LocalSend For the Win!

If you have devices running different operating systems, such as MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS, etc., you may have struggled to find a quick and reliable solution for transferring files between the devices locally. (This is especially true if you’ve got a Windows laptop or desktop and iOS).

Use LocalSend! It’s the convenience of using something like Apple’s AirDrop, but cross platform!

It’s open source (written using Flutter if you care), and hosted on Github.

Here’s where you can get it: Google Play App Store / iOS & iPad MacOS Store

Windows has a few options for installation including leaving it as a portable app. I used winget install localsend.

Other than needing to agree that the app is allowed to communicate on local networks (on iOS and Windows), it worked flawlessly for me. It doesn’t use the cloud, so you don’t need to worry about your files being transferred elsewhere. The only hard requirement is that the devices are on the same network. You may want to look at the settings to change the defaults (and turn off the animation which consumes CPU unless the app is minimized). I activated “Auto-finish” as well.

Recommended.

They accept donations.