Hey,

I was wondering what folks use to quickly send a file or a link between your PC and android phone in a lightweight and self hosted way.

Currently I use syncthing to copy files around, but I’m looking for something more immediate, and quick than doesn’t involve searching for folders in a file manager.

Example use case: Send a file from PC to phone. Notification pops up on phone, tap it to access.

(PC runs OpenBSD)

What lightweight software do you guys use?

Stuff I tried so far:

  • syncthing
  • xmpp
  • tox
  • scp and termux.
  • magic wormhole
  • telegram saved messages
    • tehWrapperEnglish
      0•3 months ago

      Yah if it’s not to big I use the note to self option in signal

  • arthurpizzaEnglish
    0•3 months ago

    Open source file manager Material Files lets you set an SSH server as a bookmark and mount it instantly. Moving files around just like like it’s native. Works seamlessly through Tailscale.

  • @one_knight_scripting@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0•3 months ago

    Do you have any hosting in your home lab? Preferably something for running a docker container, but a hypervisor could do the job too.

    Nextcloud is an option if you do. Technically speaking you could properly protect it and make it public. You don’t have to do that though. Any file you upload on your computer could be copied to your phone or vice versa. If it’s public, then this could be done from anywhere.

  • EvilHaitianEatingYourCatEnglish
    0•3 months ago

    I ll just hijack this thread : when plugging my android into laptop, the laptop doesn’t recognise it as anything. And the phone doesn’t give me the option to “share files” instead of just charge. Does anyone knows what’s wrong?

    • @qwerty@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      0•3 months ago

      Check if your cable has data lanes, some cables don’t have them and can only be used for charging. Tap the charging notification and check if you can change it to file transfer.

  • @Fuzzypyro@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0•3 months ago

    Taildrop works relatively well for most all circumstances. Only thing is you gotta use trayscale or cli currently for sending files from a Linux/bsd machine. I don’t know if opened has a port for trayscale but it definitely has a port of tailscale.

    • @naeap@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      0•3 months ago

      Yeah, can recommend that one too Although it sometimes seems to have some performance problems with a large amount of files - could be, that it’s already fixed though

    • @rumba@lemmy.zipEnglish
      0•3 months ago

      I have tried to use KDEconnect over and over, It doesn’t work on my work network, it doesn’t work on most of my home network, If my laptop my cell phone come up as different IPs it gets confused. It’s discoverability is just absolutely horrible except for a select number of plain vanilla networks.

      • @electric_nan@lemmy.mlEnglish
        0•3 months ago

        Damn that sucks :(. Seems to me I have to disable my VPN in order to discover devices, but I can re-enable it afterwards. I use it mostly for clipboard sharing between devices.

        • @rumba@lemmy.zipEnglish
          0•3 months ago

          My home network is split between wired and wireless, they’re on different IP ranges. I have every proper forwarding protocol and UDP sniffing everything set up so that devices can talk to each other across subnets.

          It refuses.

          So at home I can set it up on Linux to use a static IP to find my phone. And the phone kind of deals with it and works most of the time. But then I go to work and my IPs are the two devices change. Then I’m SOL.

          Also if I’m home and I’m roaming onto one of my other networks to talk to security cameras or something it’s incapable of talking to my PC.

          Honestly it’s discovery is just bad for me. I really wish that it’s supported a list of IPs, or gave me some kind of client I could run in concert with tail scale or I could move s*** around it’s just absolutely inflexible and for no good reason.

    • @Hawk@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      0•3 months ago

      From memory MTP is pretty flaky and quite slow.

      ADB push is pretty good but at that stage rsync is just as easy.

      Put SSH in the phone and you can do it all from the computer too.

      • @rumba@lemmy.zipEnglish
        0•3 months ago

        MTP’s not bad anymore. It works perfectly well in Windows Linux and Mac these days and is as fast as anything else.

  • @JASN_DE@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0•3 months ago

    As I have basically all devices connected to my Nextcloud instance, I simply use that. I don’t have any “time-critical” file transfers though.

    • @vext01@lemmy.sdf.orgOPEnglish
      0•3 months ago

      Well my transfers aren’t “time critical” either, but life feels easier if I don’t have to jump through hoops to solve a task that involves copy files around.

      Re: next cloud, looking for something more lightweight than that.

  • Lka1988English
    0•3 months ago

    FX File Explorer has a local web-access feature. Start it on your phone and access via local IP, then just turn it off when you’re done.

    Don’t use on public wifi, it’s http-only.