A Snapdrop and PairDrop alternative that also shares your clipboard
Snapdrop and PairDrop are good at one thing: pushing a file from one device to another on the same network, peer to peer, with nothing to install. If that is all you need, they are worth keeping. Where they get awkward is everything around the transfer: sending a snippet of text you just copied, leaving a file for a device that is not open yet, or handing something to a colleague whose laptop you do not want to pair with.
Clipboard Share covers that gap. Devices on the same Wi-Fi share one space in the browser, so anything you paste or upload stays there until everyone leaves, and picking it up is a tap rather than an accept dialog. It is a shared clipboard first, and a file drop second.
How to do it
- Put both devices on the same Wi-Fi network. A desktop on Ethernet counts as long as it is behind the same router.
- Open https://www.clipboardapp.org/en/ in a browser on each device. Devices on the same network are grouped automatically under the Same network tab. There is no code to type and no invite to send.
- On a computer, press Ctrl+V / Cmd+V anywhere on the page. On a phone, tap the Paste card and allow clipboard access. This is the part Snapdrop and PairDrop do not do: plain clipboard text goes across without saving it to a file first.
- Use the Upload File card or drag files onto the page. Files up to 100MB are transferred as they are, without compression.
- Items stay in the shared space, so a device that opens the page later still sees them. Tap an item to copy it, or use the download button. A QR code lets you hand a file to a device that is not on the same Wi-Fi.
Good to know
- Snapdrop and PairDrop send files directly between browsers over WebRTC, which is fast and never stores the file. Clipboard Share stores items briefly so they can be picked up later and by more than one device; everything is deleted shortly after all devices leave.
- There is no accept dialog on the receiving side. Anyone on the same network who opens the page sees the shared items, which is convenient at home or in a small office and something to keep in mind on a large public network.
- If the two devices are on different networks, switch to the Everyone tab. Items there are visible to anyone with the service open, so keep personal files and one-time codes on the same network instead.
- Add the page to your home screen on Android and it appears in the share sheet, so you can send from the gallery without opening the browser first.
Questions
Is it peer-to-peer like Snapdrop?
No. Items go through the service so that they can wait for a device that is not open yet and be received by several devices. They are deleted shortly after every device leaves. If you need strictly direct transfer, PairDrop is the better fit.
Do I have to pair or approve devices?
No. Devices on the same Wi-Fi are grouped automatically and there is no pairing step, no code and no accept prompt.
What is the file size limit?
100MB per file. Larger videos should be trimmed or split first.