It’s not the cloud. It’s closer. It’s your Loft.
Loft is a local web application that quickly and easily transfers files between your devices, without using the Internet!
Loft is built using a collection of Python libraries and frameworks (Flask, Werkzeug, PyQt); here are the detailed instructions to build your own Loft! You can also find a prefabricated Loft here 🏚️.
Loft's purpose is to provide multiple devices on the same local connection with a simple method to move files amongst each other. The method is wireless, but does not involve an intermediate cloud storage platform (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc) or the cloud at all.
The motivation behind creating Loft was to satisfy a typical need that a college student may have: transferring homework assignments.
Andrew needs to transfer a homework file he has scanned or annotated on his mobile device to his computer in order to submit it. Unfortunately he does not have a USB cable, AirDrop compatibility, or a fast internet connection. Loft is an ideal solution.
But beyond students, anyone who just needs a simple solution to move files between devices on the same network is also a member of Loft's intended audience.
There are two possible roles fulfilled by a Loft user: Host and Client. The Host is the laptop/desktop that installed and initializes Loft; it can send stuff to (and receive stuff from) the Client. The Client is any other device, but usually a phone or tablet; it can send to (and receive from) the Host. Before going any further, make sure the Host and Client are on the same local connection.
Depending on your role, you will interact with a different side of Loft, both of which are described just below.
You are the Host. Initialize Loft. You will interact with Loft's remote control, the native UI, which should appear on your screen now:
Let's look at the Security box. First, note the auto-generated username/password. Every time Loft is initialized, these credentials will change. The client must enter these credentials to access the Web UI.
Then, decide if you would like the Loft web UI to be situated at an HTTPS address for extra security. If so, select Toggle HTTPS. If not,
leave it untouched. Then, in the Transfer box, select Start Connection.
Now the main visual component of the native UI is the beautiful, giant QR code. On your client device, scan this QR code to discover the web UI. As a fallback (if the client cannot easily scan the QR), navigate directly to the blue URL underneath the code. A new QR code will be generated if HTTPS is toggled.
Use the Send Files… button to select files to send. For confirmation, the names of the selected files will display at the bottom of the
UI, replacing the No files selected text. These files are immediately available to the client for download. Files can be reselected at
any time by using Send Files… again, and this new set of files will be made available to the client.
Files received from the Client can be seen by selecting the Open Downloads button. Do not leave Loft running while not in use.
If there is any uncertainty about how to operate the native UI, clicking on the Full Instructions text at the bottom-left of the window
will open a detailed instruction file in your web browser.
You are the Client. You interact with Loft's web UI. After the Host has started Loft's connection, scan the QR code or directly navigate to the link displayed on the Native UI. You should see a login dialog; enter the username/password shown on the Native UI. The web UI should appear in your web browser now:
You can send files by first selecting files with the Select Files… button. In the Files Selected to Send area, the file names will
appear in individual bubbles for confirmation. These can be reselected at any time by using Select Files… again. Now, select the
Send Selected Files button to perform the transfer. If the transfer is successful, a "Files Sent Successfully" message should appear
above the module.
Files sent from the Host will appear as individual bubbles in the Files Available to Receive area. If the Host updates the set of files
they are sending, the Files Available to Receive will instantly update according to the changes. You don't have to accept all of these files.
Select only the bubbles that contain the files you want; they will turn purple as confirmation. Now, select the Receive Files button to download them.
The client has selected two of these files to download, and has left one greyed out.
You cannot shut down from the web UI. When you are done transferring files, select the Done Transferring button on the Native UI
to shut down Loft. Remember to not leave Loft running while not in use!
- The Web UI remains open after Loft has been closed.
- Since we manually generate our own HTTPS certificates, using HTTPS raises an untrusted certificate warning on the client side. You will need to disregard the warning and proceed to the web address.
- The Windows executable excludes HTTPS support due to an incompatibility between the dependency and our packager. The functionality is still available if run from source.
Loft is tested using pytest. Test Loft by running make test in the repository root.