LocalSend

What it is

LocalSend is a free, open-source app that sends files and messages between nearby devices over your local network, with no internet connection needed. The repository describes it as an open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop. Transfers use a REST API over HTTPS, and each device makes its own TLS certificate on the fly, so no outside server takes part. The code is Apache-2.0 licensed, and building it needs Flutter and Rust.

1. Install LocalSend on each device you own
2. Open it on two devices that share a local network
3. Choose photos, videos, documents or text to send
4. Tap the nearby device in the list
5. The other device accepts
6. Files cross over HTTPS, or plain HTTP if encryption is off

Who it suits

People who move files between a phone, a laptop and a desktop made by different companies, and would rather not upload them to a cloud first. It also suits an office or a shared room where only a local network is at hand. No account is needed. Skip it if the devices sit on different networks. The homepage says it does not work over the internet.

Where to use it

LocalSend runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, and the README’s Download table adds Fire OS. Each system has its own channels.

• Windows: Winget, Scoop, Chocolatey, an EXE installer or a portable ZIP
• macOS: the App Store, Homebrew or a DMG installer
• Linux: Flathub, Nixpkgs, Snap, the AUR, or a TAR, DEB or AppImage file
• Android: the Play Store, F-Droid or an APK file, and Amazon for Fire OS
• iOS: the App Store
• A terminal: localsend-cli, installed with Homebrew on macOS and Linux

How to set it up

Get it saves a zip of Minda’s setup notes in your downloads folder, with a page for each system from LocalSend’s README and docs and each install channel’s own page. The main route is your system’s store or package manager, because the README says the app has no auto-update.

1. Install LocalSend on every device from a store or a package manager.
2. Open it on two devices that share a network. Each shows up on the other under its alias.
3. If a device is missing from the list, open the firewall port and turn off AP isolation, as the setup notes describe.

choco install localsend

brew install --cask localsend

sudo snap install localsend

The first line is for Windows with Chocolatey, the second for macOS with Homebrew and the third for Linux with Snap. Each comes from that channel’s own page. The README gives no command for Winget or Scoop.

How to use it

The homepage gives three steps. Install LocalSend on all your devices, choose photos, videos, documents or text, then tap the nearby device. Files are saved to the Downloads folder by default, and you can change that in the settings. The terminal client does the same job with a command.

brew update
brew install localsend-cli

Run localsend-cli --help to see every option and hotkey. With no --to option, send opens a list of devices to pick from, and Enter starts the transfer.

Example

You are at a Mac terminal and want a PDF on your phone. Say the phone’s alias is Cute Tomato, the README’s sample name. You type this.

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

The README says an alias must identify exactly one device on the network. To send text instead of a file, use --text together with --to, and pass a lone hyphen to read the text from stdin, as the next line does.

echo "Hello" | localsend-cli send --to "Cute Tomato" --text -

For newcomers and experts

If you are new. A local network is the Wi-Fi or cable network your devices share at home or at work. LocalSend sends files across it directly, so nothing goes through a server on the internet. Port 53317 is the door it uses by default, and the README says LocalSend should work out of the box in most cases. AP isolation is a router setting that stops devices on one network from talking to each other. Some routers turn it on, especially for guest networks. When a device does not appear in the list, check that first.

For experts. The protocol page is LocalSend Protocol v2.2, and the CLI is built on v2. At start, a device sends an announcement by UDP multicast, by default to 224.0.0.167 on port 53317. The protocol page says both can be changed in the app settings. The default group is 224.0.0.0/24 because some Android devices reject any other group.

Where multicast fails, a device can send a register request to every local IP address, or you can type the receiver’s IP address. With HTTPS on, a device’s fingerprint is the SHA-256 hash of its certificate. With it off, the fingerprint is a random string. A receiver can ask for a PIN, which the sender adds as a pin query parameter.

The README’s build steps need Flutter at the older version its .fvmrc file names, and Rust, and they run from the app directory. For a portable install, an empty settings.json beside the executable makes the app keep its settings there. The --hidden flag starts it in the tray only. The CLI sends text over 64 KB as a .txt file, and it does not send empty directories.

Good to know

The homepage says transfers stay on your local network.

• Cost and account: the homepage says it is free, with no ads, no tracking, no account and no login
• Your data: the privacy policy says LocalSend collects no personal and no non-personal data. It adds that your operating system, your device maker and other apps with access can still collect data
• Updates: the app has no auto-update, so a new version comes through the same store or package manager, or from a new release file
• A device that does not show up: the README names AP isolation, a Windows network set to public, a VPN that blocks local traffic and the Local Network permission on macOS and iOS. Manual sending by IP address is its fallback
• Speed: the README says to use 5 GHz and turn off encryption on both devices. Receiving on Android is a known slow case
• Windows files: official Windows release files are signed through SignPath, and Windows shows SignPath Foundation as the publisher
• Unofficial builds: the README’s preview from the latest commits at localsend.ob-buff.dev is marked unofficial, with no promise of stability
• Contributions: the contributing guide disallows AI generated contributions unless they are bug fixes, very small, or the author proves expertise in the field
• License: Apache-2.0. The LICENSE file reads “Copyright 2022-2026 Tien Do Nam”