13 ms·

KDE Connect: Enabling communication between all your devices

476 points by snthd 1y ago

evanjrowley 1y ago
There's official support for Windows. No support for macOS yet, but there is a working implementation for it. I had no idea I'd be able to use KDE Connect with those operating systems.
- p_l 1y ago
  The protocol is open so you can build software for other systems that uses it, whether it's GNOME or macOS
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- DigitallyFidget 1y ago
  There is a Windows build for it. I don't know if it's official or not, but there is a Windows build and it does work well.
karmakaze 1y ago
I was wondering what "the network" here means: > To achieve this, KDE Connect: implements a secure communication protocol over the network, and allows any developer to create plugins on top of it. Has a component that you install on your desktop. Has a KDE Connect client app you run on your phone. Looking further it is only for the local network (with ways to extend it e.g. VPNs).
- creatonez 1y ago
  It has bluetooth support now as well
  - m463 1y ago
    it also talks about using a VPN and what ports to open in a firewall. I don't know how it handles the harder part, the "device on internet" talks to "device in my house" most phones and apps use this "harder part" to interpose their corporate server for more than TURN/STUN and continue to "collect all the data" or "insert a subscription"
    - Oxodao 1y ago
      Did you get this to work with wireguard though? As long as my phone is connected to wireguard KDEConnect does NOT see any other computer, apparently because it wont forward ICMP broadcast according to the internet. I would really like to have a solution to this issue but since its baked in WG i don't think this is possible
      - m463 1y ago
        Actually, I mean the whole "find and talk to my home server over the internet" Generally it does this by having a DNS record for your home server, or having some other well-known server give out its address or relay the packets.
        jeroenhd 1y ago
        KDE Connect leverages mDNS on the network (non-Bluetooth) side, which relies on broadcasts. That means it'll break across networks without a VPN of some kind. For some VPNs (Wireguard, OpenVPN in TUN mode) that also means connectivity is impossible. You can, if you want, open ports and configure KDE connect to reach out across the internet (practically only feasible with one device behind your router on IPv4, any on IPv6), but because it doesn't use "real" DNS, you can't just enter a DDNS hostname, you have to specify the full IP address.
      - jeroenhd 1y ago
        WireGuard doesn't do any forwarding out of the box, you need to set up your iptables/nftables to get all of that working. If you follow the WG quick-start guides, they often work by masquerading traffic, making VPN clients act the same way a bunch of computers behind a NAT router would. You'll need to set up all other kinds of routing as well for cross-network discovery to work. WireGuard doesn't do broadcasting in general (it's a point-to-point protocol after all) so you'll need to wrap broadcasting protocols manually. Other VPNs go more low-level (at least in TAP mode), mirroring an ethernet network with all the broadcasting and low-level protocols you can think of. In theory you could do that in WireGuard (running L2TP over a WireGuard link) but many phones won't support that, and it'd probably be just as easy to set up an OpenVPN/IPSec+L2TP VPN in that case. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, though. I imagine most people wouldn't want a printer publishing its mDNS hostname to wake the 5G radio on their phone, or the battery level of their laptop in the case of KDE connect.
- blooalien 1y ago
  > Has a component that you install on your desktop. This is only if you use Windows (or MacOS, as there's also a KDE Connect compatible Mac app out there somewhere IIRC). If you're on KDE Desktop Linux, you're already good-to-go, as it's a pre-installed component of a typical KDE environment. :)
  - 1oooqooq 1y ago
    not true for all distros. and this kind of thinking is really bad imo for network services.
sphars 1y ago
> enables all your devices to communicate with each other I've tried using KDE connect on two desktops (my laptop running Fedora KDE and my desktop running Nobara, also Fedora KDE) and this statement appears false. It was extremely buggy connecting them, and when they did "see" each other, none of the functionality I expected worked. Wanted to use the shared clipboard feature but it didn't work, nor did anything else. This was early this year, maybe it's gotten better since? KDE Connect is really for mobile (Android) devices and a computer, not computer to computer, IME
- garciansmith 1y ago
  Works well for sending things between my laptop (Kubuntu) and Steam Deck.
- wasmitnetzen 1y ago
  It works fine for me, and has been for at least 2 years, between any subset of 2 laptops (KDE, WiFi), one desktop (KDE, LAN), and two Androids (WiFi). They're all on the same subnet though.
- Joel_Mckay 1y ago
  SSH File sync applications are reliable... Android: "Transfer Files To Computer, PC" ( Michal Bukáček includes GPL git URI, YMMV as we still need to audit it for traffic) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.bukacek.filestocomputer https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.bukacek.fil... iPhone: PhotoSync is free to transfer movies and low-resolution images https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photosync-transfer-photos/id415850124 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photosync-transfer-photos/id41... MacOS: https://github.com/macfuse/macfuse/releases https://github.com/macfuse/macfuse/releases Windows 11: sshfs is slow, but allows user account constrained access to remote shares winget install -h -e --id "WinFsp.WinFsp" winget install -h -e --id "SSHFS-Win.SSHFS-Win" https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win Windows 11 system tray sshfs link manager: https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager Windows 11: Local OpenSSH service setup https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/openssh/openssh_install_firstuse https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administrat... If your home router is dynamic DNS only, the ISP will usually still support ports >1000: https://www.noip.com/ https://www.noip.com/ Or DIY with your own DNS solution with cloudflare: https://linuxconfig.org/automate-dynamic-ip-updates-for-your-domain-with-cloudflare-and-bash-script https://linuxconfig.org/automate-dynamic-ip-updates-for-your... Also tried KDE connect a few years back, but didn't like the idea of giving a buggy phone access to shoulder-surf root accounts. Transferring stuff out of a VM with a local samba instance also works, but samba should also be containerized. Best regards, =3
brooke2k 1y ago
I use this between my Arch/KDE desktop + Samsung Galaxy S21, and it works beautifully.
- tmtvl 1y ago
  Same, but a Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact (the tiniest phone I could buy with decent LineageOS support). Just a shame it isn't supported on Ubuntu Touch.
Kim_Bruning 1y ago
This is a killer app. There have been times when I asked someone "why can't you just send me a screenshot on signal" or "Oh, can't you copy the URL to your desktop?"... only to realize that the poor fellow didn't have KDE connect (yet). It's not perfect, but it does things I haven't found anywhere else, makes your phone and laptop and pc. It might help that I'm actually running KDE everywhere, of course.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- munchlax 1y ago
  > KDE everywhere Not to be confused with Qt Everywhere
- maqnius 1y ago
  I have a all my messengers running on my desktop as well, so I don't really have those problems. How's KDE Connect superior? I'm seriously interested, since I read it's a killer feature but I cannot really imagine how it would help me.
  - cenamus 1y ago
    Even just copying your clipboard is very useful. Also (more so at home) large transfers are pretty fast, regularly send movies from and to my phone, at pretty much connection speed. You can also mount your phone storage over the network, control your mouse with your phone and much more.
  - aidenn0 1y ago
    Those of us who live in the US where SMS is the default messenger can't have all of their messengers running on their desktop.
    - Zak 1y ago
      Sure you can. Just use KDE Connect.
KerbalNo15 1y ago
Note that you can use it on GNOME with GSConnect. One of my favorite apps
- 85392_school 1y ago
  If GSConnect doesn't work for you, it's also worth trying Valent: https://valent.andyholmes.ca/ https://valent.andyholmes.ca/
