How it works
- Open Hop on both computers on the same Wi-Fi or LAN. They find each other automatically and appear on the radar.
- Drag files or folders onto the other computer (or click it to choose files).
- The other side gets an Accept / Decline card. Tick "Always accept from this device" for your own machines.
- Received files land in
Downloads/Hop (changeable at the bottom of the window). Nothing is overwritten — a second copy becomes photo (1).jpg.
- Closing the window keeps Hop running (in the Dock on macOS, in the tray on Windows) so it can still receive.
Files go straight from one computer to the other over your local network. No cloud, no account.
Install
Download from the website or the latest release:
| Platform | File |
|---|
| Mac with Apple silicon (M1–M4) | Hop-mac-arm64.dmg |
| Mac with Intel | Hop-mac-x64.dmg |
| Windows 10/11 | Hop-windows-x64.exe |
macOS. Hop isn't notarized by Apple yet, so the first launch is blocked. Drag Hop to Applications, then either run
xattr -cr /Applications/Hop.app
or open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. Allow Local Network access when asked.
Windows. SmartScreen may warn about an unknown publisher: More info → Run anyway. When Windows Firewall asks, allow Hop on Private networks, and make sure your Wi-Fi network profile is set to Private.
Development
Requires Node.js 22+.
npm install
npm start # run the app
npm test # discovery + transfer smoke test, no Electron needed
npm run dist # build an installer for the current OS
- Two copies on one machine (handy for testing):
HOP_PROFILE=b npm start.
- UI screenshots with demo data:
npx electron scripts/screenshot.js out.png "demo=offer&platform=darwin" 1500 dark.
- Regenerate the icon:
npx electron scripts/render-icon.js.
Pushing a tag like v0.2.0 builds the installers on GitHub Actions and publishes them as a release. The website in site/ lives at hop-drop.vercel.app. Vercel (project root: site) and a GitHub Pages mirror both redeploy it on every push to main; npx vercel deploy --prod --yes from the repo root deploys it by hand.
Under the hood
| File | Role |
|---|
src/main/discovery.js | Finds devices: UDP beacons on port 47800 every 1.5 s |
src/main/transfer.js | Transfers: HTTP receiver (offer → streamed files) and sender |
src/main/main.js | Window, tray, notifications, wiring between UI and network |
src/renderer/ | UI: radar, drag & drop, the hop animation |
site/ | The download website |
There's no encryption yet: Hop is meant for your home network, and every incoming transfer needs your OK unless you've trusted the device.
License
MIT. Hop is not affiliated with Apple Inc. or Microsoft Corporation.
