WinDock at your desk — an AI-generated product illustration.
Recognition
WinDock's Linux installer and download-tracking implementation was selected for
the XERJ Corpus Hub, a searchable
reference library for AI coding agents. Included with the author's permission
under the MIT license, the listing credits Ali Saad and links to the
selected contribution.
Get started
- Install on your PC. Open
WinDockSetup.exe. It includes the required
runtimes and adds WinDock to your Start menu and system tray.
- Install on your phone. Open the Android APK and allow installation from
your browser or file manager when prompted.
- Connect. Keep both devices on the same trusted network. Open WinDock on
your phone, select your PC, and enter the PIN from Show connection info
in the Windows tray menu. Enter the tray address manually if discovery misses it.
- Make it yours. Turn the phone sideways, swipe up, and open Apps to
pin your favorites. Hold an icon to start arranging.
The Windows installer is currently unsigned and the Android APK is debug-signed.
Windows may show a publisher warning. An APK signed with a different key can
require uninstalling an earlier Android build before installing the new one.
See the release notes and checksums.
The Android Switch PC picker discovers running WinDock
hosts and keeps up to eight recently reached addresses. It is available on the
connection screen and, with the updated host, in the dock drawer. See PC picker testing.
Updating: quit WinDock from the Windows tray and run the latest installer;
your dock settings are kept. Reconnect the phone app to load the updated dock.
Install the new Android APK for automatic low-RAM detection. It updates public
0.2.2/0.2.3 builds in place, preserving phone settings. Public APKs older than
0.2.2 use a different signing key and must be uninstalled first; that resets
phone-only preferences, while your PC dock is preserved. Close and reopen the
phone app, then pair using the new six-digit PIN. Windows users can clear a
host-wide pairing pause with Allow pairing now in the tray menu.
Starting with 0.2.1-preview.1, the Windows tray offers Check for updates and
checks at startup. A newer release shows a notification and download menu item;
installation remains manual. Older installations need one manual upgrade first.
For USB, connect a data-capable cable and enable USB tethering on Android.
Select Connect by USB → Find USB PC, then enter the normal tray PIN.
Choose Connect by Wi-Fi for wireless. Each mode remembers its own address;
reopening the app without a USB link returns to Wi-Fi. No USB debugging is needed.
Set idle dimming and screen rest under This phone on the connection screen
or Appearance → This phone · screen & sleep in the dock. Android’s screen
timeout may add a delay before the display turns off.
Appearance → Performance mode offers Auto, On, and
Off. On removes glass blur, animated paging, and heavy touch effects for older
phones. Auto enables it when Android reports a low-RAM device or at most 2 GiB of
total usable RAM; browsers and older companions can select On manually. Manual
On/Off always wins over Auto, and Off restores your selected glass style.
The updated Android companion saves performance mode and appearance on the phone,
per PC identity, so layout, labels and theme survive app/PC restarts and changes to
the PC's address or port. Existing web preferences migrate on first connection.
This requires the updated PC web UI too. Browsers and older companions keep using
storage for the current PC address; older hosts without an identity also fall back
to that address.
Server port recovery (in development)
WinDock normally uses TCP port 8620. If that default is reserved by Windows
or already in use, the host automatically binds an available port. Show connection
info, Copy URL, and phone discovery use the actual address. Find your PC
again on the phone after a port change; a manually entered address must include
the new port. Browser preferences belong to each address, so they may need to be
set again after a port change.
On Windows, Server port… in the tray menu lets you save Automatic or a
custom port (1–65535). A change takes effect after quitting and reopening WinDock;
if startup failed, saving retries immediately. A custom port never silently changes.
If startup fails, the tray stays available so you can correct the setting.
Existing PORT environment settings continue to work until you save a tray
setting. The saved tray choice then takes precedence for the Windows app, including
Automatic. Command-line hosts can set PORT to choose a fixed port, or remove it
to restore automatic selection. If you use port-specific firewall or VPN rules,
allow the displayed TCP port or choose a fixed available port. UDP discovery
continues to use port 41234.
