A few weeks ago I needed something that sounded incredibly simple.
I wanted to display my Android phone on my Mac.
That’s it.
No cloud.
No accounts.
No subscriptions.
No “all-in-one ecosystem.”
Just my phone and my computer connected to the same network.
The problem
I assumed this already existed.
After trying several applications, I realized they all seemed to solve a much bigger problem than the one I actually had.
Some required creating an account.
Others depended on proprietary software.
Some worked through external servers.
Others came packed with dozens of features I would never use.
I wasn’t looking for a remote control platform.
I just wanted to mirror my Android screen.
So… I built it.
Instead of continuing to search, I started building my own solution.
The goal was simple:
- run locally
- keep the setup minimal
- keep the code understandable
- make it open source
- make it easy for anyone to adapt
I wasn’t trying to build the next big screen-sharing application.
I was trying to remove friction from something I do frequently.
Sometimes the best software is the one that only solves one problem—and solves it well.
What it does
DNLA-Custom lets you mirror your Android device to your Mac over your local network.
The project is intentionally simple.
That also makes it easier to extend if your needs are different from mine.
Why I open sourced it
I’ve learned a lot from projects that strangers decided to publish.
Even when I don’t use them directly, reading the code teaches me something.
Hopefully this repository can do the same for someone else.
Maybe you’ll use it.
Maybe you’ll improve it.
Maybe you’ll just borrow an idea.
Any of those outcomes make open source worthwhile.
The repository
If you have ideas, find bugs, or want to contribute, I’d love to hear from you.
Open source gets better when more people scratch the same itch.
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