NitroShare is an application that works on Linux and Windows which can be used to easily send files to other computers on the same local network. It supports drag'n'drop, sending folders, file compression, comes with Nautilus integration and more.
The application requires almost no configuration: simply install NitroShare on the machines you want to transfer files from/to, follow the initial configuration wizard (in which you basically don't have to change anything, just click "Next"), run it and each machine should automatically discover all the other machines available on the LAN (obviously, NitroShare needs to be running on those computers) and you can start sending files.
In Linux, you have three ways of sending files over the LAN network using NitroShare: using the tray icon / Ubuntu application indicator, from Nautilus by right clicking a file or folder and selecting "Send item with NitroShare" or using the so called "share boxes".
When running NitroShare, a "share box", which is basically a desktop widget, is displayed and when dragging and dropping files or folders onto it, a popup is displayed, asking you to select the target machine. You can right click the default share box (or select "Add Share Box" from the tray / application indicator) and select to create more share boxes for specific computers in your local network.
By default, the received files are saved on the Desktop but you can change this from the NitroShare settings dialog, along with other settings like the machine name. From the settings, you can also tweak some more advanced options, like:
- dynamic file compression during the transfer to decrease transfer time and reduce bandwidth
- CRC chcksum generation to ensure file integrity
- various network settings
- option to automatically accept files (all or those that match a regular expression) and more.
Install NitroShare
Like other applications we've been posting about these days, NitroShare was developed for the Ubuntu App Showdown and has been recently labelled as stable by its developer with the release of version 0.2, so it should work pretty well. Still, if you find bugs, report them @ Launchpad.
Download NitroShare 0.2 (stable) - available as .deb, .rpm, Windows .exe for 32bit only for now, and source files.
Ubuntu Quantal, Precise, Oneiric and Natty users can also install NitroShare by using its daily PPA(the packages in the PPA are not considered stable):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:george-edison55/nitroshare
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nitroshareArch Linux users can install NitroShare via AUR (though it's not the latest version at the time I'm writing this).
