Poftim
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Computer to computer

How to share files between two computers, on the same desk or across the world

Two laptops. One file. The traditional answers are a USB stick you have to find, a network share somebody has to configure, or a cloud folder that wants the file uploaded before anyone can touch it.

A browser on each machine is enough. This guide covers both cases — two computers in the same room, and two computers that have never been on the same network — including how to do it when neither machine has a webcam.

Windows, macOS and Linux · No network setup · No upload · Either direction

The usual routes

Why computer to computer is oddly harder than phone to phone

Phones got a share button. Computers got file sharing, which is a different thing entirely and assumes somebody will configure it.

  • A USB stickOnly if both machines are in the same room, and you have one
  • Windows network sharingSame network, matching settings, and patience
  • A cloud folderUploads first, and leaves a copy behind
  • Email to yourselfAttachment limits stop at around 25 MB
  • Remote desktop or a file serverSensible at work, absurd for one file
  • AirDrop between two MacsExcellent, and useless if one is a PC

Mixed pairs are where it gets worst. A Mac and a Windows PC on the same office Wi-Fi have no shared mechanism at all without somebody setting one up, which is exactly the situation an AirDrop alternative has to solve.

The one wrinkle

Neither computer has a camera pointed at the other

Pairing by scanning assumes a camera and a screen. Between two desktops there is usually neither, so the second route is the normal one here rather than the fallback.

On the first computer, press Share connection. That produces a one-time link. Paste it into a message, an email, a chat window — or, if both machines are yours, into anything that syncs between them. Opening it on the second computer joins the same session.

If one of the two does have a webcam, or if you have a phone to hand, scanning still works and is quicker. Neither route is more secure than the other: both end at the same phrase on both screens, and that phrase is what you check.

Two computers joined by a one-time link, with the files travelling directly between them and no storage in the middle. ONE-TIME LINK FILES

The link is single-use and expires on its own, and a shared link always routes through the encrypted relay — so neither machine has to be reachable from the other's network. Send it through a channel you trust, and compare the phrase before sending anything.

The method

Five steps, on any two machines

  1. 01

    Open poftim.app on the first computer

    Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Brave or Opera — whichever it already runs. Windows, macOS and Linux all behave the same here. A square code appears immediately.

  2. 02

    Get the second computer into the same session

    Press Share connection and send the one-time link to the other machine. If a camera or a phone is available instead, scanning the code does the same job faster.

  3. 03

    Compare the phrase

    Both screens show the same short phrase. Check that they match and confirm. This is the step that distinguishes the machine you meant from anyone else who might have got hold of the link.

  4. 04

    Drag the files onto the page

    Drop them straight onto the drop zone, or press Choose files. A computer is the comfortable end of a transfer — plenty of memory, no background suspension, and a real file system waiting on the other side.

  5. 05

    Save into a folder

    Files arrive one by one with a Save button each. Past three files, Save all appears: Chromium browsers ask you to pick a folder once and then write everything into it, giving a duplicate name a number rather than overwriting. Firefox saves them as separate downloads instead, up to twenty at a time.

Start a connection What each browser does with Save all

Questions

Two computers, common questions

Do the two computers need to be on the same network?

No. On the same network the files usually take a direct path and never leave the building, which is fast. Across different networks, or different countries, the encrypted stream passes through a relay that cannot read it. Both are end to end encrypted; the difference is speed.

Can I do this between a Mac and a Windows PC?

Yes, in either direction, and that is one of the main reasons to use a browser for it. Nothing about the method assumes a shared operating system, a shared account or a shared manufacturer.

My work computer will not let me install anything

Nothing needs installing. This is an ordinary web page. If the corporate network blocks the direct connection, the relay is tried automatically and usually gets through — and if the network blocks that too, the page says so rather than hanging.

Can I send a whole folder?

Select the files inside it — up to five hundred at once. On a Chromium browser the receiving end can then write the whole set into one folder you choose, which reassembles it in one step.

Is a copy left on a server afterwards?

No. There is no upload step and no stored copy. The session is single-use and expires on its own, so there is nothing to go back and delete. The privacy page sets out exactly what the service does receive.

Can both machines send at the same time?

Either side can send, and the same connection carries files both ways for as long as both pages stay open. There is no designated sender and no designated receiver.

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