roshin 1y ago
when it works it's amazing. but very often both my phone and laptop are connected to the same WiFi, yet kde connect can't see them. I can't figure out how to diagnose and solve that when it happens
- zenitsukz 1y ago
  vpn sometimes
- pull_my_finger 1y ago
  I have the same issue, very frustrating. I thought it was a firewall issue, or Android's blocking LAN connections without a VPN, but at this point I'm pretty sure it's just some KDE Connect bug.
  - cromka 1y ago
    Maybe local DNS/DHCP resolution issue? I have this on my LAN with with other services and hosts: the Dnsmasq drops the ball every now and then and does not update the lease database, which results in hosts seemingly being offline. I would try fixed IPs to see if this solves the issue for you.
- ottah 1y ago
  Same, it's just too unreliable to be a tool for me. Which feels like the experience with everything that relies on automatic network discovery.
  - janwl 1y ago
    Mirrors my experience with AirDrop.
  - Libidinalecon 1y ago
    Same, I haven't used it in years because it was so disappointing when it would randomly stop working. In the last year I have even given up on KDE in favor of Cinnamon on Mint.I loved KDE but there would always be some issue coming up. LTS Mint with Cinnamon has been rock solid.
cromka 1y ago
Is there any update on whether Apple had already opened their iOS API in EU, which would allow to match the KDE Connect's Android functionality?
- fsflover 1y ago
  It's probably not so easy, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44557348 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44557348
- CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
  I remember getting excited about KDE Connect but then being completely disappointed that it basically non-functional on iOS... As I remember it (tried it last year I think), the application needs to be in the foreground in order to do anything at all, because of Apple's (purposeful) limitations of doing things in the background. So if you were hoping to be able to install this and sync stuff without effort and having to leave the app open all the time, Apple seems to be vehemently against anything like that, probably because they have their own solutions for this... Edit: The GitHub repository actually goes through the Apple-induced problem: > iOS is very much designed around foreground interactions. Therefore, background “daemon-style” applications don’t really exist under conventional means, so the behavior where KDE Connect iOS is unresponsive in the background is more or less intended. There are technically some special categories and "hacky" methods to try to get it to run in the background, but in general, there is no intended/by-design method of keeping a "daemon-style" app running forever in the background. For more information, see this post on the Apple Dev Forums https://github.com/KDE/kdeconnect-ios https://github.com/KDE/kdeconnect-ios
  - AbstractH24 1y ago
    > I remember getting excited about KDE Connect but then being completely disappointed that it basically non-functional on iOS... I remember this too. It happened to me about 90 seconds ago.
  - groovybits 1y ago
    Maybe I'm missing something, but what "daemon-style" app tasks are you doing, or expecting, with KDE Connect? Its core functions seem to be quick tasks; sending files, clipboard, remote control, etc. Perhaps my usage is basic in this way - I've never had an issue with using the iOS app as it is.
sombragris 1y ago
At least in my use case (as link between Android devices and both Linux/Win PCs) KDE Connect is a real killer app. It enabled seamless integration and saved me lots of hassle and time. It really should get more exposure. I see reports that it doesn't work. These are mostly for distros where Plasma is either rather old or taking a backseat after other environment (usually Gnome). I'm having great results with the latest Plasma 6 on Slackware-current and also in a standard Windows 11 environment.
- dmpk2k 1y ago
  How is Slackware doing nowadays? Last release was several years ago, but I need a replacement for Win 10 on my PC.
  - hexagonwin 1y ago
    It's doing very well. The Slackware 15.0 release is now a few years old, though the packages are still being updated. Slackware-current has latest everything.
  - immibis 1y ago
    Why Slackware specifically? You can install any distribution. I use Gentoo btw - not really a distribution so much as a distribution construction kit. There are other popular distros, notably Arch.
    - dmpk2k 1y ago
      I liked Slackware a lot way back when. No deeper reason. Currently leaning towards Debian Testing, but that might depend on my testing of Slackware now. I use Arch daily in WSL, but I've have had enough breakages that I don't want it as my primary OS.
      - Flamingoat 1y ago
        I use Debian 13 (stable). It is very solid. I was using Debian Trixie when it was testing and there was breakage twice. I would make the /boot partition twice the size the installer suggests though as on my laptop I can't upgrade the kernel because the /boot runs out of space. The laptop is used to view old manuals in PDFs while working on my car so I don't really care. TBH any of the major Linux distros that have been around for a while are fine. I don't like Fedora or Ubuntu because they are a bit corporate. I personally wouldn't bother with any of the derivative distros. Typically there isn't a lot different other than they've pre-configured some packages. IME that causes more headaches long term.
mid-kid 1y ago
The branding does a major disservice to this application - it works like a charm on my windows and i3wm setups, having no trouble sharing a clipboard and files. There are very few features if any that only work on KDE. Sometimes on windows it needs a click of the refresh button to get going after connecting to a network. The discovery is wonky on some platforms.
- throawayonthe 1y ago
  KDE is simply the 'community' that maintains it, makes sense why that's the branding used despite the inevitable confusion (the DE has been called Plasma for ages, and almost everything KDE works outside of it)
  - ahakki 1y ago
    they should rebrand it as Konnekt.
    - groovybits 1y ago
      Legacy KDE apps used to follow this naming convention until the late 2000s, early 2010s. You had apps like Konqueror (web browser, file manager), KMail (email client), Kompose (music score editor), KImages (later rebranded to Krita), and KDevelop (software dev IDE). Modern KDE apps dropped the 'K' prefix and moved to a more recognizable scheme, like: Falkon (web browser), Dolphin (file manager), and Okular (document viewer). As you can see, its now a mix of whether the app keeps the 'K' in the name. Some do not.
      - CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
        > Legacy KDE apps used to follow this naming convention until the late 2000s, early 2010s. Wow, what a coincident that parent just happened to suggest the identical naming convention. What are the chances?
      - vasvir 1y ago
        Also spectacle for screenhshots... It took me a while to not try find kscreenshot
The_President 1y ago
Used to use this all the time, but about six months ago an update broke the ability for two computers I have to interact. Instead the daemon crashes repeatedly until I nuke it.
- The_President 11mo ago
  Recycled thread. Real comment timestamp from a week ago.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
marcu123 1y ago
KDE Connects works amazingly for me. I get, once in a bluee moon, the random "Can't see the other device" bug. I have solved it with the basic dis/connect to the wifi both on my phone and computer. Also, check your Firewall on your computer. Some distros will not "Auto add" KDE Connect to the exception list of your Firewall. Some routers also put LAN and WLAN devices on different VLANS.
ayoisaiah 1y ago
KDE Connect is great, but it sometimes doesn't work well enough on Apple Devices. I've been using LocalSend with better success when sharing to Android or Windows. But for Android to Linux/Windows and Vice versa, it's pretty much perfect.
damion6 1y ago
I love KDE connect. After install I turn off things I don't want, but I have options. Works better than any similar app. Connects essentially and system. I pair it with tail scale or zero-tier depending on needs. Multiboot, all major os's mobile. PC, Mac all have ports. It's under rated
__jonas 1y ago
This looks neat, from what it looks like it's essentially an Open Source version of Apple's continuity/airdrop/airplay stuff? Seems like it even does the universal clipboard as well, I use that all the time with Apple devices, really cool to see an OSS alternative.
