frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

Magic Switch: Share Apple Magic keyboard/track-pad/mouse between two Macs

https://joshua.hu/magic-switch-easily-switch-magic-keyboard-trackpad-mouse-between-mac-macbook-macos
38•chanux•2d ago

Comments

Terretta•1d ago
Fwiw, this has been helpful for a couple decades now:

https://symless.com/synergy/features

Given that even a corp Mac can now (policy permitting) allow a personal AppleID along with the corporate login, it's easy enough to do the same with just native OS controls even with 2 logins. Something magical about opening an iPad next to a MacBook and pushing the cursor across ... or, alternatively, wirelessly (or USB-C) making the iPad an extended screen.

But Synergy remains great.

If free is your bag instead of supporting the nominal cost:

https://github.com/deskflow/deskflow

They explain this here:

https://symless.com/synergy/blog/how-to-use-synergy-for-free

opan•1d ago
First I remember hearing of deskflow, but I remember hearing about a synergy fork called "barrier". Is that not used anymore?
netsharc•1d ago
That "for free" link isn't accurate at all, it claims you have to compile Deskflow yourself, but on Deskflow's Github they offer binary releases.

I don't remember why Barrier was forked from Deskflow, but I've been using Barrier for many many years now. Now that I think of it, I do notice bugs, that maybe I should try out a new version to see if there are life improvements. E.g. with keyboard layouts, even when both systems are running Windows, the target system can be confused what character it should be outputing; and I need to hit "reload" to reconnect after returning one or both systems from standby, sometimes clipboard sharing also breaks.

nly•1d ago
Barrier was forked from Synergy many years ago

Deskflow is just the open source version of Synergy (sans branding) released by Symless.

The weird layout bugs are because of the way it all works behind the scenes. Non-control characters are sent as characters (not key codes) over the wire and then mapped back to local key codes on the receiving side.

threecheese•1d ago
As a paid Synergy user, there are tradeoffs (as you probably know). I'm willing to accept these for a side-by-side Mac workflow (or Mac + something else), where each host has a dedicated display.

For a workflow where you are also display switching (kvm etc), Synergy doesn't work well. You can technically use it when hosts are coming on/off display, but it's not designed for it. If you use a kvm-like workflow and have a Magic Touchpad, there's no easy solution without re-pairing, and I hope OPs tool works for this.

nathancahill•59m ago
Doesn't Mac already do this natively?
crazysim•44m ago
"with no Apple ID and no USB re-pairing dance. "
Aaargh20318•33m ago
Very useful tool. I’m using this in combination with BetterDisplay to switch between my personal and work laptop.

I have both hooked up to 2 monitors. A shortcut triggers MagicSwitch to switch my keyboard and mouse to the other machine, while it uses BetterDisplay to send a DDC command to the monitors that makes it switch inputs.

Bound the whole thing to a key combo, and now I can easily switch between two machines.

aaronbrethorst•21m ago
The solution I settled on was swapping between my personal and work laptops with a thunderbolt cable that connects to a dock. The dock is connected to my keyboard, trackpad, webcam, and monitor. It’s been working like a champ for the past 3+ years.
brcmthrowaway•13m ago
Odd living in Poland as an expat - is there a tax break on crypto maybe?
diebillionaires•6m ago
i use deskflow between two mac’s and a pc, but it doesn’t support trackpads. so this is nice for those users

Run Qwen 3.8 Flash Next (125B) on consumer hardware (RTX 4090) at 100T/s

https://github.com/Niko1221/Strata
234•snehesht•3h ago•114 comments

Car is a smartphone on wheels. Here's who's listening

https://automatictransmission.khoury.northeastern.edu/
31•longhaul•26m ago•8 comments

Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash

https://niklasroy.com/gtc/
78•r0r0•2d ago•13 comments

Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died

665•paveworld•15h ago•133 comments

Show HN: AI search for every photo and every frame of video on macOS

https://github.com/allenv0/SCM
56•allenleee•6h ago•36 comments

Why don't more developers “use the platform”?

https://nolanlawson.com/2026/10/03/why-dont-more-developers-use-the-platform/
223•vinhnx•11h ago•218 comments

