Valent is a program that links your phone to your computer so you can see notifications, texts and control media, and share files and links between them. It is for everyday people on Linux desktops who want their phone and computer to work together.
Has 1 of 5 · Phone screen on computer ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does the whole job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
scrcpy is a free program that shows the screen of an Android phone on a computer and lets you control the phone with the computer's keyboard and mouse. It is for people who want to view or control their Android phone from a Windows, Mac or Linux computer without installing anything on the phone.
Has 2 of 5 · Works with iPhone ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
GSConnect is a free add-on for the GNOME desktop on Linux that links a computer with Android phones and other computers. It is for people who want their phone's messages, notifications and files on their computer.
Has 1 of 5
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
None of these match. Try another device.
Help me choose
I want to pick an open-source replacement for Microsoft Phone Link. Below is a list from Open Source Everything (CC BY-SA 4.0), in the order its website shows it. The order is a starting point, not a verdict.
- Valent: Valent is a program that links your phone to your computer so you can see notifications, texts and control media, and share files and links between them. It is for everyday people on Linux desktops who want their phone and computer to work together. [Easy setup; Linux; replaces fully; GPL-3.0-or-later; https://github.com/andyholmes/valent]
- scrcpy: scrcpy is a free program that shows the screen of an Android phone on a computer and lets you control the phone with the computer's keyboard and mouse. It is for people who want to view or control their Android phone from a Windows, Mac or Linux computer without installing anything on the phone. [Easy setup; Windows · Mac · Linux; replaces partly; Apache-2.0; https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy]
- GSConnect: GSConnect is a free add-on for the GNOME desktop on Linux that links a computer with Android phones and other computers. It is for people who want their phone's messages, notifications and files on their computer. [Easy setup; Linux; replaces partly; GPL-2.0; https://github.com/GSConnect/gnome-shell-extension-gsconnect]
Setup rating: "Easy setup" means you can install it like a normal app, use it in a browser. "Advanced setup" means you must run it on your own server or use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Full details: https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/phone-pc-link.json
Before recommending anything, ask me these three questions (one at a time, in plain words): 1) Which device or devices will I use it on (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone)? 2) How comfortable am I with technical setup: only installing apps from a store, happy to follow a step-by-step guide, or comfortable with servers and the command line? 3) What is my budget: free only, or willing to pay for hosting or support? Then recommend one to three projects from this list only, and for each say why, using how fully it replaces the app, its setup rating, and the devices it runs on. If nothing on the list fits me, say so plainly instead of stretching.
Before you build
Read the list of open-source projects at https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/phone-pc-link.json. Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do.
My project or idea:
