The Problem
Most file transfer tools route data through cloud servers, creating privacy concerns, upload size limits, and dependency on third-party storage. Users who need to move large files or directories between devices—especially across networks—often resort to USB drives, cloud storage, or unencrypted transfer methods.
What This Does
alt-sendme is a desktop application for peer-to-peer file transfer built on the Iroh networking stack. It creates a one-time "ticket" that encodes dialing information, allowing another device to connect directly via QUIC with TLS 1.3 encryption. The core logic lives in sendme/src/core/ (Rust modules for send/receive), while the UI is a React/Tauri hybrid under web-app/src/ and src-tauri/.
The app supports resumable transfers, NAT traversal via hole punching with relay fallback, and BLAKE3 integrity verification. The src-tauri/src/commands.rs file exposes the Rust backend to the frontend, and web-app/src/hooks/useSender.ts and useReceiver.ts manage the transfer state machines. Internationalization covers 23 locales under web-app/src/locales/.
How To Use It
Setup: This is a Tauri v2 project. You'll need Rust and Node.js. The package.json and sendme/Cargo.toml define the build. The README links to prebuilt binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Configuration: No environment variables or API keys required. The src-tauri/tauri.conf.json handles app configuration; capabilities are defined in src-tauri/capabilities/. The sendme/ directory is a separate Rust crate for the core library, likely shared with the CLI version.
Running it: The README documents a three-step flow: drop a file, get a ticket, share it. The recipient pastes the ticket into their app. No build instructions are documented in the README, so the exact dev commands are not evidenced. Typical Tauri workflow would be npm install then npm run tauri dev, but this is not confirmed in the repo.
Not documented in README; inferred from project structure
npm install npm run tauri dev
Real-World Use
A designer needs to send a 4GB video project to a colleague in another country. They open AltSendme, drag the folder in, and get a ticket like blob:abcd1234.... They paste this into a chat message. The colleague enters it in their app, and the transfer starts directly between the two machines. If NAT traversal fails, the system falls back to an encrypted relay. No files touch a cloud server, and the transfer resumes automatically if the connection drops.
Code Health & Issues
High - No test files detected - The repository has zero test files across Rust, TypeScript, or React. The sendme/src/core/ modules handle binary data transfer and networking, which are high-risk paths. The GitHub Actions workflow only runs linting, not tests. Medium - Fork provenance unclear - This is forked from tonyantony300/dashbeam (9,073 stars) but rebranded. The relationship to the original project and its maintenance status is not documented. Medium - Two Rust crates with overlapping code - sendme/src/main_reference.rs suggests this is a reference or legacy implementation. The duplication between sendme/ and src-tauri/ could lead to drift. Low - No documented build-from-source instructions - The README only covers binary downloads. A developer wanting to contribute must reverse-engineer the build process from config files.
The Bottom Line
alt-sendme is a functional, well-architected peer-to-peer file transfer tool with strong privacy properties and a polished UI. The lack of tests and source-build documentation are the main concerns for production adoption. Suitable for individuals or teams needing encrypted, direct file transfer without cloud dependencies, provided they accept the untested codebase and use the prebuilt binaries.