Dirently user guide

Control your own computers from another computer or a phone. Your devices connect directly to each other. No account needed.

Getting started · macOS · Windows · Android · Remote microphone · Shortcuts · Can't connect? · Uninstall

1. Install Dirently on the computer you want to control and on the device you connect from. Get it from Releases.
2. Create a group on one of them: on the Devices page, click Create group. Enter a Group name and a Group password (at least 10 characters and not a common one; Generate strong password makes one), keep Private group, and click Create and join.
3. Join the group on the other device: click Find group, search for the name, click Join, type the password and click Join group. With a one-time invitation from the group's administrator, click Use an invitation in Find group instead and paste the code or link.
4. Check that the computer is shared. Sharing is on by default: the computer's own card then shows Stop sharing. If it shows Share this device, click it.
5. Connect: on the other device, click Connect on that computer's card.

Good to know:

• Anyone can find a group by name with Find group. Use a strong password and share it only with people you trust.
• To add a device without giving out the password, open Manage group → Invitations and protection → Invite a new device. Each invitation (code, link or QR code) admits one device once. There you can also turn on Require administrator approval: a correct password then only sends an application, which an administrator approves. If someone keeps guessing the password, administrators see a warning there.
• After 10 wrong passwords, a device is blocked from that group until the group's administrator unbans it (Manage group → Bans → Unban).
• Keep all your devices on the same Dirently version.

You need an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 13 or later.

1. Open Dirently-<version>-arm64.pkg and follow the installer. The package is signed and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it without a warning.
2. Dirently then starts in the background. Click its menu bar icon and choose Show Dirently, or open it from Applications.
3. Turn on these permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security. A Mac that only controls other devices does not need the first two.

If macOS asks you to quit and reopen Dirently, do it. The lists show it as Dirently; if you also see dirently-host, turn that on too.

Closing the window does not quit Dirently; it stays in the menu bar so the Mac stays reachable. To quit, choose Exit from the menu bar icon.

You need Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.

1. Run Dirently-Setup-<version>.exe.
2. If you see Windows protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway. The beta installer is not code-signed yet.
3. Click Yes to allow changes. Setup adds a background service, firewall rules, a virtual display driver (so a PC without a monitor can be shared) and, if missing, the ViGEmBus driver for remote gamepads.
4. Dirently opens and from now on starts with Windows (Settings → Sharing → Start Dirently with Windows). Closing the window keeps it running in the notification area.

The Android app controls your computers. The phone itself can't be controlled. You need Android 12 or later.

1. Download the .apk from Releases on the phone and open it. Allow your browser or file manager to install apps (Allow from this source), then tap Install. If Play Protect warns about an unknown app, you can still install it.
2. Create or join a group as in Getting started. Computers that are online and shared appear in the list. Tap Connect.
3. In a session, tap the small tab at the top for the session menu: Keyboard, Input (touch, trackpad or virtual mouse), Microphone passthrough, Files and Disconnect.

You can send your microphone to the computer you control, so its apps (a call, a game) hear you. That computer, Windows or Mac, needs the free VB-CABLE driver. Dirently does not include it.

1. On the computer you control, install VB-CABLE from https://vb-audio.com/Cable/ and restart. VB-CABLE is donationware under VB-Audio's own license.
2. There, Settings → Sound → Virtual microphone bridge should say VB-CABLE detected: …. If it says VB-CABLE was not detected on this device., finish the install, restart, and click Check again.
3. On the device you control from, turn on Microphone passthrough in Settings → Sound or in the session menu.

In the session menu, Microphone - Ready means it works. With (remote default input), Dirently also made VB-CABLE the remote default microphone for the session. Remote virtual microphone missing means VB-CABLE is not installed there: use Get VB-CABLE, then Retry detection. If an app still can't hear you, pick the VB-CABLE microphone in that app (on Windows: CABLE Output).

