About Aether
One keyboard. One mouse. Every machine on your desk. Open-source, encrypted, and maintained by Rimora Studio.
What is Aether
One keyboard and mouse, seamless across every machine on your desk.
Aether lets one keyboard and mouse control multiple computers on the same local network. The cursor moves from one screen to the next as if the machines were a single desktop. Clipboard sharing and TLS encryption are built in, so your input data stays private on the wire.
Aether runs as a server on your primary machine and as a client on each secondary machine, communicating over your existing LAN. No special hardware, no cloud services, no accounts.
Why use Aether
Better than a hardware KVM, simpler than the alternatives.
Hardware KVM & other software
- Expensive hardware or cable switching
- Often lacks encryption
- Limited cross-platform support
- Inactive maintenance
Aether
- Free, no hardware required
- TLS encryption built in
- Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Actively maintained by Rimora Studio
How it works
Server, clients, and your existing LAN. No cloud, no accounts.
Server
Your primary machine runs the Aether server. It captures keyboard and mouse input and forwards it to whichever screen the cursor is currently on.
Clients
Each secondary machine runs an Aether client. Clients connect to the server over your LAN, receive input events, and inject them locally.
TLS channel
All traffic between server and clients is encrypted with TLS. Aether generates and manages certificates automatically on first run.
The server tracks cursor position across all configured screens. When the cursor crosses an edge, input is redirected to the appropriate client. Clipboard content travels with the cursor. Everything happens over your existing local network, no internet required.
Built with
A modern, battle-tested technology stack.
C++20
Modern C++ standard
Qt 6.7+
Cross-platform GUI
OpenSSL 3.0+
TLS encryption
CMake 3.24+
Build system
License & community
Free software, open to everyone.
License
Aether is distributed under GPL-2.0-only with an OpenSSL exception, or as noted per file. See LICENSE and LICENSES/ in the repository for full details.
No telemetry, no accounts, no lock-in. The source is yours to read, modify, and redistribute under the license terms.
Source & community
The source code is available on GitHub at RimoraStudio/Aether.
Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome. See the docs page for guides, or open an issue to report a bug.
Rimora Studio
The team behind Aether.
Rimora Studio
Open-source software, maintained with care.
Rimora Studio is the maintainer of Aether. We took over the project to keep it actively developed, properly maintained, and freely available under its original open-source license.
Our focus is on stability, security, and cross-platform support. We ship regular updates, respond to issues, and work with the community to make Aether better for everyone. No paywalls, no feature gates, no telemetry.
Roadmap
From input sharing to a unified distributed workspace. One workspace, many computers, distributed by design.
Aether is not just another keyboard and mouse sharing app. The long-term vision is a Unified Distributed Workspace: multiple computers remain independent systems but cooperate as one user-facing workspace. Each device contributes its own CPU, GPU, memory, storage, display, and input while Aether provides the coordination layer that makes the collection feel coherent. Workload stays distributed. No machine is reduced to a passive display endpoint.
Phase 1: Core foundation
Keyboard, mouse, and clipboard sharing across Windows and Linux with TLS encryption.
Phase 1: Workspace polish
File transfer, LAN auto-discovery, redesigned UI, themes, and a branded installer.
Aether Port Share
Share localhost ports between machines. Your dev server at :3000, reachable on every connected PC.
Phase 1: Strengthen the foundation
Smoother networking, richer clipboard, better onboarding, and more platforms.
Phase 2: Aether Display
Turn a second machine into a real extended display, not just a remote window.
Screen Watch
View a peer's screen in a window. Opt-in, visible indicator, fully logged.
Phase 3: Hybrid Workspace
Input sharing plus displays in one workspace, with drag and drop, audio, and a mobile companion.
Phase 4: Remote Application Research
Run apps on one machine while their windows live in another's workspace.
Phase 5: Distributed Workspace
One workspace, many computers. Every device contributes its own CPU, GPU, storage, and display.