Linux preview
WinDock also runs on Linux, built for Hyprland. The same Android app connects
to it, with the touchpad, phone keyboard and signatures.
Install a package (no build tools needed)
Download the package for your x86-64 machine from the
current release.
The Node.js runtime and compiled input helper are included. Your package
manager installs the desktop dependencies and configures touchpad permissions.
Omarchy / Arch Linux: open a terminal in your Downloads folder and run:
sudo pacman -U ./WinDock-linux-x64.pkg.tar.zst
Debian 12+ / Ubuntu 24.04+ with Hyprland:
sudo apt install ./WinDock-linux-amd64.deb
Open WinDock from your application menu, or run windock without sudo.
WinDock starts in the background, and its window shows the address and pairing PIN.
On Android, choose Connect by Wi-Fi → Find my PC, then enter that PIN.
You can close the window; the phone stays connected. To see the PIN again, open
WinDock again or run windock status. To stop WinDock, press S in its window
or run windock stop. It also stops when you log out.
No terminal commands to compile the app, Node.js installation or Rust SDK are needed.
This is a Hyprland preview, not GNOME/KDE support. It requires glibc 2.36+,
a terminal emulator and a systemd user session. Without a user session, WinDock
runs in its window as in earlier versions; windock --foreground does the same on
request. There is no tray icon, autostart or automatic updater yet.
For recording and brightness, install the optional wf-recorder, brightnessctl
and/or ddcutil packages. With notify-send (libnotify) installed, a desktop
notification also shows the PIN when WinDock starts in the background. If touchpad
access is unavailable immediately after installation, log out and back in (or
reboot) so your session picks up the udev rule.
To update, install the newer package with the same command. A WinDock running in
the background restarts with the update and gets a new PIN, so pair your phone
again. If a WinDock window from an older version is still open, close it, then
open WinDock again. Your dock configuration and captures are kept. To remove it, use
sudo pacman -R windock on Arch or sudo apt remove windock on Debian/Ubuntu;
this also stops a background WinDock.
Only the package files are removed; personal settings and captures remain.
Checksums are published as SHA256SUMS-linux.txt alongside the packages.
Build from source (for development)
You need Node.js 20.11+, Rust to build the input helper, and these
tools: gtk-launch, grim, wl-copy, wtype, pactl, brightnessctl
(laptop panels) or ddcutil (external monitors), and wf-recorder or
gpu-screen-recorder for recordings. On Arch-based systems:
sudo pacman -S --needed nodejs npm rust gtk3 grim wl-clipboard wtype libpulse brightnessctl ddcutil wf-recorder
Then, in this repository:
npm ci
npm run build:linux
sudo install -m 644 native/linux/70-windock-uinput.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo modprobe uinput && sudo udevadm trigger --name-match=/dev/uinput
npm start
The udev rule lets your desktop session create the touchpad's virtual pointer
without joining the input group, which would let every program read your
keyboards. npm start prints the address and pairing PIN; connect the phone as
in step 3 above. If a firewall is active, allow TCP 8620 (the dock) and UDP
41234 (discovery) from your local network, for example with ufw:
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 8620 proto tcp
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 41234 proto udp
On Linux:
- Running-app badges, bringing an app forward and closing it need Hyprland.
Screenshots, recordings and typed text use wlroots protocols, so they also
work on compositors such as Sway, but not yet on GNOME or KDE.
- Screenshots and recordings need the screen awake.
- Lock uses Omarchy's lock screen when present, otherwise logind, which
GNOME, KDE and hypridle respond to.
- The phone keyboard opens automatically in apps that report text focus
(GTK apps); elsewhere, use the keyboard button.
See the developer reference for how each
feature works.
What you can do
- Launch your Windows apps. Pin classic Start Menu shortcuts and packaged
apps, including Claude and ChatGPT, with their real icons. Tap to launch or
bring an app forward when Windows permits it.