mbeex 1y ago
The one thing I dislike, is the trouble to finish the application in a sane way: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423497 https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423497
- goda90 1y ago
  I can't say I'm experienced with Android development, but is there something about this issue that makes it hard for a volunteer to submit a PR? Seems like it should be just an OS API call or something.
  - immibis 1y ago
    Android doesn't really have such a thing as quitting an app. You're meant to just stop doing stuff when off screen, and let your app be evicted in LRU order (or whatever order is actually used). If your app does background stuff you should have a settings toggle to do the background stuff or not, and when it's on and the phone is on, you do the background stuff.
    - ranger_danger 1y ago
      This is not true: https://stackoverflow.com/a/40231289 https://stackoverflow.com/a/40231289
      - immibis 1y ago
        This closes an activity - the user interface of an app - not an app. In Windows terms, this is DestroyWindow, not ExitProcess. You can also exit an Android process, of course. It's probably what you're looking for, but it's weirdly inconsistent with the overall user experience and you should try to make something consistent instead. Even closing a top-level activity is weird.
- alright2565 1y ago
  This doesn't seem needed to me, I've never seen an android app have a way to close it. Or any kind of battery life impact from KDE Connect for that matter.
Forgeties79 1y ago
I always appreciate posts like this even though it’s clear a lot of people already know about KDE connect. I only took the plunge into a Linux daily driver for my machine a couple of months ago, so I’m still learning a lot. Just tested it and this is really useful! I depend a lot on LocalSend which is fine but this is so far looking like a better option overall. Gets a little funky talking to my iPhone but I’m surprised how easily things like the remote control work right out the box
mr-karan 1y ago
I also quite like Localsend to quickly share files on the same network. Used to send photos/files to myself on Whatsapp/Telegram before but after discovering Localsend, stopped! https://localsend.org/ https://localsend.org/
- swaits 1y ago
  Also PairDrop, which doesn’t require installing anything.
tempfile 1y ago
Can this be used without KDE, on another desktop environment? Without systemd, even?
- yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
  It definitely works on other DEs. As an extreme case, there's even a GNOME extension implementation: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ I can't specifically speak to systemd, but it'd surprise me if there was a dependency there; it's not running that deep in the system. Also there's a guix package and they don't use systemd, so that's another mark in favor.
  - tempfile 11mo ago
    I didn't know there was a guix package! That's actually what I should have asked in the first place. I was thinking of packaging it, I didn't check first.
- jeanb12 1y ago
  [dead]
- Zardoz84 1y ago
  Works even on Windows. So YES
npteljes 1y ago
It blew my mind when I discovered it, and I use it regularly since. I dual-boot, and it's installed on both my Linux and Windows systems. I mostly use the shared clipboard functionality (especially great to "send" complex messages and passwords from PC to phone), and send files from the phone to the PC.
whalesalad 1y ago
I can't get this to work across subnets/wifi networks in my home network. My phone can see my workstation (KDE) but not the other way around.
- Joel_Mckay 1y ago
  In general, some wifi routers will offer to isolate cross-forwarding between WLAN hosts. Depending on the model, one may not be able to modify this setting. Best of luck =3
The_President 1y ago
The gyro mouse is a fantastic implementation! Used it to control a large television from far away and it works very well.
p0w3n3d 1y ago
I was exasperated when I found out that I can't send files from my Android to my MacBook via Bluetooth. This is a standard protocol. Also (of course, how could I supect otherwise) the file transfer does not work too. These all work flawlessly under Linux / Gnome + KDE. For file transfer I used LocalSend, but it was still annoying.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
agoodusername63 1y ago
I like this with Linux but it's so inconsistent on windows that I just don't bother with it much anymore. I'm on windows most of the time.
amelius 1y ago
It works in one direction: sending files from my Pixel (GOS) phone to Linux. But the UX could be better. When I send a file, no notification is shown on my phone. But when I look in my Downloads/ folder, the file is there, so that's good. Now, when I open the kdeconnect-app on Linux, it cannot connect to my phone. Even if the app is open on my phone. I see the phone, but it says "disconnected". So, as it stands, I put this in the "barely works, needs more love from developers" category.
andybak 1y ago
I discovered this when I needed an easy way to get stuff to and from a Steam Deck. I now use it on my Windows and Linux PCs, Macbook, Android phone, Meta Quest and the Steam Deck!
account42 1y ago
This seems to have more technical info: https://userbase.kde.org/KDEConnect https://userbase.kde.org/KDEConnect E.g. that it works over the local network or bluetooth only, no remote connectivity without a VPN which the marketing page with fancy graphics (https://kdeconnect.kde.org/ https://kdeconnect.kde.org/) doesn't even tell you because it's so dumbed down to the point of being useless. Also, why the fuck does KDE have two separate wikis.
eighthourblink 1y ago
Been using this application for years now. Love / Support it
stormed 1y ago
KDE Connect has been my answer to Apple's Airdrop for the last couple of years. It's an excellent program; I even use it on my Mac for file transferring with my Steam Deck
- groovybits 1y ago
  Same use case, its also been very useful for copying and pasting text from my Mac to the Steam Deck, similar to Universal Copy and Paste between Apple devices.
- AndyMcConachie 1y ago
  Another good one for this is Localsend. https://localsend.org/ https://localsend.org/
nickjj 1y ago
How well does this work for sending a lot of files without re-sending the same file? I have a desktop + laptop + phone. When I want to sync a directory with a lot of files I wrote a little shell script that uses rsync to do it. This does require running SSH on my laptop but I can invoke the shell script from my desktop. Likewise with my phone I want to backup my camera photos, using rsync is nice here to avoid sending thousands of them over every time. I run SSH on my phone with Termux, it was really painless to set up and is only on when I run it. Likewise, I invoke the shell script from my desktop to do the transfer.
- groovybits 1y ago
  For this purpose, I would not suggest KDE Connect. What you're looking for is something more like SyncThing: https://syncthing.net https://syncthing.net
  - bityard 1y ago
    I use SyncThing on my phone to back up photos/videos on my phone to my NAS. The UX is not great, but it does sync things correctly 100% of the time. For years on end, I never have to worry about it.
  - nickjj 1y ago
    I thought about SyncThing in the past but was reluctant because I don't have a centralized server and I don't always want 1 device to be the definitive source of truth. For example: - On desktop, wrote a blog post - On desktop, pushed my blog post folder to my laptop - On laptop, publish the blog post 3 days later - On laptop, fix a typo and publish the post - On desktop, pull in the changes from the laptop The same type of situations happen with KeePassXC's database file. Sometimes I make an update on my phone or laptop and want it sent to my desktop, other times I make the update on my desktop and want it sent to the other 2 devices. With SyncThing, would this overwrite files on the wrong device as soon as I "sync"?
    - magarnicle 1y ago
tylergetsay 1y ago
I wish KDE Connect supported a self hosted relay server configuration. I often use mobile internet and would love for KDE Connect to still work, without having to start Tailscale on my phone + manually configure IPs
bityard 1y ago
