LocalSend: Free Cross-Platform File Transfer Tool

Moving a file three feet shouldn’t require a round trip to a distant server. LocalSend is a free, open source app that moves files, folders, and text directly over your own network with end-to-end TLS and no accounts, ads, or tracking. If you live with a mix of Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, it’s the rare tool that treats every platform like a first-class citizen.

I start with the familiar pain: emailing yourself photos, juggling cloud links, hitting the wall when AirDrop meets Windows. Then the design that fixes it: local discovery, a small HTTPS server on each device, and direct encrypted transfers at LAN speed. No relays, no Bluetooth handshakes, and the no-internet requirement is sometimes a feature, like on a travel router when hotel Wi-Fi is garbage.

I also cover the failure modes honestly, because “devices don’t see each other” has real causes: mismatched SSIDs, AP isolation, strict firewalls, and VPNs hijacking local subnets. There’s a short checklist that fixes most of it. If you know someone who still emails themselves attachments, send them this one.