- Build your own dock. Choose 4, 6, or 8 icons per page. Hold to rearrange,
drag to an edge to move between pages, and swipe left or right to navigate.
- Set the mood. Choose a background and glass style. The landscape interface
opens to large icons; swipe up for Apps, Controls, Capture, and Appearance.
- Control the essentials. Adjust volume and supported display brightness,
control media playback, or use Windows power actions.
- Capture your main monitor. Save full-resolution PNG screenshots to
Pictures\WinDock, or silent MP4 recordings to Videos\WinDock. Recordings
fit within 1920×1080 at up to 15 fps and stop after 60 minutes. Stop from the
phone or Windows tray. Audio and cursor overlays are not included.
Pinned apps and their order sync through the PC. Layout density, background,
and glass preferences stay on each device. The Windows tray also opens your
capture folders and offers optional startup with Windows during installation.
Touchpad, keyboard and signatures
Swipe up and choose Touch & sign. The touchpad moves the PC cursor with one
finger, taps for left-click, and uses two fingers for scrolling or right-click.
The dark, edge-to-edge surface shows a soft glow under each finger. Back and
Signature sit at the bottom left, click/drag controls in the middle, and Speed
at the right. The controls stay visible; Speed opens a small slider above them.
Spread two fingers to zoom in or pinch them together to zoom out in PC apps
that support Ctrl + mouse wheel. Move the cursor over the image or document first.
The Drag button holds the left button until you release it. Leaving the
touchpad or losing the connection releases held buttons; Reconnect appears if
the session pauses or disconnects.
While using the touchpad in the updated Android app, clicking a supported PC text
field opens your phone's own keyboard, with emoji and its normal word composition.
Words appear on the PC when the keyboard commits them (usually at a space or a
suggestion). The keyboard button opens it manually for apps that don't expose text
focus. Existing PC text is not copied to the phone. Browsers have a manual keyboard
composer; automatic opening needs the updated Android APK.
Choose Sign beside the keyboard, or switch to Signature, and draw with a
finger or stylus. Insert into PC copies the image to the Windows clipboard and
requests a paste in the active app. The app must accept pasted images; plain text
fields cannot contain a signature image. Save to PC remains available.
Black or blue ink is exported as a transparent 1600×600 PNG in
Pictures\WinDock\Signatures. Open that folder from the Windows tray:
Open saved files → Signatures. Both saving and inserting keep a PNG here.
If an app cannot paste it, use that app's image insertion command with the saved
file. Undo and Clear stay on the phone.
These features are included in 0.2.0-preview.1. Update both the Windows host
and Android app (version code 3). Direct drawing inside PC apps is deferred.
The PNG is a handwritten signature image, not a certificate-based digital signature.
Touchpad control follows Windows permissions and cannot operate secure prompts
or applications running with higher privileges than WinDock.
How it works
The Windows companion serves the dock interface on your local network. The
Android app discovers the PC and displays that interface in a landscape
WebView. A Node.js host handles PIN pairing and live updates; a C# helper
performs the Windows actions. You can also open the tray address in a browser.
On Linux, the same host uses standard desktop tools and a small Rust helper
for the touchpad, keyboard and signatures.
Your app actions and captures stay on your PC. WinDock is designed for a trusted
home or office network, not internet remote access. Traffic is plain HTTP, so
anyone who can watch your Wi-Fi can see what you type through the phone keyboard;
prefer USB tethering on shared networks. If you reach the host by a custom DNS
name, add it to WINDOCK_ALLOWED_HOSTS (comma separated); otherwise only IP
addresses, exact localhost and the PC's own name (plain or .local) are accepted.
Names may include a port or a trailing DNS dot; *.localhost is not implicitly trusted. Sessions reset when the PC
host restarts. The website's interactive demo uses sample apps and simulated
touchpad, typing, signature and capture actions; it never connects to your PC.