I love KDE Connect, it is insanely useful and pairs nicely with KDE Plasma. But I think it has some major usability issues. The two things I struggle with the most: 1. Sometimes (not always, but often!) the phone is not connected to the computer at all. In order to send something from the computer to the phone, I have to unlock the phone, find KDE connect in the apps, run it, and connect to the computer. I understand that this could very well be just The Way of Android, but it's still obnoxious. 2. The text/SMS sub-app in KDE connect is terrible. It doesn't sync text messages in the background, so it tries to sync when you start it. But it's very slow and takes a good 5-10 minutes for all of your text messages to sync. And apparently it does contacts last because in the beginning you only see phone numbers. And it doesn't show pictures. And (this is normally not a complaint I make), it is very ugly. GS Connect looks way better, but I have no idea if it _works_ any better.
- sepsol 1y ago
  I second this, especially the second point. I love KDE Connect + GSConnect setup between my Android phone and Ubuntu machine, but the texting app is so laggy it makes the experience unpleasant.
indymike 1y ago
KDE Connect is amazing. It's convenient.
user_7832 1y ago
Slightly tangential, I find the lack of a "proper" way of organizing data across multiple devices frankly terrible. KDE connect is nice, but it's a bandaid patch. Airdrop between your devices is the same. Apple wants you to store everything on iCloud... which isn't terrible, as long as everything syncs fast enough, you can pay, and you're not without internet (an issue even in urban areas like for eg on the subway). Modern devices have just "grown", your phone with its 2FA app is also a source of identity, yet the boundaries between a tool to be used, a computer to "work on" (even an SMS to your boss counts as work for me!), and a "fundamental part of your life" - whether by you or by a megacorp (see: notifications! Mindless scrolling on the social media of your choice!) - are all blurred.
jancsika 1y ago
The feature set commenters here want is insane: * fast as possible * LAN, but also WAN when necessary * in fact how about multi-protocol, and use the fastest protocol that's available on both devices, it's 2025 people! * work for sending a gargantuan amount of files with possible interruptions (essentially, be rsync) * be battery efficient, it's 2025 people! * don't rely on a centralized cloud server, just connect the damned devices to each other If you think you can hack this together, you should write it for Gnu Hurd because they'll release that well before you're finished
- ValdikSS 1y ago
  >* be battery efficient, it's 2025 people! It took a long time for me to prove that what KDE does negatively impact the battery life. https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=441830 https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=441830 The other user even wrote a LD_PRELOAD hijacking library to not recompile the application every time https://github.com/max0x7ba/kdeconnect-powersave-keepalive https://github.com/max0x7ba/kdeconnect-powersave-keepalive
  - ndriscoll 1y ago
    A 5 second keepalive seems unnecessary, but does that actually impact battery life? How long does the device take to move in and out of powersave states? I'd think you'd be looking at maybe 20-40 microseconds of CPU time to handle the packet, so 0.0008% of the time awake due to this. Are other parts of the device just super slow at moving in and out of powersave states?
    - ValdikSS 1y ago
      Yes, it has dramatic impact on the battery life. Wi-Fi in lower power state, when it has nothing to respond to, disables power amplifier and only listens to incoming data. Some functions which are usually performed by the OS are offloaded on smartphones to the Wi-Fi chip, such as ARP/NDP replies, so it doesn't need to wake up a CPU to perform simple answers. However with the constant keep-alive it has to both enable power amplifier and to wake up the CPU to send the reply that the socket is still alive. I have a single-board computer with and old Mediatek chip (10 years old), and there Wi-Fi PA increases power consumption by 200mW. Another reporter in the ticket told that his smartphone works basically 1/2 of its common battery life with KDE Connect enabled. Keep-alives (not necessary TCP keep alives, but any of this kind of packets) are the _MAIN_ reason for internet battery drain while idle, and are tricky to debug if you don't know where to look (Android lists it as "Android System" or "Phone Idle") For example, Golang applications had 15 second keep alive until recently: https://github.com/golang/go/issues/48622 https://github.com/golang/go/issues/48622. Imagine you've opened the website which uses golang web server/proxy and enabled notifications from it in the browser, which use WebSocket from the website itself. Now every time your CPU is woke up every 15 seconds until you close the page and notification channel is offloaded to google/mozilla servers. And remember: every TCP connection has its own 15-second Keep-Alive in different intervals, so it's more like 5-7 second CPU wakeup interval. The same applies for VPN. When anybody say that anways-on VPN connection drains battery, that is 90% if the time is due to frequent keep-alive packets from the VPN server. Everything above applies to cellular connection as well, it's the same principle.
adenta 1y ago
I've had trouble getting KDE connect to work as a shared clipboard between Android and my Mac. Has anyone ever done that successfully? I couldn't find any documentation to indicate people have which is a real bummer.
tasuki 1y ago
I've been using this and recently had a very unpleasant experience: it couldn't mount my new Chinese android phone (worked with the old one!) and the "send file" feature subtly renamed my files (from .tif to .tiff). It cost me four hours (QField atrocious error messages) and I'm still angry about it.
vrinsd 1y ago
As a happy user of many KDE based programs (konsole, kate, dolphin, etc) it's great to see another KDE piece evangelized. But can someone state conclusively if Bluetooth-base connectivty in KDE Connect actually works in 2025? I looked into this a few weeks ago and it seemed liked from mailing list posts until Bluetooth functionality in KDE Connect equals WiFi connectivity the feature is not enabled? When traveling it's much easier to do "point to point" between laptop and phone and in theory Bluetooth can support this easier than WiFi via third-party access-point or having to mess with WiFi direct.
steve-atx-7600 1y ago
I have trouble communicating with/on any device running KDE since it still doesn't support read-line/emacs bindings like Gnome or Mac OS. Will probably never try KDE again at this point.
DeveloperLouis 1y ago
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frameset 1y ago
I use KDE Connect and discovered a feature I didn't know about the other day. I was watching a youtube video on my computer and my phone rang. The video automatically paused whilst I had my call, then when I hung up, the video continued. Totally seamless. The kind of thing Apple would show off as part of their "continuity" between macos and iOS.
- an_guy 11mo ago
  Are you sure it wasn't your wireless earphones that pause/resumed youtube
slinkydeveloper 1y ago
I love KDE Connect, I use it both with KDE and Gnome (GSConnect). Both from the reliability perspective, but also on the shell integration side of things "Send to ...". Hands down one of my favourite Desktop apps for Linux, kudos to the developers.
Akashic101 1y ago
When I tried out Zorin OS I noticed that they advertised a connect-app as well which does exactly what KDE connect does. After a bit of investigating I noticed that the app is quite literally a 1:1-copy with just the name and branding changed, no features added, no bugs fixed. Does anyone know if KDE connect allows this in the first place?
- trissi1996 1y ago
  Why wouldn't they? It's FOSS after all...
harel 1y ago
I use this on Gnome for a long time now, and one (perhaps) unintended feature, is that if I'm watching a silly "reel" like video which does not have any controls other than play/pause, I can actually control it and change the position via the phone.
- jeroenhd 1y ago
  I believe GSConnect uses MPRIS for this type of video control, so with an extension like https://github.com/sakithb/media-controls https://github.com/sakithb/media-controls you should also be able to control playback without having to grab your phone.
ensocode 1y ago
Funny, this was on HN several times. As a KDE User never tried it, but today installed it on my phone and works seamlessly.
miga 1y ago
Unfortunately the default configuration poses significant security problems, allowing for sidestepping 2-factor authentication schemes, and sideloading of applications without user permission (!)
- laughing_snyder 1y ago
  Can you elaborate?
RandomDude19 11mo ago
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RandomDude19 11mo ago
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476 points by snthd 1y ago

