, or with no Wi-Fi at all: devices that are near each other now connect over Bluetooth LE by themselves. The session, mouse and keyboard, clipboard, notifications, calls and texts all run over it, and the status line says so (38 ms · Bluetooth). It works between a phone and any computer, and between computers too: a Mac and a Windows PC, or Linux.

Two switches decide who can turn up over Bluetooth: Bluetooth with phones (on) and Bluetooth with computers (off until you want it), on the Overview and in General. Turn off Bluetooth on Wi-Fi connections (on by default) switches the radio off once both devices are on the same Wi-Fi and brings it back when that Wi-Fi goes.

⚡ Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot

Bluetooth is great for the session but too slow for a screen or a big file. So when you start one, TwinDesk brings up a direct Wi-Fi link between the two devices for as long as it's needed, then goes back to Bluetooth (Temporary Wi-Fi Direct). Want it to stay? Press Connect with Wi-Fi Direct on either side, and Back to Bluetooth when you're done. A phone can also share its hotspot: the computer joins it, with the name and password typed once and remembered.

🔗 Automatic link selection

You never have to choose. TwinDesk uses the same network when there is one, moves a phone onto the USB cable when you plug it in (and back when you unplug), and falls back to Bluetooth when the Wi-Fi goes. The link and its latency are always shown at the top of the app.

	Same Wi-Fi	USB cable	Bluetooth	+ Wi-Fi Direct or hotspot
Session, clipboard, notifications	✅	✅	✅	✅
Mouse and keyboard	✅	✅	✅	✅
Calls and texts	✅	✅	✅	✅
Screens, apps, files, photos, shared folders	✅	✅	moves to Wi-Fi Direct	✅
Phone's screen through wireless debugging	✅	✅	moves to Wi-Fi Direct	✅
Terminal between computers (ssh twindesk)	✅	—	on Wi-Fi Direct	✅

💻 Computer features

🖱 Shared mouse and keyboard

Push the pointer off the edge of your screen and keep working on the other computer, as if they were one. Your keyboard follows the pointer. Trackpad gestures (Spaces swipes, pinch to zoom, show desktop) carry over, and a double-tap of the hotkey brings everything home. Set which side the other computer is on, edge resistance and pointer speed. It works over Bluetooth too (Over Bluetooth on the Cursor page).

🖥 Extended display and remote screen

Extend your Mac onto a PC or another Mac with a real virtual display, or mirror it. Or bring the other computer's screen into a window and control it from there. Low-latency H.264 with Fastest and Smooth playback, and optional frame generation. On Windows, a toolbar slides in at the top of the window for Extend or Mirror, Stop, frame generation and full screen.

🪟 Remote apps in their own windows

Open a Windows app on your Mac (or a Mac app on your PC) and it gets a window of its own, with its own Dock icon or Start-menu pin. No full remote desktop, just the app you need, next to your own.

Pick any app from the other computer's list and it opens in a moment:

📁 File transfer, shared folders and terminal

Drag files across the screen edge and drop them anywhere, or copy with ⌃⌥C and paste with ⌃⌥V (Ctrl+Alt+C/V on Windows and Linux). Send from the macOS Share menu or Explorer's Send to, or share a folder that shows up as a network drive on the other side. Files on their way show live progress (a progress notification, or on the Mac the percentage beside the menu bar icon). Need a shell? ssh twindesk opens one on the other computer, no passwords needed.

📋 Shared clipboard

Copy on one computer and paste on the other, instantly or when you switch over. Entries from password managers are skipped, and a Recent list keeps the last few things you copied.

🔔 Notifications, sound and Wake-on-LAN

See one computer's notifications on the other as native notifications, and hear one computer's sound on the other. Wake a sleeping computer with Wake-on-LAN, and every switch you flip is shared by both sides and remembered for the pair.

🔀 Multiple devices

Pair as many computers and phones as you like. Switch moves the session to another paired device nearby, Take over claims one that's busy with someone else, and Disconnect lets go: a device let go stays away until you connect it again. All from the Overview, the menu bar or the tray. Want them all connected at once? Try TwinDesk Mesh.

🤝 Cross-platform pairing

The same app on every platform, so a Mac and a PC pair just like two Macs. Here's a Mac connected to a Windows PC, with the PC's apps ready to open on the Mac:

📱 Phone and tablet features

Most phone links stop at notifications and a file drop. In TwinDesk your Android phone or tablet is a full peer: it pairs like a computer and gets the same features, plus its calls, texts, photos and files.

