NightdeskNightdesk for iPhone and iPad
Your computer, folded into your pocket.
Nightdesk puts your Mac or Linux computer on your iPhone or iPad, and lets you use it: the whole screen, a trackpad under your thumb, your keyboard. On iPhone Duo it follows the fold: a desktop for one hand when it’s closed, a big window on your computer when it’s open.
iOS 18 or later, for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo.
Folded, open, half open
One phone, three shapes.
I live on a foldable, so I made Nightdesk follow the fold. Close it or open it: the picture re-fits the moment you do, and the link to your computer stays. Half open, as a tiny laptop, is next.
Half open is being built now; the drawing shows the idea. Folded and open are in the app from day one.
In your hand
The whole desktop, under your thumb.
On any iPhone with iOS 18 or later. A pointer that moves the moment you do, and the keys a phone keyboard leaves out.
- Trackpad or touchTrackpad moves a pointer like a laptop’s, with its three- and four-finger gestures. Touch puts it right where your finger is.
- Pinch in closePinch in on small text. A Mac sends just the part you’re looking at, in full detail.
- The keys a phone forgetsEsc, Tab, the modifier keys, arrows, F1 to F12 and Paste sit above the keyboard.
- ControlsVolume, brightness, play and pause, and your computer’s windows and desktops, one tap each.
- Its sound and its clipboardHear your computer here, and what you copy there is ready to paste here.
On your desk
A real desktop on iPad.
Apple Pencil, a trackpad, a keyboard: everything you’d use at your computer works on the computer you’re reaching.
- Apple PencilA precise pointer: it clicks exactly where it touches, and drags while you hold it down.
- Trackpad, mouse and keyboardThe pointer, right clicks, scrolling and pinches as on a laptop, and a keyboard that types straight into your computer.
- Beside your other appsIn Split View, Slide Over or Stage Manager, the picture re-fits its window and the link stays.
- A screen your shapeWith a Mac, pick Shaped like this screen for a desktop with no black bars, or An extra screen to use your iPad beside it.
Quick, sharp, private
Smooth enough to forget it’s far away.
- 120frames a secondUp to 120 on screens that go that fast, and a pointer that moves the moment you do.
- 256bit, end to endEncrypted with keys made when you pair. Away from home, a relay that can’t read it carries the link, over Wi-Fi or mobile data.
- 0accountsNo sign-up, no email. The app collects nothing, and your keys stay in your device’s Keychain.
Start in two minutes
Your computer first. It’s free there.
- Install Nightdesk on your computerFree on a Mac (macOS 14 or later) or a Linux computer with GNOME, even one with no monitor.
- Scan its codeOpen Nightdesk on your iPhone or iPad and tap Scan. Or tap your computer under Nearby and type its code.
- You’re linkedAt home it goes straight over your Wi-Fi; away, through the encrypted relay, by itself.
Coming to the App Store
Set up your computer now and it will be ready the day the app arrives.
Plans
14 days free. Then a plan in the app.
Everything is on for 14 days with the free 14-day Trial: no payment, and nothing is charged when it ends. Then Nightdesk Pro keeps it all on, Monthly or Lifetime, bought in the app through the App Store and billed by Apple, in your currency. One plan works on every iPhone and iPad signed in to your Apple Account. Nightdesk on the computer you control is always free.
Questions
Good to know.
Can I control my Mac from my iPhone?
Yes. Install Nightdesk for Mac (free, macOS 14 or later), scan the code it shows with your iPhone, and you see your Mac’s screen and use it with a trackpad, touch and your keyboard, at home or from anywhere.
Does it work on iPhone Duo?
Yes, folded and open. The picture re-fits the moment you fold or unfold it and the link stays; open, the dock and your list of computers split at the fold. Half open as a tiny laptop (the picture on top, a trackpad and keys below) is coming next.
Can I reach a Linux computer from my iPad?
Yes: Ubuntu 22.04 or later with GNOME, and Jetson boards. Nightdesk for Linux is free and installs with one command, even on a computer with no monitor plugged in.
Does it work away from home?
Yes. Over Wi-Fi or mobile data, your iPhone or iPad links through Nightdesk’s relay by itself. The relay passes on encrypted bytes it can’t read, and your computer needs no open ports.
Do I need an account?
No. You pair once by scanning a code: no sign-up, no email, no password to remember. The app collects nothing.
What does it cost?
Nightdesk is free to download, with everything on for 14 days through the free 14-day Trial. Then Nightdesk Pro, Monthly or Lifetime, in the app through the App Store. The app on your computer is always free.
Does it work with Windows?
Not yet. Nightdesk reaches Mac and Linux computers.
Take your desk with you.
Free on your Mac or Linux computer. On your iPhone and iPad, 14 days free, no account.