LocalSend

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LocalSend is a free, open-source app that allows you to securely share files and messages with nearby devices over your local network without needing an internet connection.

• About
• Sponsors
• Screenshots
• Download
• How It Works
• Dependency Hierarchy
• Getting Started
• Command Line Interface
• Contributing
  • Translation
  • Bug Fixes and Improvements
• Troubleshooting
• Building
  • Android
  • iOS
  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Linux

About

LocalSend is a cross-platform app that enables secure communication between devices using a REST API and HTTPS encryption. Unlike other messaging apps that rely on external servers, LocalSend doesn't require an internet connection or third-party servers, making it a fast and reliable solution for local communication.

Sponsors

Browser testing via

Screenshots

Download

It is recommended to download the app either from an app store or from a package manager because the app does not have an auto-update.

Windows	macOS	Linux	Android	iOS	Fire OS
Winget	App Store	Flathub	Play Store	App Store	Amazon
Scoop	Homebrew	Nixpkgs	F-Droid
Chocolatey	DMG Installer	Snap	APK
EXE Installer		AUR
Portable ZIP		TAR
		DEB
		AppImage

Read more about distribution channels.

Windows binaries are signed. Read more about the Code signing policy.

Caution

Unofficial MSIX preview: you can try builds from the latest commits at localsend.ob-buff.dev. Stability is not guaranteed and all custom code tweaks are listed on that site.

Compatibility

Platform	Minimum Version	Note
Android	7.0	The last version to support Android 5 and 6 is v1.17.0.
iOS	13.0	The last version to support iOS 12 is v1.17.0. Sharing from other apps requires iOS 14 or later.
macOS	11 Big Sur	Use OpenCore Legacy Patcher 2.0.2 (See #1005)
Windows	10	The last version to support Windows 7 is v1.15.4.
Linux	N.A.	Deps: Gnome: xdg-desktop-portal and xdg-desktop-portal-gtk, KDE: xdg-desktop-portal and xdg-desktop-portal-kde

Setup

In most cases, LocalSend should work out of the box. However, if you are having trouble sending or receiving files, you may need to configure your firewall to allow LocalSend to communicate over your local network.

Traffic Type	Protocol	Port	Action
Incoming	TCP, UDP	53317	Allow
Outgoing	TCP, UDP	Any	Allow

On Linux, for example with ufw: sudo ufw allow 53317. With firewalld: sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=53317/tcp, sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=53317/udp, then sudo firewall-cmd --reload.

Also make sure to disable AP isolation on your router. It should be usually disabled by default but some routers may have it enabled (especially guest networks). See troubleshooting for more information.

Portable Mode

(Introduced in v1.13.0)

Create a file named settings.json located in the same directory as the executable. This file can be empty. The app will use this file to store settings instead of the default location.

Start hidden

(Updated in v1.15.0)

To start the app hidden (only in tray), use the --hidden flag (example: localsend_app.exe --hidden).

On v1.14.0 and earlier, the app starts hidden if autostart flag is set, and the hidden setting is enabled.

How It Works

LocalSend uses a secure communication protocol that allows devices to communicate with each other using a REST API. All data is sent securely over HTTPS, and the TLS/SSL certificate is generated on the fly on each device, ensuring maximum security.

For more information on the LocalSend Protocol, see the documentation.

Dependency Hierarchy

Getting Started

To compile LocalSend from the source code, follow these steps:

1. Install Flutter directly or using fvm (see version required)
2. Install Rust
3. Clone the LocalSend repository
4. Run cd app to enter the app directory
5. Run flutter pub get to download dependencies
6. Run flutter run to start the app

Note

LocalSend currently requires an older Flutter version (specified in .fvmrc) and thus build issues may be caused by a mismatch between the required and the (system-wide) installed Flutter version.
To make development more consistent, LocalSend uses fvm to manage the project Flutter version. After installing fvm, run fvm flutter instead of flutter.

Command Line Interface

The LocalSend CLI is a terminal client built on LocalSend Protocol v2. Run localsend-cli --help to see every available option and hotkey.

Use the send command with one or more files, directories, or a mixture of both:

localsend-cli send report.pdf photo.jpg ./project-backup

The command opens the discovered-device list; select the destination interactively and press Enter to start the transfer.

To select the destination without an interactive device list, pass its exact alias or IP address:

localsend-cli send --to "Cute Tomato" report.pdf
localsend-cli send --to 192.168.27.26 report.pdf

An alias must uniquely identify a discovered device. An IP address is probed directly over HTTPS on LocalSend's default port (53317).

To send a text message instead of files, use --text together with --to. Pass - to read the text from stdin:

localsend-cli send --to "Cute Tomato" --text "https://localsend.org"
echo "Hello" | localsend-cli send --to "Cute Tomato" --text -

A single trailing line break is dropped from stdin. Text longer than 64 KB is sent as a .txt file instead. Stdin must be UTF-8 and at most 16 MB; send other data as a file.

Directories are collected recursively. Their selected root names and nested paths are preserved on the receiver. Empty directories are not sent because LocalSend transfers file entries rather than directory entries.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from anyone interested in helping improve LocalSend. If you'd like to contribute, there are a few ways to get involved:

Translation

You can help translate LocalSend into other languages. We use the Weblate platform to manage translations.

Alternatively, you can also contribute by forking this repository and adding translations manually.

The translations are located in the app/assets/i18n directory. Edit the _missing_translations_<locale>.json or strings_<locale>.i18n.json file to add or update translations.

Take note: Fields decorated with @ are not meant to be translated; they are not used in the app in any way, being merely informative text about the file or to give context to the translator.

Bug Fixes and Improvements

• Bug Fixes: If you find a bug, please create a pull request with a clear description of the issue and how to fix it.
• Improvements: Have an idea for how to improve LocalSend? Please create an issue first to discuss why the improvement is needed.

For more information, see the contributing guide.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Platform (Sending)	Platform (Receiving)	Solution
Device not visible	Any	Any	Make sure to disable AP-Isolation on your router. If it is enabled, connections between devices are forbidden.
Device not visible	Any	Windows	Make sure to configure your network as a "private" network. Windows might be more restrictive when the network is configured as public.
Device not visible	macOS, iOS	Any	You can try to toggle the "Local Network" permission under "Privacy" in the OS settings.
Device not visible	Any	Any	If a VPN is active, allow local/LAN traffic or temporarily disable the VPN. Some VPNs block local network connections by default.
Device not visible	Any	Any	Use manual sending to enter the receiver's IP address directly. If that works, add the device to favorites so it is probed directly.
Speed too slow	Any	Any	Use 5 Ghz; Disable encryption on both devices
Speed too slow	Any	Android	Known issue. https://github.com/flutter-cavalry/saf_stream/issues/4

Building

These commands are intended for maintainers only. Make sure to run them from the app directory.

Android

Traditional APK

flutter build apk

AppBundle for Google Play

flutter build appbundle

iOS

flutter build ipa

macOS

flutter build macos

Windows

Traditional

flutter build windows

Local MSIX App

flutter pub run msix:create

Store ready

flutter pub run msix:create --store

Linux

Traditional

flutter build linux

AppImage

appimage-builder --recipe AppImageBuilder.yml

Snap

Instructions in localsend/snap/README.md

Contributors