rquickshare

Google Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share) for Windows 11, Linux & macOS

Send and receive files, text and links between an Android phone and your computer, using the same Quick Share your phone already has.

This is a fork of Martichou/rquickshare that adds Windows support and transfers that work without a shared Wi-Fi network (see How devices connect).

Installation

Download the installer for your system from the latest release. To build it yourself instead, see BUILD.md.

The installers aren't code-signed yet, so Windows and macOS will warn you the first time - see below.

Windows 11

Run either installer: r-quick-share-main_v<version>_x64_en-US.msi, or r-quick-share-main_v<version>_x64-setup.exe.

• Windows SmartScreen may say it "protected your PC", because the installer isn't signed. Click More info, then Run anyway.
• Windows Firewall will ask whether to allow rquickshare the first time it runs. Allow it on Private networks, otherwise your phone can't reach it over Wi-Fi.
• Bluetooth is needed for transfers with a phone that isn't on your Wi-Fi network.

macOS (Apple Silicon)

Open r-quick-share-main_v<version>_aarch64.dmg and drag the app to Applications. There is no Intel build at the moment.

Because the app isn't signed, macOS will block it the first time. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down to the message about rquickshare, and click Open Anyway.

Linux

The packages are built on Ubuntu 24.04, and the minimum GLIBC version they need is part of the file name (for example glibc-2.39). Check yours with ldd --version.

RQuickShare also needs one of these libraries; the package manager normally installs it for you:

• libayatana-appindicator
• libappindicator3

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt install ./r-quick-share-main_v*_amd64.deb

apt install with a local file also installs any missing dependencies, which dpkg -i doesn't.

Fedora / DNF

sudo dnf install ./r-quick-share-main_v*.rpm

Other RPM-based distributions

sudo rpm -i r-quick-share-main_v*.rpm

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Packages of the original project

These install Martichou/rquickshare, not this fork, so they don't include the Windows and Bluetooth work.

AUR (Arch)

yay -S r-quick-share

Nix

Available here: NixOS

nix-shell -p rquickshare

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How devices connect

• Same Wi-Fi network: devices find each other over mDNS and transfer directly over the network. This is the fastest path and works on every platform.
• No shared Wi-Fi (Windows): the transfer starts over Bluetooth LE, then moves to Wi-Fi - your local network if the phone can reach it, otherwise a hotspot rquickshare brings up on your PC (Windows Mobile Hotspot). Your PC needs Bluetooth, and a Wi-Fi adapter for the hotspot.
• Bluetooth on Linux is newer: receiving from a phone over Bluetooth works, and the transfer moves to Wi-Fi when both devices are on the same network.

Bluetooth support is still being refined; see KNOWN_ISSUES.md for the problems we know about.

FAQ

My Android device doesn't see my computer

• Make sure rquickshare's visibility (top of the side menu) isn't Hidden from everyone.
• On the same Wi-Fi network, mDNS has to be allowed on that network; public networks (coffee shops, airports, etc.) often block it. On Windows, also check the firewall note above.
• Without a shared network, your computer needs Bluetooth turned on.

My computer doesn't see my Android device

Android doesn't advertise itself all the time, even in "Everyone" mode. A few ways around that:

• Scan the QR code. When you pick something to send, rquickshare shows a QR code. Scanning it with your phone makes the phone show itself to rquickshare, even when it isn't set to "Everyone".
• Bluetooth. On Windows and Linux, rquickshare broadcasts a Bluetooth advertisement that makes nearby Android devices reveal themselves, if your computer has Bluetooth.
• Open the receive screen on the phone. In the "Files" app, open the "Nearby Share" tab. If that isn't there, use a shortcut maker (see here) to create a shortcut to either:
  • Activity: com.google.android.gms.nearby.sharing.ReceiveSurfaceActivity
  • Action: com.google.android.gms.RECEIVE_NEARBY with Mime type */*

Note: Samsung changed Quick Share on its devices, so the shortcut workaround may not work there.

When sharing a file, my phone appears and disappears "randomly"

This is normal when your computer is relying on Bluetooth to find the phone: Android periodically withdraws its advertisement and only reappears when it sees the Bluetooth message again.

How do I send text or a link?

Copy the text (or URL) to your clipboard, then press Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V) inside the rquickshare window and pick the target device. URLs are sent so the receiving Android device can open them in a browser. You can also enable Auto-stage clipboard text in Settings to have newly copied text staged for sending automatically.

Text, links and Wi-Fi networks sent to your computer show up as a notification, with a Copy button (and Open, for links).

Can I send a folder?

No - Quick Share only sends individual files. Dropping a folder on the window shows a message asking you to send the files inside it instead.

How do I change the name other devices see?

Open Settings and set Device name. Leave it empty to use your computer's name.

Once I close the window, the app is still running

That's by default: closing the window keeps rquickshare running in the system tray so it can still receive. To quit when the window closes, turn off Keep running on close in Settings.

On Linux, if your desktop has no system tray, you can check whether it's still running with:

ps aux | grep r-quick-share

My firewall is blocking the connection

You can give rquickshare a fixed port to allow in your firewall. Close the app, then add a "port" entry to its settings file:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\dev.mandre.rquickshare\.settings.json
• Linux: ~/.local/share/dev.mandre.rquickshare/.settings.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/dev.mandre.rquickshare/.settings.json

Warning

The json must stay valid after your modification; for example, if "port" is the last item of the JSON it must not have a comma after it, otherwise the config will be reset.

{
	...existing_config...,
	"port": 12345
}

By default the port is random (the OS will decide).

Where are the logs?

• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\dev.mandre.rquickshare\logs
• Linux: ~/.local/share/dev.mandre.rquickshare/logs
• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/dev.mandre.rquickshare

To capture a problem, set Logging level to trace in Settings, reproduce it, and attach the log to an issue.

The app opens but I just get a blank window or cannot run it (Linux)

This happens for some users running Linux + NVIDIA cards. Start rquickshare with:

env WEBKIT_DISABLE_COMPOSITING_MODE=1 rquickshare

Status

rquickshare is still in development. Windows 11 and Linux are the main targets; macOS should work but is less tested. Expect the design to change between versions.

Got feedback or suggestions? Feel free to open an issue.

Credits

This project wouldn't exist without these amazing open-source projects:

• https://github.com/Martichou/rquickshare (the original project this fork builds on)
• https://github.com/grishka/NearDrop
• https://github.com/vicr123/QNearbyShare

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change. See BUILD.md to get a development build running; pull requests must pass the checks in .github/workflows/check.yml (rustfmt, cargo test, lint, type-check).