Context
I work on a Linux laptop, a Mac mini and an iPhone. AirDrop doesn’t reach Linux, and emailing files to myself got old. Pocket sends files, photos, text and links from any of the three to the others, and they arrive without my doing anything on the receiving side.
Constraints
- Nothing should pass through someone else’s server: the devices talk over a private network.
- Receiving has to be automatic: a file lands in Downloads, text lands on the clipboard, a link opens in the browser.
- An iPhone only allows this kind of background behaviour through specific system features.
Key decisions
- A small hub on the Mac mini stores each drop and tells the other devices immediately.
- On Linux, a background service receives drops and the file manager gets a “Send with Pocket” entry.
- On the Mac, a native menu-bar app sends the clipboard or files.
- On the iPhone, a home-screen web app with push notifications, plus a share-sheet shortcut for sending from any app.
Where it stands
In daily use across a Linux laptop, a Mac mini and an iPhone.