📞 Calls

Answer, decline and make your phone's calls from the computer. When it rings, a small window shows who's calling with Answer and Decline, then the time, Mute, End and where the sound is. The Calls page has a number pad, contacts found as you type, all your contacts and the call history.

With Bluetooth, the computer becomes the phone's headset, so you talk and listen right there (Mac, Windows, and Linux with PipeWire). Pair the two once in the system's Bluetooth settings, and the Calls page walks you through it.

💬 Messages

Read and reply to your texts on the Messages page: every conversation, pictures included, new ones as they arrive, and a count in the sidebar. Start a new conversation by number.

🖼 Photos and phone files

Browse the phone's photos and videos on Photos (all, photos, videos or screenshots), open any of them big, and save one or many to the computer. Phone Files browses the phone's whole storage: open folders, save to the computer, upload, rename, delete and make folders, or just drop files on the page. It's TwinDesk on the phone doing it, so no developer options are needed.

Shared folders work both ways: a folder the phone shares opens in Finder, Explorer or the Linux file manager, and a folder you share from the computer shows up in the phone's Files app and file pickers.

Calls, Messages, Photos and Phone Files are each off until you switch them on. Off means nothing of it runs on either side, and the phone asks for its permissions only then, at the top of that page, never during setup. Their tabs show only while a phone is connected.

📲 Phone screen and apps on the computer

See your phone's screen in a window and control it with your mouse, trackpad and keyboard. Better still, open single Android apps in windows of their own, side by side with your desktop apps. Pin them to the Dock or the Start menu and use them like any other app.

Every app on the phone is one click away from the computer's Phone page, along with its battery, the connection and a button to bring up the whole screen.

🖥 Tablet as a second screen

Turn a tablet or phone into an extra monitor. Choose Extend to get more desktop space, or Mirror to show what's on your screen. Drag windows onto it, and use touch as the mouse: tap to click, hold to right click, two fingers to scroll. Start it from the computer or from the tablet itself.

📤 File sharing

Share a photo or a document from any Android app: pick Send to computer or Copy to computer in the system share menu. On the computer, use the macOS Share menu, Explorer's Send to, drag files across the screen edge, or press ⌃⌥C / Ctrl+Alt+C to copy them and paste them anywhere on the phone. Files arrive with a notification you can tap to open.

📋 Clipboard sync

Copy text on your computer and paste it on your phone, or the other way around. It's instant, it works in the background, and a Quick Settings tile sends the phone's clipboard with one tap.

🖱 Mouse and keyboard on the phone

Push the pointer past the edge of your screen and it carries on onto the phone. Type with your real keyboard in any Android app, scroll with your trackpad, then double-tap the hotkey to come back. It goes through wireless debugging, or through Accessibility with no developer options at all (over Bluetooth too, in the full app, which the computer installs for you); TwinDesk picks automatically, or you choose on the Cursor page.

🔔 Notification sync

Your phone's notifications show up on your computer as native notifications, and the computer's can show up on your phone. Hide the message text for privacy or mute single apps.

📱 Android app

The Android app adapts to the device: tabs at the bottom on a phone, a full sidebar on a tablet. Every page names the computer you're connected to and shows what's shared in each direction.

You also get Quick Settings tiles (Send clipboard, Wireless debugging), home screen shortcuts to the computer's screen, an ongoing notification with what's connected, and sound in both directions (the phone captures its own sound now, no wireless debugging needed).

✨ More in 2.1

• Pair a phone over the USB cable. Plug it in and click Allow on the computer: no code to compare.
• The phone as a drive on Windows and Linux too (Mount), as it already was in Finder.
• Live progress for files everywhere: a progress notification on Windows, Linux and the phone, the percentage beside the menu bar icon on the Mac.
• Switch, Take over and Disconnect for every session, on the Overview and in the menu bar or tray.
• Mouse and keyboard on the phone without developer options, through Accessibility.
• The phone's sound without wireless debugging: the phone captures it itself.
• Monitor 2 toolbar on Windows, as on the Mac's viewer.
• Windows reliability: mouse sharing keeps working from the tray, the pointer never stays blank after a UAC prompt, and scrolling on the other computer no longer scrolls the app under the parked pointer.
• Linux: Bluetooth LE through BlueZ, Wi-Fi Direct through NetworkManager, and monitors that no longer go black at start on NVIDIA.
• Signed Windows installers are supported in the build.

Get it

Works with

Pair	What you get
Mac ↔ Windows PC	Every computer feature
Mac ↔ Mac	Everything
PC ↔ PC	Everything
Linux ↔ Mac, PC or Linux	Everything (a few differences)
Android ↔ Mac, Windows or Linux	Every phone and tablet feature
All of them at once	One clipboard, notifications and screen layout for every device (TwinDesk Mesh, beta)

Every pair connects over the same Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or a direct Wi-Fi link; a phone also over a USB cable.

