DirectConnect

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Getting started

Install DirectConnect on both computers, connect them with a Thunderbolt or USB4 cable, and choose what each shares. The other computer’s files open in Finder, File Explorer or your Linux file manager.

Before you start

Both computers need a Thunderbolt or USB4 port, and a cable that supports it. A USB-C port that only does USB won’t work. Requirements explains how to check.

Connect two computers

  1. On both computers, download DirectConnect and install it.
  2. Open DirectConnect on both computers. The main window says Waiting for a cable…
  3. Plug the cable into a Thunderbolt or USB4 port on each computer. When the computers find each other, each opens a window for the other.
  4. On each computer, choose what it shares: Share drives, Share a folder or Receive only. Sharing options explains each one.
  5. When the other computer has shared something, click Open in the bar at the bottom of its window. Its files open in your file manager.
The other computer’s window: the three sharing tiles, and Open in the bar at the bottom (Mac)
The other computer’s window: the three sharing tiles, and Open in the bar at the bottom (Windows)
The other computer’s window: the three sharing tiles, and Open in the bar at the bottom (Linux)

Where the other computer’s files appear

  • Mac: a volume in Finder’s sidebar, named after the other computer.
  • Windows: a drive in File Explorer named after the other computer, such as “Studio Mac (Z:)”. The letter depends on which letters are free.
  • Linux: an entry named after the other computer in your file manager’s sidebar. Its files are also in ~/DirectConnect.
    • GNOME Files: in the sidebar with your other drives, with an eject button beside it.
    • KDE Dolphin: under Places. Dolphin has no eject button for it; use Eject in DirectConnect.
    • Xfce Thunar: under Devices, with an eject button beside it.

The files stay on the other computer. Open, copy and save them as you would on a USB drive.

The first connection

There’s no pairing code or password. The cable shows which computer you’re connecting to, and clicking a sharing tile is your consent. Each computer shares only what you choose on it.

Your Mac asks whether DirectConnect can find devices on your local network. Choose Allow: macOS treats the cable as a local network, and DirectConnect can’t connect without it.

The 14-day free trial starts at the first connection. After that, one licence covers both computers. See Licensing.

Next time

Turn on Remember this computer in the computer’s window, and the two connect the same way whenever you plug in the cable, without asking.

To copy large folders faster than dragging them, use fast copy.