Current prototype · technical overview
How the pieces connect.
This page describes the development build as it exists today. It is not a promise that every device, application or network setup is already supported.
Device-to-device traffic
The Windows PC and Mac discover and connect to each other over the local network or Tailscale. Input, clipboard and window-stream traffic travels between those two devices rather than through a DualOS relay server.
Windows windows on the Mac
The application continues running on Windows. DualOS captures that application window, encodes its frames on the Windows GPU and presents the decoded result as a separate window on macOS. Keyboard and pointer input travels back to the original Windows application.
Transport and authentication
Authenticated sessions carry control messages, input and media between the machines. Saved pairing credentials use Windows DPAPI and the macOS Keychain. The current first-time pairing exchange is the known exception described below.
System privileges
Windows uses input injection, window capture and a virtual display driver. The Mac agent needs Accessibility for input control and Screen Recording for workflows that capture Mac content. These permissions remain visible and revocable in macOS settings.
Current pairing limitation
The first-time pairing flow currently returns the shared secret over plain HTTP on the local network. Pair only on a network you control until the hardened replacement is implemented.
What a server is for
Licensing and software-update checks may use a server. The product design keeps screen content, keystrokes, pointer input and other live workspace traffic on the direct connection between your own devices.
This is documentation for an early prototype and will change as the security model and hardware support mature.