Zouip - Clipboard sharing between UT and linux desktop

tonton_

Hi guys, here is a small thread to show the progress and ask for feedback (and maybe help sometimes ) on a small app i'm trying to write for UT called Zouip !

Zouip wants to be a background clipboard sharing system between UT and linux (and linux and linux) !
It allows to share files and text through local network. It is not available for now, but you can check my mess on the github :https://github.com/samytichadou/zouip

It will be composed on every unit by a receiver (server) and a sender (client). The sender detects new clipboard contents, and send it to a bunch of saved receiver across the network basically.

For now, i have a working prototype of the file sharing, not the from file-into clipboard on receiver side. It means all text/files will be share as file only, not available for direct pasting on receiver unit.

The current implementation is for KDE plasma only (i'm using it at home) but i plan on porting it to gnome.

It is coded in python and uses DBUS to get the clipboard, and socket to send the content.

A config file contains receiver/sender infos and a passphrase (plain text for now) receiver-specific. All senders have to give it, and the correct receiver port (no handshake system) to be able to communicate.

For now, nothing is encrypted, and i'm not sure i will implement a proper encryption system, so if you are concerned about your local network security, be aware of that !

The python background scripts will be set as systemd services, and activated/unactivated through a qml UI on UT, and a tkinter one on desktop i think (stock python, simpler for me to use).

Here is a little video demo of the file sharing abilities, desktop and phone are connected through local network !
https://makertube.net/w/jEscSdyUnSFvPbAsNib5cV

Don't hesitate to ask questions/give feedback ! cheers !

arubislander

@tonton_ said in Zouip - Clipboard sharing between UT and linux desktop:

Here is a little video demo of the file sharing abilities, desktop and phone are connected through local network !
https://diode.zone/w/wJXgpZUdcMYL78XJrMGiUP

Nice intitiative. Kind of similar in functionality yo KDEConnect, isn't it?

The link is currently erroring out with a 502 Bad Gateway for me.

tonton_

@arubislander
Yep it is a kde connect functionnality, the main one for my use
The difference is kde connect on desktop can only connect with its android counterpart, zouip can also share clipboards between two desktops.

The video link should be ok, i think it was transcoding.

arubislander

@tonton_ thanks for the explanation.
The link works now too. Great effort

wally

Wow! Very cool! Good video demo - your app looks very functional already. Copying folders will be a nice addition. Looking forward to using!
Merci bien!

tonton_

@wally thanks for the kind words !
For now it is not usable because it is not a proper app ^^ just two daemon scripts launched manually !
I'll be polishing them before turning them into proper app (hard part for me, don't know qml yet, and pretty noob with tkinter or other UI libs...)
Yep i'm looking into the folder copying, there are a few difficulties about that, but looking good
Also looking on notifications for now, i'll keep posting in this thread the advancements, if anyone interested.
Cheers !

tonton_

Got the folders to work, less difficulties than expected ! And i got to say, being able to just copy an entire folder (like the Picture folder) from my phone, and seeing them appeared magically on my desktop is a good feeling

It has its drawbacks (copying a huge folder by error) so i implemented a size limit to prevent that.

The size limit acts on all "individual entries" : if you select a folder, it should not exceed this size limit to be copied, but you can enter it, and select files one by one to copy them.
Example :

Folder (4mo)
--- Image1 (2mo)
--- Image2 (2mo)

With a 3 mo limit, i can't copy the folder directly, but i can "multi select" through the file explorer the two images to copy them

What do you think about this ?

tonton_

I also tested some command exec through the same system, an example in this little video : sms sending
https://makertube.net/w/wQxDonmEU6Y9d5dLc7UP3E

Still a lot to think about this but i was picturing some kind of command preset, could be neat, created by user, with some custom fields !
I don't want to dig too deep in getting contacts from the phone, i'm afraid of a rabbit hole... but sending sms could be nice...
If you have any idea don't hesitate !

wally

Wow! You make fast progress! Sending SMS from a proper keyboard does seem like a very handy feature. I couldn't see the video, it says server/network error or file format not supported.

For my use, I think a 3MB limit is too small, and would make copying many folders impossible. I would appreciate the option to copy a large folder and just walk away. But everyone probably has different preferences, and I could always select all files in a given folder. I don't know how much work it adds to make size limits optional, or perhaps instead of size limits to add a feature to cancel a transfer in progress?

But honestly, many of these things could always be adjusted after an initial release, and you should make it work as suits you. I'm sure there will be much more useful input if/when it makes it to the Appstore.

I wish I could offer help with QML, or anything, but I'm very much a non-dev user. I try to donate here and there to do my part, but learning to code is off the table until I get more free time.
Meanwhile, much appreciation to those like you who're making handy new things!

tonton_

@wally
Hi sorry for the video, my peertube instance seems to be off these days, i changed the link, it should work fine now !

Concerning the size limit, it is a user config settings, if you set it to 0, there is virtually no limit The setting is per receiver unit, you can have your computer receive only small files, and your phone every files, no matter the size. My question was more about the way the size limit is handled (limits a folder or a file, not every file in a folder)

Cancel a transfer in progress will be hard i think, but that is a good idea to keep in mind !

Thanks for the appreciation words

wally

@tonton_ Ah, I see. A customizeable file size limit is great!

tonton_

Ugly but usable and cross-platform tkinter UI coming together for desktop !