There's official support for Windows. No support for macOS yet, but there is a working implementation for it. I had no idea I'd be able to use KDE Connect with those operating systems.

p_l 1y ago
The protocol is open so you can build software for other systems that uses it, whether it's GNOME or macOS
deleted 1y ago
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DigitallyFidget 1y ago
There is a Windows build for it. I don't know if it's official or not, but there is a Windows build and it does work well.

karmakaze 1y ago

I was wondering what "the network" here means: > To achieve this, KDE Connect: implements a secure communication protocol over the network, and allows any developer to create plugins on top of it. Has a component that you install on your desktop. Has a KDE Connect client app you run on your phone. Looking further it is only for the local network (with ways to extend it e.g. VPNs).

creatonez 1y ago
It has bluetooth support now as well
- m463 1y ago
  it also talks about using a VPN and what ports to open in a firewall. I don't know how it handles the harder part, the "device on internet" talks to "device in my house" most phones and apps use this "harder part" to interpose their corporate server for more than TURN/STUN and continue to "collect all the data" or "insert a subscription"
  - Oxodao 1y ago
    Did you get this to work with wireguard though? As long as my phone is connected to wireguard KDEConnect does NOT see any other computer, apparently because it wont forward ICMP broadcast according to the internet. I would really like to have a solution to this issue but since its baked in WG i don't think this is possible
    - m463 1y ago
      Actually, I mean the whole "find and talk to my home server over the internet" Generally it does this by having a DNS record for your home server, or having some other well-known server give out its address or relay the packets.
      - jeroenhd 1y ago
        KDE Connect leverages mDNS on the network (non-Bluetooth) side, which relies on broadcasts. That means it'll break across networks without a VPN of some kind. For some VPNs (Wireguard, OpenVPN in TUN mode) that also means connectivity is impossible. You can, if you want, open ports and configure KDE connect to reach out across the internet (practically only feasible with one device behind your router on IPv4, any on IPv6), but because it doesn't use "real" DNS, you can't just enter a DDNS hostname, you have to specify the full IP address.
    - jeroenhd 1y ago
      WireGuard doesn't do any forwarding out of the box, you need to set up your iptables/nftables to get all of that working. If you follow the WG quick-start guides, they often work by masquerading traffic, making VPN clients act the same way a bunch of computers behind a NAT router would. You'll need to set up all other kinds of routing as well for cross-network discovery to work. WireGuard doesn't do broadcasting in general (it's a point-to-point protocol after all) so you'll need to wrap broadcasting protocols manually. Other VPNs go more low-level (at least in TAP mode), mirroring an ethernet network with all the broadcasting and low-level protocols you can think of. In theory you could do that in WireGuard (running L2TP over a WireGuard link) but many phones won't support that, and it'd probably be just as easy to set up an OpenVPN/IPSec+L2TP VPN in that case. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, though. I imagine most people wouldn't want a printer publishing its mDNS hostname to wake the 5G radio on their phone, or the battery level of their laptop in the case of KDE connect.
blooalien 1y ago
> Has a component that you install on your desktop. This is only if you use Windows (or MacOS, as there's also a KDE Connect compatible Mac app out there somewhere IIRC). If you're on KDE Desktop Linux, you're already good-to-go, as it's a pre-installed component of a typical KDE environment. :)
- 1oooqooq 1y ago
  not true for all distros. and this kind of thinking is really bad imo for network services.

sphars 1y ago

> enables all your devices to communicate with each other I've tried using KDE connect on two desktops (my laptop running Fedora KDE and my desktop running Nobara, also Fedora KDE) and this statement appears false. It was extremely buggy connecting them, and when they did "see" each other, none of the functionality I expected worked. Wanted to use the shared clipboard feature but it didn't work, nor did anything else. This was early this year, maybe it's gotten better since? KDE Connect is really for mobile (Android) devices and a computer, not computer to computer, IME

garciansmith 1y ago
Works well for sending things between my laptop (Kubuntu) and Steam Deck.
wasmitnetzen 1y ago
It works fine for me, and has been for at least 2 years, between any subset of 2 laptops (KDE, WiFi), one desktop (KDE, LAN), and two Androids (WiFi). They're all on the same subnet though.
Joel_Mckay 1y ago
SSH File sync applications are reliable... Android: "Transfer Files To Computer, PC" ( Michal Bukáček includes GPL git URI, YMMV as we still need to audit it for traffic) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.bukacek.filestocomputer https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.bukacek.fil... iPhone: PhotoSync is free to transfer movies and low-resolution images https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photosync-transfer-photos/id415850124 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photosync-transfer-photos/id41... MacOS: https://github.com/macfuse/macfuse/releases https://github.com/macfuse/macfuse/releases Windows 11: sshfs is slow, but allows user account constrained access to remote shares winget install -h -e --id "WinFsp.WinFsp" winget install -h -e --id "SSHFS-Win.SSHFS-Win" https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win https://github.com/winfsp/sshfs-win Windows 11 system tray sshfs link manager: https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager https://github.com/evsar3/sshfs-win-manager Windows 11: Local OpenSSH service setup https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/openssh/openssh_install_firstuse https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administrat... If your home router is dynamic DNS only, the ISP will usually still support ports >1000: https://www.noip.com/ https://www.noip.com/ Or DIY with your own DNS solution with cloudflare: https://linuxconfig.org/automate-dynamic-ip-updates-for-your-domain-with-cloudflare-and-bash-script https://linuxconfig.org/automate-dynamic-ip-updates-for-your... Also tried KDE connect a few years back, but didn't like the idea of giving a buggy phone access to shoulder-surf root accounts. Transferring stuff out of a VM with a local samba instance also works, but samba should also be containerized. Best regards, =3

brooke2k 1y ago

I use this between my Arch/KDE desktop + Samsung Galaxy S21, and it works beautifully.

tmtvl 1y ago
Same, but a Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact (the tiniest phone I could buy with decent LineageOS support). Just a shame it isn't supported on Ubuntu Touch.

Kim_Bruning 1y ago

This is a killer app. There have been times when I asked someone "why can't you just send me a screenshot on signal" or "Oh, can't you copy the URL to your desktop?"... only to realize that the poor fellow didn't have KDE connect (yet). It's not perfect, but it does things I haven't found anywhere else, makes your phone and laptop and pc. It might help that I'm actually running KDE everywhere, of course.

deleted 1y ago
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munchlax 1y ago
> KDE everywhere Not to be confused with Qt Everywhere
maqnius 1y ago
I have a all my messengers running on my desktop as well, so I don't really have those problems. How's KDE Connect superior? I'm seriously interested, since I read it's a killer feature but I cannot really imagine how it would help me.
- cenamus 1y ago
  Even just copying your clipboard is very useful. Also (more so at home) large transfers are pretty fast, regularly send movies from and to my phone, at pretty much connection speed. You can also mount your phone storage over the network, control your mouse with your phone and much more.
- aidenn0 1y ago
  Those of us who live in the US where SMS is the default messenger can't have all of their messengers running on their desktop.
  - Zak 1y ago
    Sure you can. Just use KDE Connect.

