LanXchange

A simple tool for spontaneous, local network file transfers. Supports Windows, Mac and Linux PCs and Android phones.

Features

• No setup required
• Automatically detects files offered by other computers and displays them
• Can transfer single files, folders or a combination of both
• Allows transfers between different platforms/operating systems
• Transfers files as fast as your home network allows to

Requirements

• Runs on Windows, OS X and Linux PCs with Java 7 installed.
• Runs on Android >= 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Getting started

1. Download LanXchange:

• PC (Win/Mac/Linux/JVM)
• Android

2. Unzip the downloaded archive to some place in your home folder (like "My Documents")
3. Run it by double-clicking "LXC.exe" (Windows) or "lxc" (OS X, Linux)
4. Repeat these steps for all computers and start sharing!

Q&A

Q: Aren't file transfers a solved problem?
A: Not entirely. This tool was written years ago for fast file transfers on Lan-Parties (hence the name), where we had a mix of Windows 98 and Windows XP PCs, and copying files was not solved back then.

Q: Ok, but why would anyone use this today, we have {$cloudprovider, AirDrop, ...}?
A: LanXchange is much faster than the cloud (no slow upload involved) and, unlike AirDrop does support virtually all PC OSes + Android. (anything that can run a JVM)

Q: But why Java?
A: Historical reasons, I was in school when I started this and only knew Java. Plus, years later it made porting LanXchange to Android much easier.

Q: Automatic updates?
A: Auto updates are recommended because updates frequently break compatibility with older versions. You can disable them, but there should be no need: On every launch, LanXchange checks for updates (by reading this file), but never downloads or installs anything automatically. Also, I spent quite some time hardening the updater against a wide range of potential attacks. The code/javadoc contains more details. If you think I missed something, please send a mail to mail ät lanxchange.com!

Privacy Policy

The author does not collect or share any personal information.

Please note: A simple version check is enabled by default, which reads a file hosted by either GitHub, Amazon AWS or Google (Cloud). These companies may or may not collect information like your IP address. Also, the author reserves the right to change the file host at any time without notice.

License

LanXchange is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

LanXchange is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with LanXchange. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Tobias Fleig - All rights reserved