Clipboard and file transfer

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Quick answer

Copy on one machine and paste on another — text, images and files, in both directions. Files use a pull model: copying only announces names and sizes, and the bytes move only when you actually paste. Free up to 10 MB per transfer; Pro removes the cap.

EasySwitch shares your clipboard between machines and lets you move files without email, USB sticks or a cloud drive. It works Mac to Windows to Linux, in every direction.

Copy and paste across machines

  • Text syncs both ways and is free forever. Copy on one computer, paste on another.
  • Images sync too — copy a screenshot on one machine and paste it into an app on another.
  • Files and folders copy and paste like anything else, including mixed selections.

Turn all of this on or off with Clipboard sync in Settings (on by default). A hash check stops copy/paste loops between machines.

“No transfer without a paste”

Copying a file does not send it anywhere. It only announces a small manifest — the names and sizes. The actual bytes move only when you paste on the other machine.

That means:

  • Nothing lands on the other computer unless you ask for it by pasting.
  • You can copy a huge folder and it costs nothing until (and unless) you paste it.
  • No files you didn’t choose ever end up on the other machine.

Drag and drop across the edge

Pick up a file, drag it off the screen edge, and drop it straight into Finder, Explorer, a browser or an app on the other machine. If there’s no drop target under the cursor, the file lands in your received-files folder instead. Dragging works from macOS and Windows; on Linux, dropping into the machine works everywhere, while originating a drag needs an Xorg session.

Any size, streamed to disk

Large transfers stream to disk rather than filling memory, with a progress card you can cancel, and pacing that never makes your mouse or typing stutter. There’s a safety floor on free disk space so a transfer can’t fill a drive.

Send from a phone or browser — the web bridge

Turn on the web bridge (a Pro feature) in Settings and it shows a URL, a 6-digit PIN and a QR code. On any phone or browser on the same network, scan the QR or open the URL, enter the PIN, and you can upload files to and download files from that machine’s received-files folder, and exchange text — with nothing to install on the phone. It’s PIN-gated and only exposes that folder and the last text you sent. See Security and privacy.

Size limits and where files land

FreePro / Business
Text clipboardYesYes
Images and filesUp to 10 MB per transferUnlimited
Drag-and-dropUp to 10 MBUnlimited
Web bridgeYes

Received files go to a folder named EasySwitch inside your Downloads by default; point it anywhere with Received files folder in Settings.

See also