Get started

1. Download TwinDesk for each computer and your phone from the releases.
2. Open it on both. They find each other on the same network, over Bluetooth, or over a USB cable for a phone.
3. Pair once by comparing a code (on a USB cable, just click Allow). From then on they connect by themselves.

For the phone's screen and apps in windows, TwinDesk walks you through turning on Android's wireless debugging once (details). Files, clipboard, the computer's notifications, calls and photos work without it. The phone's notifications, texts and mouse and keyboard through Accessibility come with the full app, which the computer installs once over wireless debugging.

Privacy

TwinDesk only talks to devices you've paired with, directly over your own network, Bluetooth, a direct Wi-Fi link or a cable. There are no accounts, no telemetry and no cloud relay. Your calls, texts and photos go straight from the phone to your computer and nowhere else. The only internet request is an update check against GitHub's public releases, which you can turn off.

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Under the hood

Everything below is for the curious and for people building TwinDesk themselves.

Linux

On Linux, TwinDesk runs on both X11 and Wayland. On Wayland, the mouse and keyboard go through evdev and uinput (the Setup screen grants access once), and screens are captured through the desktop portal. A few things work a little differently:

• Shared folder. Sharing uses Samba. The first time, one password prompt installs it if it's missing and adds a network-only account. The other computer's folder is connected with GVFS and shows in the file manager's sidebar.
• Copy and paste files. Ctrl+Alt+C copies what's selected in the file manager in front (or files you already copied), and Ctrl+Alt+V pastes into the file manager window in front (else Downloads). Right-click › Send to works in Nautilus, Nemo, Caja, Dolphin and Thunar.
• Dragging files across the edge. Files dragged in from the other computer are dropped into the folder under the pointer, or the desktop. On Wayland, they go to the file manager window in front. Dragging files out of Linux needs an Xorg session.
• Extend. On GNOME (Wayland) it uses Mutter's own virtual monitor; pick "Virtual remote monitor" when the desktop asks which screen to share. On X11 it switches on a spare output of the graphics driver (not available on NVIDIA's driver). That needs a small helper, which the .deb installs; with the AppImage, Share screen › TwinDesk virtual display › Install puts it in once, with your password.
• Apps. Opening this computer's apps on the other side needs an Xorg session.
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct. Bluetooth LE goes through BlueZ, and direct Wi-Fi links through NetworkManager, hosted beside the computer's own Wi-Fi where the adapter allows (2.4 GHz groups for a phone).
• Android phone. Everything in Android works on Linux too: the phone's screen and apps in windows, the mouse and keyboard across the edge, files, clipboard, notifications and sound. The package carries adb; the Setup screen's firewall fix opens mDNS (5353/udp) so the phone's wireless debugging is found.

Android in detail

Install TwinDesk on the phone, open it next to TwinDesk on the computer and pair from Overview › Nearby. The phone needs Android 10, and Android 11 for everything that goes through wireless debugging.

The phone app

The app is laid out like the computers' (a sidebar on tablets, tabs at the bottom on phones), and every page names the computer it's connected to:

Page	What it does
Overview	The computer you're connected to, Connect and Disconnect, nearby computers to pair with, and the wireless debugging card until that's set up
Screen	Use the phone as a screen for the computer: Mirror, or Extend the desktop onto it. Touch works as the mouse (tap to click, hold to right click, drag to select or move windows, two fingers to scroll), with the computer's sound and Smooth playback
Cursor	The computer's mouse on the phone across the screen edge, its pointer speed here, reverse scrolling, right and middle click
Keyboard	The computer's keyboard types on the phone, every key as a key, so any layout works and the soft keyboard stays out of the way. A keyboard on the phone types on the computer
Clipboard	Copy on one, paste on the other, each way on its own switch, at once or when sent
Notifications	The phone's notifications on the computer, with the text hidden if you like, and the computer's on the phone
Files	Send files, copy them to paste on the computer, and see where the computer's files land
Sound	The phone's sound on the computer, and the computer's sound on the phone
General	The phone's name, background running, and the permissions TwinDesk uses, each with its switch
About	Source code, releases, the license, and what goes over wireless debugging and the network

And outside the app:

• Share sheet: Send to computer and Copy to computer in every app's Share menu.
• Quick Settings tiles: Send clipboard and Wireless debugging.
• Home screen shortcuts: the computer's screen, and wireless debugging on in one tap.
• The ongoing notification shows what's connected, with Exit.
• Copied on the computer: files copied with ⌃⌥C / Ctrl+Alt+C arrive as a notification with Copy (paste them in any app) and Save.
• The computer can install the full app over wireless debugging (Phone page › Notifications from the phone): Play Protect blocks downloaded apps that read notifications or texts, or use Accessibility, so the download leaves those out and the computer adds them. Settings and pairing stay.