KerbalNo15 1y ago

Note that you can use it on GNOME with GSConnect. One of my favorite apps

85392_school 1y ago
If GSConnect doesn't work for you, it's also worth trying Valent: https://valent.andyholmes.ca/ https://valent.andyholmes.ca/

roshin 1y ago

when it works it's amazing. but very often both my phone and laptop are connected to the same WiFi, yet kde connect can't see them. I can't figure out how to diagnose and solve that when it happens

zenitsukz 1y ago
vpn sometimes
pull_my_finger 1y ago
I have the same issue, very frustrating. I thought it was a firewall issue, or Android's blocking LAN connections without a VPN, but at this point I'm pretty sure it's just some KDE Connect bug.
- cromka 1y ago
  Maybe local DNS/DHCP resolution issue? I have this on my LAN with with other services and hosts: the Dnsmasq drops the ball every now and then and does not update the lease database, which results in hosts seemingly being offline. I would try fixed IPs to see if this solves the issue for you.
ottah 1y ago
Same, it's just too unreliable to be a tool for me. Which feels like the experience with everything that relies on automatic network discovery.
- janwl 1y ago
  Mirrors my experience with AirDrop.
- Libidinalecon 1y ago
  Same, I haven't used it in years because it was so disappointing when it would randomly stop working. In the last year I have even given up on KDE in favor of Cinnamon on Mint.I loved KDE but there would always be some issue coming up. LTS Mint with Cinnamon has been rock solid.

cromka 1y ago

Is there any update on whether Apple had already opened their iOS API in EU, which would allow to match the KDE Connect's Android functionality?

fsflover 1y ago
It's probably not so easy, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44557348 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44557348
CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
I remember getting excited about KDE Connect but then being completely disappointed that it basically non-functional on iOS... As I remember it (tried it last year I think), the application needs to be in the foreground in order to do anything at all, because of Apple's (purposeful) limitations of doing things in the background. So if you were hoping to be able to install this and sync stuff without effort and having to leave the app open all the time, Apple seems to be vehemently against anything like that, probably because they have their own solutions for this... Edit: The GitHub repository actually goes through the Apple-induced problem: > iOS is very much designed around foreground interactions. Therefore, background “daemon-style” applications don’t really exist under conventional means, so the behavior where KDE Connect iOS is unresponsive in the background is more or less intended. There are technically some special categories and "hacky" methods to try to get it to run in the background, but in general, there is no intended/by-design method of keeping a "daemon-style" app running forever in the background. For more information, see this post on the Apple Dev Forums https://github.com/KDE/kdeconnect-ios https://github.com/KDE/kdeconnect-ios
- AbstractH24 1y ago
  > I remember getting excited about KDE Connect but then being completely disappointed that it basically non-functional on iOS... I remember this too. It happened to me about 90 seconds ago.
- groovybits 1y ago
  Maybe I'm missing something, but what "daemon-style" app tasks are you doing, or expecting, with KDE Connect? Its core functions seem to be quick tasks; sending files, clipboard, remote control, etc. Perhaps my usage is basic in this way - I've never had an issue with using the iOS app as it is.

sombragris 1y ago

At least in my use case (as link between Android devices and both Linux/Win PCs) KDE Connect is a real killer app. It enabled seamless integration and saved me lots of hassle and time. It really should get more exposure. I see reports that it doesn't work. These are mostly for distros where Plasma is either rather old or taking a backseat after other environment (usually Gnome). I'm having great results with the latest Plasma 6 on Slackware-current and also in a standard Windows 11 environment.

dmpk2k 1y ago
How is Slackware doing nowadays? Last release was several years ago, but I need a replacement for Win 10 on my PC.
- hexagonwin 1y ago
  It's doing very well. The Slackware 15.0 release is now a few years old, though the packages are still being updated. Slackware-current has latest everything.
- immibis 1y ago
  Why Slackware specifically? You can install any distribution. I use Gentoo btw - not really a distribution so much as a distribution construction kit. There are other popular distros, notably Arch.
  - dmpk2k 1y ago
    I liked Slackware a lot way back when. No deeper reason. Currently leaning towards Debian Testing, but that might depend on my testing of Slackware now. I use Arch daily in WSL, but I've have had enough breakages that I don't want it as my primary OS.
    - Flamingoat 1y ago
      I use Debian 13 (stable). It is very solid. I was using Debian Trixie when it was testing and there was breakage twice. I would make the /boot partition twice the size the installer suggests though as on my laptop I can't upgrade the kernel because the /boot runs out of space. The laptop is used to view old manuals in PDFs while working on my car so I don't really care. TBH any of the major Linux distros that have been around for a while are fine. I don't like Fedora or Ubuntu because they are a bit corporate. I personally wouldn't bother with any of the derivative distros. Typically there isn't a lot different other than they've pre-configured some packages. IME that causes more headaches long term.

mid-kid 1y ago

The branding does a major disservice to this application - it works like a charm on my windows and i3wm setups, having no trouble sharing a clipboard and files. There are very few features if any that only work on KDE. Sometimes on windows it needs a click of the refresh button to get going after connecting to a network. The discovery is wonky on some platforms.

throawayonthe 1y ago
KDE is simply the 'community' that maintains it, makes sense why that's the branding used despite the inevitable confusion (the DE has been called Plasma for ages, and almost everything KDE works outside of it)
- ahakki 1y ago
  they should rebrand it as Konnekt.
  - groovybits 1y ago
    Legacy KDE apps used to follow this naming convention until the late 2000s, early 2010s. You had apps like Konqueror (web browser, file manager), KMail (email client), Kompose (music score editor), KImages (later rebranded to Krita), and KDevelop (software dev IDE). Modern KDE apps dropped the 'K' prefix and moved to a more recognizable scheme, like: Falkon (web browser), Dolphin (file manager), and Okular (document viewer). As you can see, its now a mix of whether the app keeps the 'K' in the name. Some do not.
    - CaptainOfCoit 1y ago
      > Legacy KDE apps used to follow this naming convention until the late 2000s, early 2010s. Wow, what a coincident that parent just happened to suggest the identical naming convention. What are the chances?
    - vasvir 1y ago
      Also spectacle for screenhshots... It took me a while to not try find kscreenshot

The_President 1y ago

Used to use this all the time, but about six months ago an update broke the ability for two computers I have to interact. Instead the daemon crashes repeatedly until I nuke it.

The_President 11mo ago
Recycled thread. Real comment timestamp from a week ago.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

marcu123 1y ago

KDE Connects works amazingly for me. I get, once in a bluee moon, the random "Can't see the other device" bug. I have solved it with the basic dis/connect to the wifi both on my phone and computer. Also, check your Firewall on your computer. Some distros will not "Auto add" KDE Connect to the exception list of your Firewall. Some routers also put LAN and WLAN devices on different VLANS.

ayoisaiah 1y ago

KDE Connect is great, but it sometimes doesn't work well enough on Apple Devices. I've been using LocalSend with better success when sharing to Android or Windows. But for Android to Linux/Windows and Vice versa, it's pretty much perfect.

damion6 1y ago

I love KDE connect. After install I turn off things I don't want, but I have options. Works better than any similar app. Connects essentially and system. I pair it with tail scale or zero-tier depending on needs. Multiboot, all major os's mobile. PC, Mac all have ports. It's under rated

__jonas 1y ago

This looks neat, from what it looks like it's essentially an Open Source version of Apple's continuity/airdrop/airplay stuff? Seems like it even does the universal clipboard as well, I use that all the time with Apple devices, really cool to see an OSS alternative.

