KDE Connect is a multi-platform application developed by

KDE KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the KDE Plasma gra ...

, which facilitates wireless communications and data transfer between devices over local networks. KDE Connect is available in the repositories of many

Linux Distributions A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel (operating system), kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply distribution (marketing), product distribution pe ...

and

F-Droid F-Droid is a free and open source app store and software repository for Android (operating system), Android, serving a similar function to the Google Play store. The main repository, hosted by the project, contains only free software, free and o ...

Google Play Store Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

for

Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...

. Often, distributions bundle KDE Connect in their

KDE Plasma KDE Plasma is a Shell (computing), graphical shell developed by the KDE community for Unix-like operating systems. It serves as the interface layer between the user and the operating system, providing a graphical user interface (GUI) and workspa ...

desktop variant. KDE Connect has been reimplemented in the

GNOME A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

desktop environment as GSConnect, which can be obtained from GNOME Extension Store. Since 2021, KDE Connect has also been available on Windows, and it is available as an unstable nightly build on macOS.

Mechanism

KDE Connect utilizes various

DBus D-Bus (short for "Desktop Bus") is a message-oriented middleware mechanism that allows communication between multiple processes running concurrently on the same machine. D-Bus was developed as part of the freedesktop.org project, initiated by G ...

interfaces from UI agnostic Libraries for a specific operating system for its functioning.

Features

* Shared clipboard: copy and paste between a phone, a computer, any other device * Notification sync: Read and reply to Android notifications from the desktop * Share files and URLs instantly from one device to another, including some file system integration * Multimedia remote control: Use a phone as the remote for Linux media players * Virtual touchpad: Use a phone's screen as a touchpad and keyboard * Presentation remote: Advance presentation slides using a phone

Encryption

KDE Connect uses

Transport Layer Security Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network, such as the Internet. The protocol is widely used in applications such as email, instant messaging, and voice over ...

(TLS) encryption protocol for communication. It uses SFTP to mount devices and to send files.

References

External links

*
KDE Connect user manual
{{KDE Free software programmed in C++ KDE Applications