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Getting Started

Download EdgeFlow, open it, grant one permission. The Macs take care of the rest between themselves.

The same on every Mac

  1. Download EdgeFlow and drag it from the window into the “Applications” folder.
  2. Open EdgeFlow. The first time, macOS asks once whether you want to open the app you downloaded from the internet: “Open”.
  3. Allow Accessibility. EdgeFlow shows its setup window with a button “Allow Accessibility”. It takes you straight to the switch in System Settings. As soon as the switch is on, the window continues by itself, no restart needed.
  4. macOS also asks whether EdgeFlow may find devices on the local network: “Allow”.

More about the Accessibility permission under Permissions.

That is all you have to do on a Mac. Which Mac is in control, how the screens are arranged and that EdgeFlow starts at login — EdgeFlow takes care of that itself.

The second Mac

The setup window on the first Mac says: “Now open EdgeFlow on the other Mac”. Do the same steps as above on the second Mac. “Send link” gets the download address across via AirDrop or Messages. If the second Mac has no internet access, “No internet on the other Mac?” helps: the first Mac then serves EdgeFlow directly.

As soon as both are running, they find each other and show the same six-digit number on both screens. If it matches, click “They match” on both Macs. Why this is necessary is explained under Pairing.

The window then says “Connected”. Move the mouse across the edge of the screen, and the window closes by itself.

A third Mac is added the same way: choose “Add Mac…” in the EdgeFlow menu and open EdgeFlow on the new Mac.

What EdgeFlow decides on its own

  • Who is in control. The Mac on which you set up EdgeFlow first controls the others. Its mouse and keyboard travel across the edge to the other Macs. If that is the wrong way round, for example because you started on the MacBook, choose “Control from this Mac…” in the EdgeFlow menu on the right Mac. EdgeFlow explains there what changes. Pairing and arrangement are kept.
  • Where the screens are. The first additional Mac is placed on the left, the second on the right. If yours is on the other side, one click on “It’s on the right” or “It’s on the left” in the setup window is enough. You can fine-tune the arrangement at any time under “Settings…”.
  • Launch at login. After the first connection, EdgeFlow starts at login by itself, on every Mac. That way the connection is back after a restart without you doing anything. You can switch this off in the EdgeFlow menu under “Launch at login”. EdgeFlow remembers a no.

System requirements

  • macOS 14 or newer, on every Mac involved.
  • Wi-Fi switched on, even if you use a cable later. If it is off, the setup window tells you.
  • No Apple ID login and no shared network required.

More about Wi-Fi under Connecting.

If something gets stuck

The setup window itself shows what is missing: Wi-Fi off, a Mac that can be seen but does not answer, or nothing at all for a long time. More under Troubleshooting.