AnnexmacOS
macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel. Signed and notarized by Apple.
Free and open source
Your other computeris a second screen.
Extend your display onto another computer, or mirror its screen. Mac, Windows and Linux, over your network, a cable or the internet. Encrypted end to end.
macOS 14+ · Windows 10 and 11 · Linux x86_64 and arm64
The PC becomes a second monitor for the Mac. Drag windows onto it.
Everything else
Made to feel like it's plugged in.
Any combination. Mac to Windows, Windows to Linux, Mac to Mac. Every pairing, in either direction.
Low delay. Hardware video encoding over a direct link. A cable is faster still.
Sound, clipboard and files. Hear the other computer, copy here and paste there, and drag files across.
Any link. Your network, an Ethernet or Thunderbolt cable, or no router at all.
Pair once with a PIN. The first time, type the 6-digit PIN the other computer shows. After that they connect on their own, and nothing else can pretend to be them.
How it works
Three steps. The first is the longest.
- 1
Install Annex on both
Download it for each computer, or paste one line in a terminal. It keeps itself up to date.
- 2
Turn on sharing
On the computer whose screen you'll use, switch on Share. The other one sees it under Nearby.
- 3
Pick Extend or Mirror
Choose the computer, then Extend or Show its screen. Type the PIN the first time.
Privacy
Your screen goes from one computer to the other. Nowhere else.
No accounts, no ads, no tracking, no cloud copy of anything. Annex is open source, so anyone can check.
Encrypted end to end
TLS 1.3 over QUIC, with both computers proving who they are.
Paired with a PIN
The PIN is never sent (SPAKE2), and paired computers remember each other's keys.
Local stays local
On your own network, Annex never talks to a server.
Codes only introduce
Over the internet, our server swaps two addresses. It never sees your screen.
Download
Get Annex. It's free.
Windows
Windows 10 (2004) or 11, Intel, AMD and ARM. Install to any folder or drive.
Linux
Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE and Raspberry Pi OS, x86_64 and arm64.
Every download is checked against a signature made when it's built · All versions · Build from source
Questions
Good to know
Does it cost anything?
No. Annex is free and open source under the MIT licence. There's no paid version and nothing to sign up for.
Do both computers need Annex?
Yes: the one you're sitting at, and the one whose screen you want to use or extend.
Can I use it over the internet?
Yes. On the sharing computer, get a code under This Mac or This PC, then type it on the other one. The screen goes straight between the two computers, encrypted.
Will a plain USB cable work?
Only a cable that makes a network link: Thunderbolt or USB4 between Macs, or Ethernet (with an adapter if needed) for everything else.
What does Annex send to its servers?
On your own network, nothing. With an internet code, our server only swaps the two computers' addresses. The only other request is the update check to GitHub, which you can turn off.