VGHF Digital Archive passes 5000 magazines. Here's what's next

https://gamehistory.org/5k-magazines/
73•rdmuser•7h ago•11 comments

The Heilbronn Problem

https://math.tejstead.com/heilbronn/
29•tejstead•1d ago•2 comments

A Map of Every Lighthouse on the Planet

https://mapped.earth/lighthouses/world
3•karakoram•2d ago•0 comments

The work by Valve's Timur Kristóf on improving old AMD GPUs on Linux

https://www.phoronix.com/news/XDC-2026-Valve-Timur-AMDGPU
381•speckx•20h ago•67 comments

Emitting metadata early makes building/checking Rust up to twice as fast

https://github.com/PowderworksCode/headstart
64•knuckleheads•9h ago•12 comments

Agents don't need memory, they need documentation

https://liao.gg/blog/agents-dont-need-memory
280•kmeh•23h ago•162 comments

Treachery in the Rodin Museum 3D scan verdict

https://cosmowenman.substack.com/p/rodin-museum-3d-scan-verdict
261•CosmoWenman•22h ago•133 comments

gpuvis: GPU Trace Visualizer

https://github.com/mikesart/gpuvis
55•luu•2d ago•9 comments

Magic Switch: Share Apple Magic keyboard/track-pad/mouse between two Macs

https://joshua.hu/magic-switch-easily-switch-magic-keyboard-trackpad-mouse-between-mac-macbook-macos
39•chanux•2d ago•12 comments

LeCun has "zero concerns" about AI wiping out humanity, recent "rogue" incidents

https://fortune.com/2026/10/01/ai-godfather-yann-lecun-has-zero-concerns-about-human-extinction-s...
263•Anon84•22h ago•410 comments

Hole Punch: Sling your spaceship around gravitational fields

https://notoriousbfg.com/hole-punch/
327•trwhite•22h ago•80 comments

Celebrating the 100th birthday of the kidney donated to him as a teenager

https://www.whec.com/top-news/webster-man-celebrating-the-100th-birthday-of-the-kidney-his-mom-do...
233•gscott•2d ago•58 comments

RuneScape's Position on Gen AI

https://www.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/1wxfyzp/runescapes_position_on_gen_ai/
9•cautiouscat•40m ago•5 comments

Rejection Sensitivity in Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Children

https://teachyourkids.substack.com/p/rejection-sensitivity-in-gifted-and
75•actfrench•4h ago•33 comments

We're working on a new RuneScape MMO

https://play.runescape.com/4
131•droidjj•14h ago•70 comments

So you think you could be an electrician?

https://asteriskmag.com/issues/15/so-you-think-you-could-be-an-electrician
379•zdw•4d ago•312 comments

We're going to need default hard budget caps on pretty much everything

https://simonwillison.net/2026/Oct/3/default-hard-budget-caps/
534•elffjs•15h ago•278 comments

Reasons I didn't become an EMT, ranked

https://ben.stolovitz.com/posts/reasons-not-emt-ranked/
199•citelao•19h ago•85 comments

What's the Future for Pure Math Research in the Age of AI?

https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2026/09/whats-the-future-for-pure-math-research-in-the-age-of...
22•6bitquant•8h ago•2 comments

We want you to build the next Git platform on Cloudflare

https://blog.cloudflare.com/next-git-platform-on-cloudflare/
179•geoffbp•20h ago•156 comments

I quit OpenAI because its culture is broken

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/10/openai-safety-team-resignation/688881/?gift=v5U_Uz...
356•Brajeshwar•1d ago•595 comments

Dirty Optimization Secrets (C for Playdate)

https://devforum.play.date/t/dirty-optimization-secrets-c-for-playdate/23011
41•ibobev•1d ago•5 comments

What Meta got right with Muse

https://metedata.substack.com/p/what-meta-got-right-with-muse
92•young_mete•21h ago•124 comments

Your body of work thinks back at you

https://photoni.st/index.php/2026/09/25/your-body-of-work-thinks-back-at-you/
88•surprisetalk•4d ago•15 comments