Wireless debugging

Files, the clipboard and notifications work right away. The phone's screen, its apps in windows, touch, your mouse and keyboard on the phone and its sound go through wireless debugging, which TwinDesk pairs with once:

• Until it's paired, a card under the connected computers on Overview (on the computer and on the phone) walks you through it. Open Developer options › Wireless debugging › Pair device with pairing code on the phone and type the 6-digit code on the computer, or on the phone in TwinDesk's notification (Settings' dialog stays open). The phone sends the code to whichever computer it's connected to: Mac, PC or Linux.
• After that TwinDesk switches wireless debugging on by itself when it needs it, follows it to its new port every time it restarts, and keeps the pairing from expiring (Android otherwise forgets a computer after 7 days unused). Phones that switch it off on every Wi-Fi change or screen lock (MIUI, HyperOS) get it switched back on as soon as they're unlocked, or a prompt if they refuse. Wireless debugging only runs while USB debugging is on too, so TwinDesk turns both on.
• Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO also need Developer options › USB debugging (Security settings) for touch, mouse and keyboard (it asks for a Mi account). Without it the screen shows but input is refused; the computer's Phone page says "Touch blocked" until it's on.
• On a Mac, the phone in Finder. Turn it on in the Mount tab and click Mount: the phone shows under Locations like any server. Until then TwinDesk never looks at the phone's files. It goes through the cable when USB debugging is allowed, else over wireless debugging. Finder's .DS_Store and ._ files never land on the phone.

How it works

Each computer runs an Electron app, which handles the window, pairing, the link and the state machines. Next to it runs a small native helper for everything the OS keeps to itself: capturing and injecting input, virtual displays, gestures, window capture and native drag and drop.

Folder	What's in it
mac/	macOS app (Electron)
mac-helper/	macOS helper (Swift): virtual display, event tap, input injection, audio, apps, SMB
windows/	Windows app (Electron) and installer
windows-helper/	Windows helper (C#): hooks, SendInput, Raw Input touchpad, window capture, native drag
linux/	Linux app (Electron)
linux-helper/	Linux helper (C): XInput2 / XTest on X11, evdev / uinput on Wayland, XRandR, window list, XDND edge strip
android/	Android app (Kotlin, Jetpack Compose); the computers drive the phone through adb and scrcpy's server
shared/	Used by every app: the wire protocol, the Bluetooth pipe and Wi-Fi Direct links, the phone hub (Calls, Messages, Photos, Phone Files), shared folders, frame generation and icons

The link between two devices is one TLS session wherever it runs: on the local network, through a phone's USB cable (adb), or through Bluetooth LE (a GATT pipe of TwinDesk's own, shared/blepipe.js). When a session on Bluetooth needs bandwidth, shared/netlink.js brings up a Wi-Fi Direct group or joins a phone's hotspot, moves the session onto it, and takes it down again once nothing needs it. Calls, Messages, Photos and Phone Files are shared/phonehub.js on the computers, answered by TwinDesk on the phone.

Ports: TCP 47800 (control link) and UDP 47801 (discovery) on the local network.

Build and run

You need Node.js 18+ on every platform.

macOS (13 Ventura or later)

xcode-select --install          # Swift compiler for the helper
cd mac
npm install
npm run build:helper
npm start                       # run from source
npm run dist && npm run dmg     # build TwinDesk.app and TwinDesk-<version>-<arch>.dmg in mac/dist/

The disk image is named after the app inside it: TwinDesk-2.3.0-arm64.dmg for Apple Silicon, TwinDesk-2.3.0-x64.dmg for Intel. Keep those names on a release: the in-app updater picks the one for each Mac by them.

By default, npm run dist targets the Mac's current architecture. To build an Intel package from an Apple Silicon Mac, use:

npm run dist:x64 && npm run dmg

To build the Intel app and its image in one step, run npm run dmg:intel; it writes mac/dist/TwinDesk-<version>-x64.dmg.

Use npm run dist:arm64 && npm run dmg for Apple Silicon explicitly. The x64 build cross-compiles the Swift helpers and packages the x64 Electron runtime, so it does not require an Intel Mac.