In the session window:

• To change these shortcuts or the emergency-disconnect key below, open Settings → Shortcuts.
• The session menu is the movable Dirently icon in the session window.
• Release is for when Immersive mode (Settings → Remote picture) or a game holds the mouse and keyboard. Click in the window to capture them again.
• On a Mac, F11 and F12 go to the remote computer like other keys.

Emergency disconnect. If someone is controlling your computer, press F12 on that computer's own keyboard (Mac: usually fn+F12; needs the Accessibility permission). It ends every incoming session at once. It only disconnects, so they can connect again: to keep everyone out, click Stop sharing or turn on Block all remote control (Settings → Sharing). It does not work on the Windows lock screen or admin prompts, or in Mac password fields.

Phone shortcut bar. In a session, open the session menu and tap Keyboard. A bar above the keyboard adds keys that phones lack, matching the computer you control:

Tap Shift twice (on, then off) with no key in between to switch the computer's input method between Chinese and English (if it switches on Shift).

Dirently has no relay. Our server only helps your devices find each other; picture, sound and input go straight between them, never through our servers, not even as a fallback. So the two networks must be able to reach each other. Most home networks can. When they can't, Dirently explains why, starting with "The two networks cannot reach each other directly."

1. Basics. Both devices are online, in the same group and on the same version. The computer shows Stop sharing, and Block all remote control is off (Settings → Sharing).
2. Turn on UPnP on the router. In Dirently, keep Enable UPnP automatic port mapping on (Settings → Network, on by default). The NAT box there shows the result, for example Port mapping: UDP ….
3. Mapping table full. If you see Port mapping: the router refused; its mapping table may be full (restarting the router clears it), restart the router and try again. If it comes back, use a port forward.
4. Use ZeroTier (easiest). Install the free ZeroTier on both devices and join them to the same ZeroTier network. Dirently finds the ZeroTier addresses by itself and connects over them, with no router setup. After turning ZeroTier on, give it a few seconds before connecting. If your phone just switched between Wi-Fi and mobile data, turn ZeroTier off and on again. ZeroTier usually connects the devices directly, so latency stays the same; only when it can't get through either does it relay through its own servers, which adds delay (zerotier-cli peers shows DIRECT or RELAY). On Android only one VPN app can run at a time, so ZeroTier can't run alongside another VPN.
5. Port forward (last resort). On the computer you want to control, set Sharing start port (Settings → Network) to a fixed number from 1025 to 65534 (0 means random) and save. On its router, forward that UDP port to the computer, and give the computer a fixed local IP. If the strict network is on the side you connect from, do the same there with Client port.
6. Strict networks. If Dirently says you are behind your provider's NAT (CGNAT), open the port on the other side instead. If both sides are on strict networks (mobile data, office, school, hotel, some VPNs), a direct connection may be impossible; move one side to a home network.
7. Firewall. Allow Dirently in any third-party firewall or security app.

No picture? If you see The remote device sent no video, set Display to Virtual display in Settings → Sharing on that Windows computer.

Report a problem: tell us which devices you used (for example "Windows 11 PC → MacBook"), what went wrong, and the message Dirently showed. On Android you can attach Settings → General → Diagnostics → Export diagnostics (it leaves out passwords, keys, IDs and IP addresses). Discord · support [at] dirently.com · GitHub Issues

Windows: Settings → Apps → Installed apps (Windows 10: Apps & features) → Dirently → Uninstall. This removes the app, its service, firewall rules and virtual display driver. It keeps the ViGEmBus driver (other apps may use it; remove it from the same list if not), VB-CABLE if you installed it, and this PC's identity and settings in C:\ProgramData\Dirently (so a reinstall is back in its group; delete the folder for a clean removal).

macOS: choose Exit from the menu bar icon, then drag Dirently from Applications to the Trash. You can also remove it from the lists in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Its identity and settings stay in ~/Library/Application Support/dirently; delete that folder for a clean removal.

Android: touch and hold the Dirently icon and choose Uninstall. This deletes the phone's identity; after reinstalling, join your group again.