Tailscale
The Android source now accepts the PC's numeric Tailscale IPv4 address for
manual connections. With both devices connected to Tailscale, enter the PC's VPN address
in the app and pair normally; automatic discovery remains LAN-only.
See the Android Tailscale setup
for connection steps and firewall requirements.
Current release
0.2.6-preview.1
fixes Android appearance settings persistence, improves Performance mode Auto
detection, and recovers Windows startup when the default server port is unavailable.
Update both the PC host and Android companion. Android version code 9 preserves
the existing signing certificate for in-place upgrades.
See the version history for changes and upgrade notes.
The Windows installer, Android APK and Linux packages are built from this source.
GitHub Actions
checks Windows installation, Android builds and Linux package installs.
Published Android APKs use the local preview signing key; disposable CI debug
APKs may use a different key.
The initial iPhone companion connects by PC address and reuses the
same dock and PIN pairing. A separate macOS build workflow
builds it and runs simulator tests. Its unsigned device archive needs signing before
it can be installed on an iPhone; TestFlight and physical-device testing are pending.
Some behavior still depends on the PC and device:
- Windows can reject requests to bring an app to the foreground.
- Brightness requires a supported built-in panel or an external monitor with
working DDC/CI support. Some picture modes and connections prevent changes.
- Running-app and media information may lag changes made directly on the PC.
- The exact physical-phone launch/focus acceptance gate remains unrecorded;
see the verification evidence and gates.
- Offline browser installation needs HTTPS or localhost; a plain LAN HTTP
address serves the interface online but cannot register its service worker.
The native iOS companion is planned and is not available for download yet.
See the roadmap for the remaining work and iOS plan.
Develop locally
For the host, use Node.js 20.11+; CI uses Node.js 24. Windows builds also need
.NET SDK 8. Use Inno Setup 7 for the installer. Android builds need
JDK 17 or 21 and Android SDK Platform / Build Tools 34.
npm ci
npm test
npm run build:windows
npm start
On Windows, build:windows prepares the helper used by npm start and creates
artifacts\WinDock-win-x64\WinDockTray.exe, which can run on its own. The host
prints its address and pairing PIN. On Linux, follow the
Linux preview steps instead. Windows, Android and the Linux
installer preview are available to download.
| Command | Purpose |
|---|
npm test | Run the 22 platform-independent verification scripts |
npm run build:windows | Package the Windows helper, tray, Node host, and web UI |
npm run test:windows | Run native Windows smoke checks |
npm run build:linux | Build the Linux input helper (windock-input, needs Rust) |
npm run package:linux | Build .deb and Arch installers with bundled runtime (needs Docker) |
npm run test:linux | Run the Linux input helper's unit tests |
npm run build:installer | Create artifacts/installer/WinDockSetup.exe |
npm run test:installer | Check installation, launch, upgrade, and uninstall in isolation |
npm run build:android | Build, test, lint, and verify the Android APK |
npm run website | Serve the website locally at http://127.0.0.1:4173 |
npm run build:website-demo | Regenerate the website demo from the actual app UI |
To serve locally built downloads, run npm run package:downloads after building
both installers. The website deploys to Vercel automatically from main; GitHub
Releases host the public download files.
More detail: developer reference ·
Android build and testing ·
website deployment.
Contributing
Open an issue with your Windows
version or Linux desktop, phone model, reproduction steps, and expected behavior. For changes,
keep the platform-provider boundary intact and run npm test; native or Android
changes also need the relevant platform checks. Never include pairing PINs,
session cookies, or your personal dock configuration in a report or commit.
Every pull request runs the CI workflow:
npm test on Linux, Windows and macOS, the Linux helper's Rust tests, the
Windows native input and update checks, and a build of any native macOS code.
Its CI passed check must succeed before a pull request can merge. A
first-time contributor's pull request runs once a maintainer approves it.
License
WinDock's source code is available under the MIT license.
Copyright © 2026 Ali Saad.
Third-party dependencies and app icons retain their own licenses and trademarks.
