Awesome LAN

A curated list of awesome apps and stuff you can do in a LAN (by that I mean the network formed by the computers in your home, your workplace and so on).

Inspired by the awesome list.

• Utilities
• Inutilities
• Games
• Social
• Services
• Contribute
• License

Utilities

• LocalSend - Share files between any devices on your LAN. (Free, Open-source, Cross-platform)
• LANDrop - Drop any files to any devices on your LAN.
• friendpm - Publish and install Node.js packages over LAN.
• netcat - Send arbitrary messages over the wire, great for simple chats and experimentation in general. (Linux, Mac)
• zget/zput - Filename-based P2P file-transfer, a Python script and module for easily (and unsafely) sending files over LAN (set --address if you're in multiple LANs). See also figo for a clone written in Go.
• D-LAN - Parallel, distributed downloads with manageable queues, auto-discover, no server needed. (Linux, Windows, Mac)
• Firestr - A platform for creating and sharing (not necessarily) simple P2P software with Lua, includes identity management, peering and example apps. (Linux, Windows, Mac)
• Syncthing - Desktop app for P2P file sync over LAN or the internet. (Free, Open-source, Cross-platform)
• Dat - Data sync over the internet or LAN with autodiscovery. Distributed transfers, deduplication, versioning. (Linux, Mac)

Inutilities

• Telnet apps and games (using a server and one or multiple clients), some interesting examples to try are
  • mud-pi, the skeleton of a multiplayer dungeon game, waiting to be extended (in Python).
  • snake, the classic Snake game, single-player.

Games

• Soul Knight - Dungeon explorer and shooting game for up to 4 players in the same WiFi. (Android, iOS)
• Dual - 2 player abstract game that works over WiFi or Bluetooth. (Android, iOS)

Social

• LAN Messenger - Encrypted messages, file transfer, no server needed. (Linux, Windows, Mac)
• Scuttlebutt and its incarnations, such as Manyverse (Android) and Patchwork (Linux, Windows, Mac), support a variety of use-cases, mainly social networking, with default LAN syncing and optional internet syncing using public nodes.

Services

Mesh VPN

Turn any set of computers in any environment into a LAN. (Cross-platform)

• ZeroTier
• Tailscale

Note: This can also be done using softwares dedicated to common VPN Protocols (i.e., Wireguard, IPSec, OpenVPN, etc.)

Remote Desktop Access

• TightVNC (Windows)
• Remmina (Linux)
• TigerVNC (Windows, Linux, Mac)
• RustDesk (Free, Open-source, Cross-platform)

Contribute

Please contribute! Open an issue or a PR and we'll discuss it or merge it. If you're opening a PR, please ensure all formatting is OK (if you're in a hurry, just open an issue).

License