mbeex 1y ago

The one thing I dislike, is the trouble to finish the application in a sane way: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423497 https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423497

goda90 1y ago
I can't say I'm experienced with Android development, but is there something about this issue that makes it hard for a volunteer to submit a PR? Seems like it should be just an OS API call or something.
- immibis 1y ago
  Android doesn't really have such a thing as quitting an app. You're meant to just stop doing stuff when off screen, and let your app be evicted in LRU order (or whatever order is actually used). If your app does background stuff you should have a settings toggle to do the background stuff or not, and when it's on and the phone is on, you do the background stuff.
  - ranger_danger 1y ago
    This is not true: https://stackoverflow.com/a/40231289 https://stackoverflow.com/a/40231289
    - immibis 1y ago
      This closes an activity - the user interface of an app - not an app. In Windows terms, this is DestroyWindow, not ExitProcess. You can also exit an Android process, of course. It's probably what you're looking for, but it's weirdly inconsistent with the overall user experience and you should try to make something consistent instead. Even closing a top-level activity is weird.
alright2565 1y ago
This doesn't seem needed to me, I've never seen an android app have a way to close it. Or any kind of battery life impact from KDE Connect for that matter.

Forgeties79 1y ago

I always appreciate posts like this even though it’s clear a lot of people already know about KDE connect. I only took the plunge into a Linux daily driver for my machine a couple of months ago, so I’m still learning a lot. Just tested it and this is really useful! I depend a lot on LocalSend which is fine but this is so far looking like a better option overall. Gets a little funky talking to my iPhone but I’m surprised how easily things like the remote control work right out the box

mr-karan 1y ago

I also quite like Localsend to quickly share files on the same network. Used to send photos/files to myself on Whatsapp/Telegram before but after discovering Localsend, stopped! https://localsend.org/ https://localsend.org/

swaits 1y ago
Also PairDrop, which doesn’t require installing anything.

tempfile 1y ago

Can this be used without KDE, on another desktop environment? Without systemd, even?

yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
It definitely works on other DEs. As an extreme case, there's even a GNOME extension implementation: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ I can't specifically speak to systemd, but it'd surprise me if there was a dependency there; it's not running that deep in the system. Also there's a guix package and they don't use systemd, so that's another mark in favor.
- tempfile 11mo ago
  I didn't know there was a guix package! That's actually what I should have asked in the first place. I was thinking of packaging it, I didn't check first.
jeanb12 1y ago
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Zardoz84 1y ago
Works even on Windows. So YES

npteljes 1y ago

It blew my mind when I discovered it, and I use it regularly since. I dual-boot, and it's installed on both my Linux and Windows systems. I mostly use the shared clipboard functionality (especially great to "send" complex messages and passwords from PC to phone), and send files from the phone to the PC.

whalesalad 1y ago

I can't get this to work across subnets/wifi networks in my home network. My phone can see my workstation (KDE) but not the other way around.

Joel_Mckay 1y ago
In general, some wifi routers will offer to isolate cross-forwarding between WLAN hosts. Depending on the model, one may not be able to modify this setting. Best of luck =3

The_President 1y ago

The gyro mouse is a fantastic implementation! Used it to control a large television from far away and it works very well.

p0w3n3d 1y ago

I was exasperated when I found out that I can't send files from my Android to my MacBook via Bluetooth. This is a standard protocol. Also (of course, how could I supect otherwise) the file transfer does not work too. These all work flawlessly under Linux / Gnome + KDE. For file transfer I used LocalSend, but it was still annoying.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

agoodusername63 1y ago

I like this with Linux but it's so inconsistent on windows that I just don't bother with it much anymore. I'm on windows most of the time.

amelius 1y ago

It works in one direction: sending files from my Pixel (GOS) phone to Linux. But the UX could be better. When I send a file, no notification is shown on my phone. But when I look in my Downloads/ folder, the file is there, so that's good. Now, when I open the kdeconnect-app on Linux, it cannot connect to my phone. Even if the app is open on my phone. I see the phone, but it says "disconnected". So, as it stands, I put this in the "barely works, needs more love from developers" category.

andybak 1y ago

I discovered this when I needed an easy way to get stuff to and from a Steam Deck. I now use it on my Windows and Linux PCs, Macbook, Android phone, Meta Quest and the Steam Deck!

account42 1y ago

This seems to have more technical info: https://userbase.kde.org/KDEConnect https://userbase.kde.org/KDEConnect E.g. that it works over the local network or bluetooth only, no remote connectivity without a VPN which the marketing page with fancy graphics (https://kdeconnect.kde.org/ https://kdeconnect.kde.org/) doesn't even tell you because it's so dumbed down to the point of being useless. Also, why the fuck does KDE have two separate wikis.

eighthourblink 1y ago

Been using this application for years now. Love / Support it

stormed 1y ago

KDE Connect has been my answer to Apple's Airdrop for the last couple of years. It's an excellent program; I even use it on my Mac for file transferring with my Steam Deck

groovybits 1y ago
Same use case, its also been very useful for copying and pasting text from my Mac to the Steam Deck, similar to Universal Copy and Paste between Apple devices.
AndyMcConachie 1y ago
Another good one for this is Localsend. https://localsend.org/ https://localsend.org/

nickjj 1y ago

How well does this work for sending a lot of files without re-sending the same file? I have a desktop + laptop + phone. When I want to sync a directory with a lot of files I wrote a little shell script that uses rsync to do it. This does require running SSH on my laptop but I can invoke the shell script from my desktop. Likewise with my phone I want to backup my camera photos, using rsync is nice here to avoid sending thousands of them over every time. I run SSH on my phone with Termux, it was really painless to set up and is only on when I run it. Likewise, I invoke the shell script from my desktop to do the transfer.

groovybits 1y ago
For this purpose, I would not suggest KDE Connect. What you're looking for is something more like SyncThing: https://syncthing.net https://syncthing.net
- bityard 1y ago
  I use SyncThing on my phone to back up photos/videos on my phone to my NAS. The UX is not great, but it does sync things correctly 100% of the time. For years on end, I never have to worry about it.
- nickjj 1y ago
  I thought about SyncThing in the past but was reluctant because I don't have a centralized server and I don't always want 1 device to be the definitive source of truth. For example: - On desktop, wrote a blog post - On desktop, pushed my blog post folder to my laptop - On laptop, publish the blog post 3 days later - On laptop, fix a typo and publish the post - On desktop, pull in the changes from the laptop The same type of situations happen with KeePassXC's database file. Sometimes I make an update on my phone or laptop and want it sent to my desktop, other times I make the update on my desktop and want it sent to the other 2 devices. With SyncThing, would this overwrite files on the wrong device as soon as I "sync"?
  - magarnicle 1y ago

tylergetsay 1y ago

I wish KDE Connect supported a self hosted relay server configuration. I often use mobile internet and would love for KDE Connect to still work, without having to start Tailscale on my phone + manually configure IPs

bityard 1y ago

I love KDE Connect, it is insanely useful and pairs nicely with KDE Plasma. But I think it has some major usability issues. The two things I struggle with the most: 1. Sometimes (not always, but often!) the phone is not connected to the computer at all. In order to send something from the computer to the phone, I have to unlock the phone, find KDE connect in the apps, run it, and connect to the computer. I understand that this could very well be just The Way of Android, but it's still obnoxious. 2. The text/SMS sub-app in KDE connect is terrible. It doesn't sync text messages in the background, so it tries to sync when you start it. But it's very slow and takes a good 5-10 minutes for all of your text messages to sync. And apparently it does contacts last because in the beginning you only see phone numbers. And it doesn't show pictures. And (this is normally not a complaint I make), it is very ugly. GS Connect looks way better, but I have no idea if it _works_ any better.

