Quick Share Comes to Linux Thanks to Packet: Here’s How to Use It

If you’ve ever used Quick Share to send files between your Android devices or to a Windows PC, you’ve probably wondered: why doesn’t this feature exist on Linux?

Good news — now it does. Thanks to Packet, an open-source application, Quick Share-style wireless file transfers are finally available on GNU/Linux systems.

There’s no need to wait for an official Google release (which doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon). With Packet, you can easily send and receive files over Wi-Fi between Android devices and Linux PCs, or even between two Linux machines. We tested it — and it works flawlessly, once you make a quick firewall adjustment.

Installing and Setting Up Packet

Packet is available directly on Flathub, which makes installation a breeze for most modern Linux distributions.

Step 1: Install Packet via Flatpak

Before installing, make sure Flatpak and the Flathub repository are set up on your system. If not, you can follow our setup guide for Flatpak and Flathub.

Once ready, open a terminal and run:

flatpak install flathub io.github.nozwock.Packet

To launch the app:

flatpak run io.github.nozwock.Packet

Minimum Configuration Requirements

Packet uses your local Wi-Fi network (LAN) to detect nearby devices. To make it work seamlessly, ensure that:

• Bluetooth is enabled on your Linux PC.
• Your Android device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Your network supports mDNS (multicast DNS discovery).
• You’ve enabled device visibility in Packet’s preferences.

That’s all you need — unless your firewall is blocking connections, in which case a small tweak is needed.

Pro Tip: Open a Static Network Port to Avoid Firewall Issues

On our test system, Packet didn’t work until we enabled the “Static Network Port” option in the app’s preferences.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Click the menu icon (☰) in Packet and select Preferences.
2. Enable Static Network Port (default port: 9300).
3. Manually open this port in your firewall with the following command:

sudo ufw allow 9300/tcp comment 'Packet'

Once that’s done, Packet should work perfectly for both sending and receiving files.

Sending Files from Android to Linux with Quick Share

On your Android phone, make sure Quick Share is set to visible for everyone nearby:

1. Open Quick Share.
2. Tap Who can share with you.
3. Select Everyone nearby — otherwise, your Linux machine won’t show up.

Then follow these steps:

1. Open the image or file you want to send.
2. Tap the Share icon.
3. Choose Quick Share.
4. Select your Linux PC (e.g., tech2geek-linux).
5. On your computer, a confirmation window will appear — click Accept.

Your file will be transferred within seconds, wirelessly and securely.

Alternatives to Packet: NearDrop, rquickshare, and LocalSend

Before Packet, we tested several alternatives that attempted to bring Quick Share to non-Android platforms:

• NearDrop: A Quick Share client for macOS, which served as the foundation for Packet’s network protocol.
• rquickshare: A Rust-based implementation compatible with Linux and macOS. In theory, it should work the same way, but in our tests, it failed to function reliably on Linux systems. This was the reason we switched to Packet — and it turned out to be the right move.
• LocalSend: Not based on Quick Share, but an excellent cross-platform option for transferring files via local Wi-Fi without an internet connection or central server. It’s simple, secure, and works great across multiple OSes.

Conclusion

With Packet, Linux users finally have access to a seamless Quick Share alternative for sending and receiving files over Wi-Fi. The setup takes just a few minutes, and once configured, the transfers are fast, stable, and completely wireless.

Whether you’re sharing photos, documents, or videos between Android and Linux, Packet makes it effortless — no cables, no cloud storage, and no Google dependency.

If you’ve been missing Quick Share on Linux, Packet is the open-source solution you’ve been waiting for.