HACKER Q&A
📣 NayamAmarshe

Airdrop alternative that works on all platforms?


I've been looking for a convenient AirDrop alternative for a while for Android - iOS - MacOS and Linux.

My only requirement is that I should be able to easily share files like AirDrop's share menu option from Android to MacOS or MacOS to Android (or Linux/iOS).

I've tried LocalSend but it's a bit of a hassle and doesn't have any share shortcut on MacOS or Linux. I've tried PairDrop but it's a webapp and is extremely slow compared to LocalSend for some reason.

The best one I've used is NearDrop but it can only send files, not receive them.

Aren't there any good alternatives that simply just use Wi-Fi to send and receive files without too much of a hassle. I don't really need a full-blown GUI like LocalSend, it's slow and adds extra steps in file sharing.


  👤 yorwba Accepted Answer ✓
KDE Connect can send and receive files over the local network, among many other things: https://kdeconnect.kde.org/

On Android, it gets a share menu entry. On Linux, I use either the tray icon or kdeconnect-cli on the command line to send files. I never tried the iOS/macOS versions, but they seem to exist at least.


👤 runjake
Have you tried ShareDrop or SnapDrop (first two Google results for "airdrop alternative")?

I use AirDrop most of the time, but I use a macOS/iOS SSH shortcut to copy files (mostly camera snaps) from my personal devices to work devices and vice versa.

Edit: My shortcut is highly specialized for my use case, but the comment at this link is a basic example of how it works: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/412331/ios-ipados-...


👤 moofeez
Yesterday, I posted about a cross-platform AirDrop alternative that I'm working on: https://x.com/moofeez/status/1744119063901544530?s=20

Would love to hear your feedback on what you'd like to see!


👤 swah
Pairdrop is faster than Airdrop, for me.