Airclip

A lightweight notification and clipboard sharing system for local networks, enabling seamless text sharing between iOS and Linux devices.

Motivation

Airclip was created to solve a specific, common problem: securely sharing passwords and sensitive text between an iPhone and a Linux desktop. When setting up a new Linux system, constantly typing complex passwords from a password manager on your phone becomes tedious and error-prone.

Key benefits:

• Share passwords and sensitive text from iOS to Linux with a single tap
• Text automatically appears as a notification on your desktop
• Text is automatically copied to your clipboard, ready to paste
• No need to email yourself passwords or manually retype complex credentials
• Works entirely within your local network (no cloud services or internet dependency)
• Zero configuration required on the iOS side (just a simple Shortcut)

Security By Design

Airclip was built with local-network security as a core principle, which is essential when sharing sensitive information like passwords:

• Local network only: The server validates source IPs and rejects connections from non-local networks
• Authentication: Simple token-based authentication for requests
• No cloud dependencies: Everything runs on your devices within your home network
• Transparent logging: All activities are logged with timestamps for auditing

How It Works

1. The Airclip server runs on your Linux desktop, listening for HTTP requests
2. When you select text (like a password) on your iPhone, you share it via a simple iOS Shortcut
3. The text appears instantly as a notification on your Linux desktop
4. The text is automatically copied to your clipboard, ready to paste into login forms or terminal

Installation

Prerequisites

• A Linux/Ubuntu system with notify-send and xclip
• iPhone with the Shortcuts app
• Both devices on the same local network

Server Setup

1. Install required packages:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y xclip golang-go

2. Build the Airclip server:

go build -o airclip main.go

3. Run the server:

./airclip

The server will display all available local IP addresses. Note the IP address you want to use.

Setting up Airclip as a Service

To have Airclip start automatically at boot time:

1. The repository includes an installation script (install-airclip.sh). Make it executable:

chmod +x install-airclip.sh

2. Run it with sudo:

sudo ./install-airclip.sh

4. When prompted, provide the path to your compiled Airclip binary.

That's it! Airclip will now start automatically whenever your system boots.

Managing the Airclip Service

• Check status: systemctl status airclip.service
• Start manually: sudo systemctl start airclip.service
• Stop service: sudo systemctl stop airclip.service
• Restart service: sudo systemctl restart airclip.service
• View logs: journalctl -u airclip.service

iOS Shortcut Setup

1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone
2. Create a new shortcut
3. Add the "URL" action with your server's local IP: http://10.0.X.Y:9123/notify
4. Add the "Get Contents of URL" action with:
   • Method: POST
   • Headers:
     • Authorization: Bearer local-use-only
     • Content-Type: text/plain
   • Request Body: Shortcut Input
5. Optional: Add a "Show Notification" action for confirmation
6. Name your shortcut "Airclip"
7. Save, enable in Share Sheet, and set type to "Text"

Usage

1. On your iOS device, select any text (such as a password from your password manager)
2. Tap the Share button
3. Select your "Airclip" shortcut
4. The text immediately appears as a notification on your Linux desktop and is copied to the clipboard, ready to paste into login forms

Configuration Options

The server supports several command-line options:

--port      HTTP port to listen on (default: 9123)
--listen    IP address to listen on (default: 0.0.0.0)
--token     Authentication token (default: local-use-only)
--local-only  Restrict to local network connections only (default: true)
--cors      Enable CORS for cross-origin requests (default: true)
--logdir    Directory to store log files (default: /tmp)

Troubleshooting

• Server won't start: Check permissions and port availability
• iPhone can't connect: Verify both devices are on the same network
• No notifications: Ensure notify-send is working (notify-send "Test")
• Clipboard not working: Verify xclip installation (xclip -version)
• Can't find logs: Look in /tmp for timestamped log files (format: airclip_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log)
• Service won't start: Check the service logs with journalctl -u airclip.service

Use Cases

• Share passwords from your password manager to login forms or terminal
• Transfer 2FA verification codes without manual retyping
• Send SSH keys or other configuration snippets while setting up a new system
• Copy URLs from your phone to your desktop browser
• Transfer API keys or tokens securely within your network
• Share configuration snippets while following tutorials on your phone

License

Airclip is distributed under the MIT license. See LICENSE for more information.

Contributing

Contributions to Airclip are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request