OpenDisplay Android

Jose Pacelli Moreira de Oliveira

About this app

OpenDisplay Android is an unofficial open-source client for OpenDisplay (opendisplay.app), a project that started as a Mac + iOS/iPadOS pair. This app fills the Android gap: it speaks exactly the same network protocol, so it works with the existing Mac app without changing anything on it.

HOW IT WORKS
Your Mac captures a virtual display (via ScreenCaptureKit + VideoToolbox) and streams it as H.264 video. Your Android decodes it in hardware (MediaCodec) straight to the screen, with no CPU conversion, and sends your touches and scrolls back as input events. The Android is the one listening: the Mac finds it on its own over the network via mDNS, no manual setup.

FEATURES
• Hardware H.264 decoding, low latency
• Automatic discovery over WiFi (mDNS), no typing IPs
• One finger is click/drag, two fingers scroll
• Remote cursor synced live with the Mac pointer
• Foreground service survives background and screen lock/unlock
• Automatic recovery from decoder errors, without dropping the connection
• Manual IP:port fallback for networks where mDNS doesn't reach
• USB connection as a native accessory (AOA) on compatible Mac builds
• Picture-in-Picture: keeps the stream visible while you use other apps

WHAT THIS APP IS NOT
It is not a remote access tool for controlling someone else's computer, and it is not screen mirroring. It is a real extension, the same way a physical monitor would be. It needs the OpenDisplay app running on the Mac and both devices on the same network (or connected by a USB cable).

PRIVACY
No account, no login, no analytics, no ads, no data collection of any kind. All traffic is a direct connection between your Android and your own Mac. Full privacy policy: https://josepacelli.github.io/opendisplay-android/privacy.html

OPEN SOURCE
Licensed under GPL-3.0. Source code, issue tracker and build instructions: https://github.com/josepacelli/opendisplay-android

This is an independent, community-built client, not affiliated with the maintainer of the original OpenDisplay project. It speaks the same protocol, maintained separately.

Requires Android 8.0 (API 26) or higher and the OpenDisplay app on your Mac (github.com/peetzweg/opendisplay).