ShareViaLAN

ShareViaLAN is an open-source Flutter app for sharing files and messages between Android, Linux, and Windows devices on the same Wi-Fi, hotspot, or LAN. Transfers go directly between devices without a cloud file server. The app contains no advertising SDK or ad display.

ShareViaLAN is available under the MIT license. You may use, modify, fork, redistribute, and sell copies, including for commercial purposes, while preserving the copyright and license notice. Contributions are welcome through pull requests and are reviewed by the maintainer before merging. See Licensing for license history and third-party exceptions.

• Android on Google Play
• Android testing opt-in
• Desktop releases
• Report a bug

Google Play availability depends on the release track, account, and country. Source version 1.0.7 does not imply that every download has that version. The repository's existing 1.0.0 desktop installers are older builds.

Build from source

Install Flutter 3.41.4 (the tested version) and the native build tools for your platform, then:

git clone https://github.com/CyberCipherSight/ShareViaLAN.git
cd ShareViaLAN
flutter pub get
flutter analyze
flutter test

• Linux: install Clang, CMake, Ninja, pkg-config, GTK 3 development headers, and libstdc++ development headers; run flutter build linux --release.
• Windows: install Visual Studio's Desktop development with C++ workload; run flutter build windows --release on Windows.
• Android: install JDK 17 and the Android SDK (API 36); run flutter build apk --debug for a development build. Store releases require your own signing key as described below.

The Linux bundle is in build/linux/x64/release/bundle/; keep the entire bundle together. The Windows bundle is in build/windows/x64/runner/Release/. Use flutter doctor to check native dependencies. iOS, macOS, and web directories are retained as Flutter scaffolding; they are not supported release targets.

See Contributing for build checks and Security for privacy and reporting guidance.

See Architecture for the discovery, messaging, storage, and platform integration layout.

Android 1.0.7 release-quality changes and remaining upstream compatibility references are documented in Android release quality.

Opening received files

Tap Open on a completed transfer to open it with an installed application. On Android, opening an APK for the first time opens the system Allow from this source screen for ShareViaLAN. Enable it and return to continue to the Android installer. If permission is declined, tap Open again when ready. Android still asks you to confirm installation; device management restrictions can prevent it. Other file types use temporary read access for the viewer. Android 6–9 requests storage permission when saving received files to public Downloads.

On Linux and Windows, received files go into the system's configured Downloads/ShareViaLAN folder, including relocated or localized Downloads folders. Files need an installed viewer or installer for their format. Linux scripts can be run explicitly with bash /path/to/installer.sh; the app does not automatically mark received files executable or run them when a transfer finishes.

The source contains no advertising SDK, premium section, or remote ad fetch. Internal peer IDs support discovery and chat history and are not displayed in Settings.

The portable filename checks, relocated Downloads-folder support, clearer file opening errors, and updated file picker apply to Linux and Windows too. Android edge-to-edge, APK permissions, and R8 changes are Android-specific.

Android Release Signing

The Android release build reads signing credentials from android/key.properties. Keep that file and the keystore private; both are ignored by the Android .gitignore.

Generate an upload key:

cd android
keytool -genkeypair -v \
  -keystore upload-keystore.jks \
  -storetype JKS \
  -keyalg RSA \
  -keysize 2048 \
  -validity 10000 \
  -alias upload

Create android/key.properties from the example and fill in the passwords you entered for the keystore:

storePassword=your-keystore-password
keyPassword=your-key-password
keyAlias=upload
storeFile=upload-keystore.jks

Build the Google Play upload artifact:

flutter build appbundle --release

Output:

build/app/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

Desktop Installers

Android packaging is already in place. The installer setup in this project now covers Windows and Linux desktop builds.

Windows installer

Build the Windows release and package it into a native .exe installer with Inno Setup 6:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File packaging/windows/build_installer.ps1

Output:

dist/windows/ShareViaLAN-Setup-<version>.exe

Requirements:

• Run this on Windows.
• Install Flutter with Windows desktop support enabled.
• Install Inno Setup 6 so ISCC.exe is available.

Linux Download And Install

Use a Linux installer from the Releases page when one is available, or build the current source with the instructions below.

1. Open the GitHub repository in your browser.
2. Go to Releases.
3. Download the file named like this:

ShareViaLAN-linux-installer-<version>.sh

4. Open a terminal in the folder where the file was downloaded.
5. Make the installer executable:

chmod +x ShareViaLAN-linux-installer-<version>.sh

6. Install it for your current Linux user:

./ShareViaLAN-linux-installer-<version>.sh

The installer places the app under ~/.local/opt/sharevialan, creates the sharevialan command in ~/.local/bin, and adds a desktop launcher named ShareViaLAN.

If sharevialan is not found in your terminal after installation, add ~/.local/bin to your PATH or launch the app from your desktop app menu.

To uninstall:

~/.local/opt/sharevialan/uninstall.sh

If peers cannot connect, allow ShareViaLAN's local-network ports in your Linux firewall:

sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=9001/udp --add-port=9002/tcp

Or, on Ubuntu systems using ufw:

sudo ufw allow 9001/udp
sudo ufw allow 9002/tcp

Build The Linux Installer

Project maintainers can build a self-contained Linux installer script with:

bash packaging/linux/build_installer.sh

Output:

dist/linux/ShareViaLAN-linux-installer-<version>.sh

Install the locally built installer for the current user:

bash dist/linux/ShareViaLAN-linux-installer-<version>.sh

Install to a custom prefix:

bash dist/linux/ShareViaLAN-linux-installer-<version>.sh --prefix /opt/sharevialan-root

Upload the generated .sh file from dist/linux/ to the GitHub release so Linux users can download it directly.