Feature Request - Check if both are in the same network and avoid the creation of the hotspot

[nrzimmer]

This will make transfers possible to desktop machines without Wi-Fi cards

[spieglt]

This would be a good feature to have. It would be a decent amount of work and I'm not sure if I'll get around to it. I have considered that one way to get Apple-to-Apple transfers working would be to prompt the user to manually configure the hotspot, join the other device to it, and then start the transfer, which would check that the current gateway is waiting for the connection. What you're recommending would be similar, I'll keep it in mind for the future.

[pharapeti]

It would be a decent amount of work

Would you be able to describe what would be required to implement this feature?
Would the changes be localised to device discovery? Would the data transfer mechanism need major rework?

[spieglt]

The assumption that the device has a WiFi card would be gone, so logic around that would need to change. Joining the other device's hotspot kicks off the TCP communication currently: that would have to change. The data transfer protocol would need major rework. Right now it's very simple, it would need a lot of improvement if there might be other services on the network running on the same port. There would have to be a new method of devices identifying themselves. As of now a user has to enter a password, scan a QR code, and once the Bluetooth version is done they'll have to confirm the 6-digit PIN. I don't know offhand what the best equivalent of that for local networks would be.

And honestly there are a lot of utilities that fill this use case already. Every major OS can use SMB file shares, and there are newer ones like LocalSend. I'd say most likely Flying Carpet will remain a point-to-point, ad hoc app, but who knows.