Deskflow Android

A near fully functional Deskflow (deskflow.org) client for Android devices.

NOTE: Everything here in, assumes you already use Deskflow on your desktop & know how to configure a client/screen

Credits & Fork Status

This project was originally created by Jonathan Glanz as deskflow-android (© 2025 Jonathan Glanz, released under the MIT License). Many thanks to Jonathan for the foundation this fork builds on — the Deskflow/Barrier wire-protocol client, the AccessibilityService + custom IME integration, configurable pointer input, and the SHA-256 fingerprint TLS/TOFU model.

Several improvements also build on pull requests contributed to the (then-unmerged) upstream repository — many thanks to those authors:

@qvr — PR #12: IME overhaul, click-and-drag touch synthesis, and Ctrl+wheel zoom.
@RyanEwen — PR #22: latency pack (TCP_NODELAY), forward mouse button → Recents, wake-on-input, and cursor hide/show on screen enter/leave.
@chid — PR #21: landscape connection-screen layout.
@Poussinou — PR #6: README install badges. Their work was adapted to this fork's architecture (minSdk stays 34; our drag/pointer model and TLS stack are preserved); see the integration commits in the git history.

The upstream repository became inactive, so this is now an actively maintained fork that continues development and has moved well past upstream: github.com/kazimurtaza/deskflow-android. Jonathan's MIT copyright notice is preserved in full — see LICENSE.md.

Highlights added in this fork: TLS on by default; Space toggles the active media session's play/pause (YouTube, Spotify, …); corrected UTF-8 protocol string framing and parser-reset-on-reconnect; hardened input reliability (no more mouse-input wedge, drag chording, wheel re-flush); security hardening (sensitive-clipboard protection, visible TOFU server fingerprint, SHA-pinned & R8-minified release builds); lifecycle/leak fixes; and a greatly expanded test suite. See the commit history for the full set.

Features & Limitations

Mouse input
- Pointer movement, left / right / middle click
- Wheel scrolling (vertical, plus horizontal tilt)
- Click-and-drag (multi-finger for right / middle) and Ctrl + wheel = pinch/spread zoom
- Back button triggers system Back; Forward button (X2) opens Recents
- Wakes the screen on mouse activity so the tablet responds even while asleep
Keyboard
- Shortcuts & hotkeys: app switching (Command+Tab / Alt+Tab), arrow-key navigation, Escape for Back
- Volume keys (up / down / mute) control the device volume
- Space toggles play/pause of the active media session (YouTube, Spotify, …) when no text field is focused
Configurable pointer speed slider (in Settings)
Clipboard integration
- Text (of any kind) is supported
- Clips marked sensitive (e.g. password-manager / autofill copies) are not relayed to the server
- ~~Bitmap~~ — not planned by me: I use CrossPaste for image clipboard sync, so I personally don't need it. A self-contained feature if someone wants to pick it up — PRs welcome.
Simple gesture support
- Pull down on the status bar
- Pull up for all apps, etc
Mouse-wheel scrolling and click-and-drag both work; arrow keys also navigate in many apps.
TLS is on by default, with SHA-256 fingerprint trust-on-first-use and client certificates (PeerAuth / mutual TLS) supported. See TLS/SSL Security.
Low-latency input — TCP_NODELAY is set on the link to the Deskflow server, so mouse/keyboard events aren't delayed by Nagle's algorithm.

Installation

Github

Download the latest APK from the Releases Section.

Build manually

Clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:kazimurtaza/deskflow-android.git

Open the project in Android Studio.
Build and run the app on your Android device or emulator.

Config

Deskflow Server

The only potential configuration change required by the Deskflow Android client, is the TLS configuration, described below.

TLS/SSL Security

TLS is supported. The client authenticates the server with SHA-256 fingerprint trust-on-first-use (TOFU): on the first successful connection the server certificate's fingerprint is pinned, and any later mismatch is rejected (which would indicate a man-in-the-middle or a changed server certificate). The pinned server fingerprint is shown on the Settings screen so you can verify it against the server.

For servers configured with PeerAuth (mutual TLS), the client also presents its own self-signed certificate. The app generates this certificate automatically on the first TLS connection. Its fingerprint is shown on the Settings screen so you can register it on the server: append v2:sha256:<fingerprint> to the server's tls/trusted-clients file and restart deskflow-core so the new entry is loaded.

The screenshot below shows the server-side TLS configuration in the Deskflow desktop app.