The latest articles on DEV Community by Howie Creations (@byhowiecreations). https://dev.to/byhowiecreations https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4211372%2F60f761d3-89c6-47ed-9710-863e2f67bfe7.png https://dev.to/byhowiecreations en Howie Creations Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:38:20 +0000 https://dev.to/byhowiecreations/fileapex-file-sharing-between-your-own-devices-over-your-own-network-3d0p https://dev.to/byhowiecreations/fileapex-file-sharing-between-your-own-devices-over-your-own-network-3d0p <p>FileApex is a file-sharing app I built for one job: moving files between my own devices without handing them to a cloud service first. Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and Docker nodes — they all talk to each other directly.</p> <p>Repo: <a href="https://github.com/byhowiecreations/FileApex/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/byhowiecreations/FileApex/</a><br> Google Play Store: <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fileapex" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fileapex</a><br> (F-Droid coming soon)</p> <h2> Why </h2> <p>I tried the alternatives first, and each one had a catch. LocalSend only works on the same network, with no way to opt in to anything else. Blip was slow to get a transfer started when I tried it. KDE Connect works, but outside Linux it felt buggy to me, and the interface looks dated.</p> <p>FileApex covers what I actually wanted: the same fast local transfers, plus reach over the internet through Tailscale or Iroh when I'm away, resume after a dropped connection, clipboard and notifications across devices, and no account required. Everything beyond the LAN is opt-in.</p> <h2> The idea </h2> <p>Most file-sharing tools either route everything through someone else's server or only work when both devices are on the same Wi-Fi. FileApex tries to do better:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>LAN first.</strong> When devices share a network, transfers stay on it. No upload, no download, no middleman.</li> <li> <strong>Tailscale and Iroh when you're away.</strong> Out on cellular or another network, devices still reach each other — over your tailnet, or over Iroh by device key, with relay fallback.</li> <li> <strong>Your devices, your rules.</strong> Pairing runs over TLS with a QR code or a six-digit code both sides compare. No account needed to share between your own machines.</li> </ul> <h2> What it does </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Send files and folders</strong> between paired devices, with resume and whole-file checksum verification.</li> <li> <strong>Bulletin Board</strong> — a shared board across your devices for notes and files, with missed-post catch-up when a device comes back online.</li> <li> <strong>Clipboard sharing</strong> between devices, end-to-end encrypted in transit.</li> <li> <strong>Friends</strong> — send and receive with people outside your own devices, over an isolated endpoint that can't reach your roster, clipboard, or browsing.</li> <li> <strong>Battery-conscious by design.</strong> Iroh rests while you're on a LAN and wakes on network change, and background work is kept to a minimum.</li> </ul> <h2> Privacy, concretely </h2> <ul> <li>A stranger asking a device who it is gets almost nothing: device id, name, ports, and public key — no make, model, OS, or file paths.</li> <li>Cloud pushes (clipboard, Bulletin text) go through Google's push notification system — but they're end-to-end encrypted, so nothing in them can be read in transit.</li> <li>Secrets like keys and PINs are sealed in the OS keystore/keychain/DPAPI, not sitting in plain text.</li> </ul> <h2> Status </h2> <p>FileApex is in active development — something I've been refining day and night for several months. It's a personal project, built in the open — feedback, bug reports, and ideas are welcome on the repo. All features are opt-in by design.</p> <p>If you juggle a phone and a laptop and you're tired of your files taking a detour through the cloud, give it a try: <a href="https://github.com/byhowiecreations/FileApex/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/byhowiecreations/FileApex/</a></p> filesharing android selfhosted opensource