Lanyard
Install Lanyard.
On your computer. Open it and a code appears.
Your phone, tied to your computer.
Lanyard makes your phone a remote, a touchpad, a keyboard and a file sender for your computer. It all happens on your own Wi-Fi. No account, no cloud, no cost.
Free and open source. Windows 10/11, macOS 11+, Linux, Android 9+. iPhone app coming.
Connected in about a minute.
Do it once. After that your phone finds your computer by itself.
Scan the code.
Open the app on your phone and point it at the screen.
Click Allow.
On the computer, once, for each new phone.
Take the remote.
Play something. Pause, skip and turn it up from the sofa.
This is the real thing.
What a remote should do.
Media remote
Play, pause, skip, seek and volume for Spotify, VLC, YouTube and more.
Touchpad and keyboard
Move, click, scroll and type on the computer.
Send files of any size
Scan a code, pick files. They go straight between your devices.
Bluetooth mode
Android phones work with any computer, with no software on it.
Stays on your Wi-Fi
Encrypted, and tied to your computer’s own key.
No account
Nothing to sign up for. Ever required.
Get Lanyard.
Loading the latest version…
Windows says “Windows protected your PC”
The installer is not yet signed by a known publisher, so SmartScreen warns. Choose More info, then Run anyway. When it asks, allow access on Private networks so your phone can reach the computer.
macOS says it cannot open the app
Open the .dmg and drag Lanyard to Applications. If macOS cannot verify the app, right-click it and choose Open once. Then allow Accessibility (System Settings, Privacy & Security) so the phone can use the media keys, mouse and keyboard, and allow Local Network when asked. Song titles and progress are not available on macOS; play, pause, skip and volume work.
Linux: how to install
Debian and Ubuntu: sudo apt install ./phone-remote_*.deb. Other distributions: unpack the .tar.gz and run ./install.sh. Media control uses D-Bus (MPRIS); the mouse and keyboard work on X11 and, with a one-time permission, on Wayland.
Check that a download is genuine
Every release lists SHA-256 checksums (SHA256SUMS). Compare with sha256sum file (Linux), shasum -a 256 file (macOS) or certutil -hashfile file SHA256 (Windows).
Nothing leaves your network.
- Your phone talks to your computer.Not to us. There is no Lanyard server in the middle of the remote.
- No account, no tracking, no ads.We do not collect your data, because the app never sends it anywhere.
- You approve every phone.A new phone must be allowed on the computer, and you can remove it at any time.
Questions people ask.
Do I need to create an account?
No. Install the app, scan the code, approve the phone. An optional account is planned for people who want to see all their devices in one place; the remote will always work without it.
Does it work without internet?
Yes. Your phone and computer only need to be on the same Wi-Fi. Bluetooth mode on Android needs no network at all.
Is it safe on shared Wi-Fi?
The connection is encrypted and your phone remembers your computer’s own key, so other people on the network cannot read or change it. Every new phone has to be allowed on the computer first.
How do I send a file?
On the computer, click Send files. A page opens with a square code. On the phone, open the Files tab, scan the code and pick files. They go straight between the two devices over your Wi-Fi, with no size limit when the computer receives. A phone has to hold an incoming file in memory, so keep files sent to a phone to a few hundred MB.
Can I send files over the internet?
Yes, if you run your own Send files server. It is optional and not needed for normal use. The guide in the project explains how.
Is there an iPhone app?
It is being prepared for the App Store. Until then, point the iPhone camera at the code on your computer and use the remote in Safari.
Is it free?
Yes, and the source code is open. Lanyard is built on the MIT-licensed FileSync for file sending.
Take the remote.
Download it, scan the code, and the sofa is the control room.