sepsol 1y ago
I second this, especially the second point. I love KDE Connect + GSConnect setup between my Android phone and Ubuntu machine, but the texting app is so laggy it makes the experience unpleasant.

indymike 1y ago

KDE Connect is amazing. It's convenient.

user_7832 1y ago

Slightly tangential, I find the lack of a "proper" way of organizing data across multiple devices frankly terrible. KDE connect is nice, but it's a bandaid patch. Airdrop between your devices is the same. Apple wants you to store everything on iCloud... which isn't terrible, as long as everything syncs fast enough, you can pay, and you're not without internet (an issue even in urban areas like for eg on the subway). Modern devices have just "grown", your phone with its 2FA app is also a source of identity, yet the boundaries between a tool to be used, a computer to "work on" (even an SMS to your boss counts as work for me!), and a "fundamental part of your life" - whether by you or by a megacorp (see: notifications! Mindless scrolling on the social media of your choice!) - are all blurred.

jancsika 1y ago

The feature set commenters here want is insane: * fast as possible * LAN, but also WAN when necessary * in fact how about multi-protocol, and use the fastest protocol that's available on both devices, it's 2025 people! * work for sending a gargantuan amount of files with possible interruptions (essentially, be rsync) * be battery efficient, it's 2025 people! * don't rely on a centralized cloud server, just connect the damned devices to each other If you think you can hack this together, you should write it for Gnu Hurd because they'll release that well before you're finished

ValdikSS 1y ago
>* be battery efficient, it's 2025 people! It took a long time for me to prove that what KDE does negatively impact the battery life. https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=441830 https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=441830 The other user even wrote a LD_PRELOAD hijacking library to not recompile the application every time https://github.com/max0x7ba/kdeconnect-powersave-keepalive https://github.com/max0x7ba/kdeconnect-powersave-keepalive
- ndriscoll 1y ago
  A 5 second keepalive seems unnecessary, but does that actually impact battery life? How long does the device take to move in and out of powersave states? I'd think you'd be looking at maybe 20-40 microseconds of CPU time to handle the packet, so 0.0008% of the time awake due to this. Are other parts of the device just super slow at moving in and out of powersave states?
  - ValdikSS 1y ago
    Yes, it has dramatic impact on the battery life. Wi-Fi in lower power state, when it has nothing to respond to, disables power amplifier and only listens to incoming data. Some functions which are usually performed by the OS are offloaded on smartphones to the Wi-Fi chip, such as ARP/NDP replies, so it doesn't need to wake up a CPU to perform simple answers. However with the constant keep-alive it has to both enable power amplifier and to wake up the CPU to send the reply that the socket is still alive. I have a single-board computer with and old Mediatek chip (10 years old), and there Wi-Fi PA increases power consumption by 200mW. Another reporter in the ticket told that his smartphone works basically 1/2 of its common battery life with KDE Connect enabled. Keep-alives (not necessary TCP keep alives, but any of this kind of packets) are the _MAIN_ reason for internet battery drain while idle, and are tricky to debug if you don't know where to look (Android lists it as "Android System" or "Phone Idle") For example, Golang applications had 15 second keep alive until recently: https://github.com/golang/go/issues/48622 https://github.com/golang/go/issues/48622. Imagine you've opened the website which uses golang web server/proxy and enabled notifications from it in the browser, which use WebSocket from the website itself. Now every time your CPU is woke up every 15 seconds until you close the page and notification channel is offloaded to google/mozilla servers. And remember: every TCP connection has its own 15-second Keep-Alive in different intervals, so it's more like 5-7 second CPU wakeup interval. The same applies for VPN. When anybody say that anways-on VPN connection drains battery, that is 90% if the time is due to frequent keep-alive packets from the VPN server. Everything above applies to cellular connection as well, it's the same principle.

adenta 1y ago

I've had trouble getting KDE connect to work as a shared clipboard between Android and my Mac. Has anyone ever done that successfully? I couldn't find any documentation to indicate people have which is a real bummer.

tasuki 1y ago

I've been using this and recently had a very unpleasant experience: it couldn't mount my new Chinese android phone (worked with the old one!) and the "send file" feature subtly renamed my files (from .tif to .tiff). It cost me four hours (QField atrocious error messages) and I'm still angry about it.

vrinsd 1y ago

As a happy user of many KDE based programs (konsole, kate, dolphin, etc) it's great to see another KDE piece evangelized. But can someone state conclusively if Bluetooth-base connectivty in KDE Connect actually works in 2025? I looked into this a few weeks ago and it seemed liked from mailing list posts until Bluetooth functionality in KDE Connect equals WiFi connectivity the feature is not enabled? When traveling it's much easier to do "point to point" between laptop and phone and in theory Bluetooth can support this easier than WiFi via third-party access-point or having to mess with WiFi direct.

steve-atx-7600 1y ago

I have trouble communicating with/on any device running KDE since it still doesn't support read-line/emacs bindings like Gnome or Mac OS. Will probably never try KDE again at this point.

DeveloperLouis 1y ago

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frameset 1y ago

I use KDE Connect and discovered a feature I didn't know about the other day. I was watching a youtube video on my computer and my phone rang. The video automatically paused whilst I had my call, then when I hung up, the video continued. Totally seamless. The kind of thing Apple would show off as part of their "continuity" between macos and iOS.

an_guy 11mo ago
Are you sure it wasn't your wireless earphones that pause/resumed youtube

slinkydeveloper 1y ago

I love KDE Connect, I use it both with KDE and Gnome (GSConnect). Both from the reliability perspective, but also on the shell integration side of things "Send to ...". Hands down one of my favourite Desktop apps for Linux, kudos to the developers.

Akashic101 1y ago

When I tried out Zorin OS I noticed that they advertised a connect-app as well which does exactly what KDE connect does. After a bit of investigating I noticed that the app is quite literally a 1:1-copy with just the name and branding changed, no features added, no bugs fixed. Does anyone know if KDE connect allows this in the first place?

trissi1996 1y ago
Why wouldn't they? It's FOSS after all...

harel 1y ago

I use this on Gnome for a long time now, and one (perhaps) unintended feature, is that if I'm watching a silly "reel" like video which does not have any controls other than play/pause, I can actually control it and change the position via the phone.

jeroenhd 1y ago
I believe GSConnect uses MPRIS for this type of video control, so with an extension like https://github.com/sakithb/media-controls https://github.com/sakithb/media-controls you should also be able to control playback without having to grab your phone.

ensocode 1y ago

Funny, this was on HN several times. As a KDE User never tried it, but today installed it on my phone and works seamlessly.

miga 1y ago

Unfortunately the default configuration poses significant security problems, allowing for sidestepping 2-factor authentication schemes, and sideloading of applications without user permission (!)

laughing_snyder 1y ago
Can you elaborate?

RandomDude19 11mo ago

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RandomDude19 11mo ago

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