Platforms¶
Support¶
| Host platform | Capture | Input | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux X11 | XGetImage, RandR monitors | XTest | end to end (tests + manual) |
| Linux Wayland | xdg-desktop-portal + PipeWire | portal RemoteDesktop | end to end in headless GNOME |
| Windows | GDI BitBlt, all monitors | SendInput | backend tests pass under Wine; app UI runs under Wine; networking needs real Windows (Wine lacks IP_RECVECN, which QUIC uses) |
| macOS | CoreGraphics display images | CGEvent | compile-checked only |
Windows builds use the MinGW toolchain (x86_64-pc-windows-gnu); ship libstdc++-6.dll,
libgcc_s_seh-1.dll and libwinpthread-1.dll next to somedesk.exe. On macOS the user must allow
Screen Recording (required) and Accessibility (for control; otherwise view-only). Neither
covers the login screen or UAC prompts yet; that needs a system service / launch daemon.
Android¶
The Android app (Android 8 and newer) connects to computers; it does not share the phone's screen. It uses the phone layout of the same UI: bottom navigation, and a full-screen session where a tap clicks, a long press right-clicks and dragging drags. A scroll mode turns dragging into the mouse wheel, and the keyboard button opens the soft keyboard with a row of Esc, Tab, Ctrl, Alt, arrows, Delete, Home, End and Super. A hardware keyboard works as on the desktop. Back ends a session, and leaves the app from the home screen.
The clipboard is shared through Android's clipboard manager. Android only lets the app read it while it is in front, so text copied on the phone reaches the computer once SomeDesk is open again. Sending files from the phone isn't supported yet; received files are saved to Download/SomeDesk (not yet tested).
Verified on the Android 15 emulator (x86_64): sign-in, sessions over a direct connection, touch input, typing through Gboard, scrolling, rotation and the clipboard from the computer. Not yet tried on a physical phone.
Linux desktops¶
The host picks its backend from the session: X11 (XGetImage + XTest; RandR monitors can be
viewed one at a time), or on Wayland the
xdg-desktop-portal (RemoteDesktop + ScreenCast, frames over PipeWire).
SOMEDESK_BACKEND=x11|portal overrides the choice.
On Wayland the desktop itself asks the person at the host for permission the first time someone connects (after they accepted in SomeDesk). They choose Share and switch on Allow Remote Interaction; SomeDesk tells them so. The portal's restore token is stored next to the device credentials, so later sessions start without asking again. If remote interaction is not allowed, or the desktop has no remote-input portal (wlroots compositors such as sway), the screen is shared view-only and the viewer is told.
Known gaps: the view-only path on wlroots is untested (xdg-desktop-portal-wlr cannot capture a GPU-less headless sway); clipboard sharing on GNOME Wayland goes through XWayland, since GNOME does not offer the Wayland data-control protocol.