On first launch, TwinDesk asks for Screen Recording, Accessibility and Input Monitoring (once; after that the General tab shows each permission's status).

npm run dist signs the app with a certificate of its own, made the first time in ~/.twindesk-signing (keep a backup). macOS keeps permissions per signature, so with the same certificate they carry over when an update is dragged into Applications. An app built without it is signed ad-hoc, and macOS treats every update as a new app; TwinDesk then clears the stale entries so Allow works again.

Windows 10 / 11

cd windows
npm install
npm run build:helper            :: uses the .NET Framework C# compiler that ships with Windows
npm start
npm run dist                    :: NSIS installer in windows\dist\
npm run dist -- arm64           :: the Windows on ARM installer (or `x64 arm64` for both)

npm run dist also works on a Mac or Linux: it skips the helper build and packages the macshare-winhelper.exe already in windows-helper\bin\ (for example, one taken from a release).

The installer adds the firewall rules (for every network profile, so a standard account on a Public network doesn't need an administrator later). The Setup screen, shown once, offers to fix the firewall if something changed (that needs an administrator) and to install the optional Virtual Display Driver for Extend.

Linux (X11 or Wayland)

sudo apt install build-essential libx11-dev libxi-dev libxtst-dev libxrandr-dev libxfixes-dev
cd linux
npm install
npm run build:helper
npm start
npm run dist                    # AppImage and .deb in linux/dist/

The Setup screen walks you through the rest. On Wayland that means input access (one admin prompt, then log out and back in once). It can also install OpenSSH for the terminal. Extend on GNOME Wayland uses Python 3 with GObject and GStreamer's PipeWire plugin (python3-gi, gstreamer1.0-pipewire), which GNOME desktops already have.

NixOS & Nix Flakes

TwinDesk includes a flake.nix with package, dev shell, and NixOS module support:

# Run directly with flakes
nix run github:InukaAsith/TwinDesk

# Or enter development environment
nix develop

On NixOS, enable the module in your system configuration:

{
  programs.twindesk = {
    enable = true;
    user = "yourusername"; # adds to input/uinput groups for Wayland KVM
  };
}

See docs/nixos.md for full options (firewall, Wi-Fi Direct capability wrappers, virtual displays, and more).

Testing the Linux app from a Mac

linux/scripts/vm-test.sh runs it in a Parallels Desktop Linux VM (Ubuntu with the packages above and Node.js): it copies this checkout into the VM, builds the helper, starts TwinDesk in the VM's desktop session and drives it from the Mac.

linux/scripts/vm-test.sh start            # sync, build and (re)start it in the VM
linux/scripts/vm-test.sh shot linux.png   # screenshot of its window
linux/scripts/vm-test.sh eval "UI.go('cursor')"
linux/scripts/vm-test.sh log

On the VM's shared network it finds the Mac's TwinDesk and pairs like any Linux computer.

Android

cd android
./gradlew assembleRelease        # JDK 17+; app/build/outputs/apk/{standard,full}/release/

standard is the build people download. full adds notification access, the SMS permissions (Messages) and the Accessibility service (mouse and keyboard without wireless debugging), which Play Protect blocks in downloaded apps; the computers install it over wireless debugging (Phone page › Notifications from the phone), so npm run dist on each platform bundles the newest android/dist/*-full.apk.

GitHub Actions

Build Android, Build Linux and Build Windows (Actions tab › Run workflow) make the standard and full APKs, the AppImage and .deb, and the x64 and arm64 installers, helpers included. Set the ANDROID_KEYSTORE secret to the key the Android app is signed with (base64 -i ~/.android/debug.keystore): the APKs then install over existing ones, and the Linux and Windows builds carry the full Android app. Without it the APKs get the runner's own key and the computers' builds leave the Android app out.

To Authenticode-sign the Windows installers, set the WIN_CSC_LINK secret to a base64-encoded Windows code-signing .pfx certificate and WIN_CSC_KEY_PASSWORD to its password. Keep the certificate and password out of the repository. When WIN_CSC_LINK is set, the Windows build fails if signing cannot complete instead of silently publishing an unsigned installer. Signing gives users a verified publisher and can help SmartScreen reputation build over time; it does not guarantee that antivirus products will stop flagging a file.

Thanks

TwinDesk Mesh (Multi-device) is built on the mesh by Erdoğan Yeşil (@erdodo, #29), who also contributed #8 and #9. Thanks too to @Jay-Prajapati01 for signed Windows installers (#13), and to everyone who reports problems and shares ideas in the issues.

License

TwinDesk is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. Copyright © 2026 inukaasith.

Parts are adapted from DeskPad (MIT). See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES for details.