KEIBIDROP and Warpinator

One local network, or any two networks.

By Marius-Florin Cristian · 27 September 2026

Warpinator, from the Linux Mint team, sends files between devices on one local network, found by broadcast. KEIBIDROP does the same on a local network and also connects two computers on different networks, direct where the networks allow it and through the bridge where they do not, with no VPN and no account. It can mount the other side's folder, so you open one file instead of receiving all of them.

Side by side

	KEIBIDROP	Warpinator
Interface	GUI and CLI	GUI
Two computers on different networks	Yes, direct or through the bridge	No, one local network
Same-network discovery	Multicast announcement, one click	Broadcast, devices appear in a list
Saved peers	Yes, an 86 character fingerprint exchanged once	Devices on the current network
Browse the other side	Yes, it mounts	No
Open a file without receiving the folder	Yes	No
Account	None	None
Encryption	End to end, X25519 with ML-KEM-1024	TLS between the two devices
Source code	Open, MPL-2.0	Open, GPL-3.0
Linux install	apt repository and a direct build	Linux Mint repositories and Flathub
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android	Linux and Android
Size limit	None	None

Across networks without a VPN

Warpinator finds devices by broadcast, so both must sit on one local network, and from another network the usual answer is a VPN. KEIBIDROP starts with the same local network step, a multicast announcement and one click, and when the two machines are on different networks it connects direct where the networks allow it, else through the bridge. No port forwarding and no VPN. The order of routes is described in Network paths.

Browse the other side and pull one file

KEIBIDROP mounts the other machine's folder as a folder on yours, and a read pulls only the bytes it touches, so you open the one file you came for instead of receiving a whole directory. It is a real filesystem, so Premiere, Resolve, Blender, grep and git open a path on it the way they open a local one.

Post-quantum key exchange

KEIBIDROP is MPL-2.0, so anyone can confirm the key exchange is X25519 with ML-KEM-1024, and a recording taken today has to break both halves to be read once quantum hardware exists.

Limits

Platforms. Windows, macOS, Linux and Android today, and iOS is next.
Sending needs no driver. A whole file transfers with nothing extra installed. Add WinFsp, fuse3 or macFUSE on the machine that mounts, and the same folder opens in place: files open on demand and only the bytes an application reads cross the link.
Both peers online. A share joins two machines that are both running.
Pairing across networks needs the relay. The free relay allows about 3 connection attempts per 5 minutes. On one local network no relay is involved.

Common questions

Can Warpinator send over the internet?

Warpinator works on one local network, and from another network the usual answer is a VPN. KeibiDrop connects two computers on different networks, direct where the networks allow it and through the bridge where they do not, with no VPN and no port forwarding.

Do both computers need the same Wi-Fi?

On one network KeibiDrop peers find each other by a multicast announcement. On different networks they connect on a saved peer, an 86 character fingerprint exchanged once.

Is there a package for Linux Mint?

KeibiDrop installs from its apt repository on Debian and Ubuntu based systems, which includes Linux Mint, and there is a direct build for other distributions.

Compared with LocalSend · Compared with croc · Network paths · Install