The Tool Desk
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What Magic Wormhole does
Magic Wormhole is an open-source Python library and command-line tool for sending files and directories between computers. Its documented command-line interface can also send short text and transfer SSH keys. The usual exchange needs both people to run a client and share a short code through a separate communication channel, such as a message or phone call. The code is human-pronounceable, intended for one use, and does not need to be memorized.
The project’s README and documentation describe the tool and its CLI. Commands below reflect the documented workflow; check the installed version’s help if its syntax differs.
Transfer a file or directory with the CLI
1. Install a client
The project supports Python 3.10 and later, according to its README. The documentation also lists operating-system package managers and source installation, but some platform examples on the rendered installation page are old. Confirm that a package is available and maintained for your operating system before relying on a particular package-manager command.
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2. Have the sender create a transfer
On the computer holding the item, run wormhole send followed by the file or directory path. For example:
wormhole send ./report.pdf
wormhole send ./project-folderThe command displays a code. Share that code with the intended recipient over a channel you trust. Do not send it to someone who should not receive the data.
3. Have the recipient join
On the receiving computer, run:
wormhole receiveEnter the code when prompted. The recipient should verify the displayed transfer details and accept the incoming item if asked. Keep both clients open while they establish the connection and complete the transfer.
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Allocate the code on the receiving side first
The alternative workflow is for the recipient to reserve a code before the sender begins. The recipient runs wormhole receive --allocate, then gives the allocated code to the sender. The sender joins with:
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How the connection and transfer work
The clients first contact a mailbox server, which helps them find one another and exchange encrypted coordination messages. For file or directory transfers, they then use the Transit protocol: the clients try to connect directly, and can use a separate transit relay if a direct route is unavailable. Thus, a transfer is not necessarily peer-to-peer all the way through.
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The protocol specification describes a final receiver acknowledgment that includes a SHA-256 hash of the received data. That helps the protocol confirm the data it received; it does not protect a device that is already compromised or establish that the intended recipient is trustworthy. See the project’s server protocol documentation and relay protocol documentation.
What the code and encryption protect
The project describes its exchange as a Password-Authenticated Key Exchange (PAKE) using SPAKE2. The short code helps the clients establish a stronger shared encryption key; it is not itself the file or a public URL anyone can download. The project’s design documentation says the default code has 16 bits of entropy and describes a specific network man-in-the-middle guessing scenario as having a 1-in-65,536 chance per use. That figure applies to the scenario described by the project, not every possible attack or a guarantee that a transfer is invulnerable.
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Encryption does not make every endpoint safe. A compromised sender or recipient can expose files, and a recipient who receives the code can choose to keep or share the data. Only share the code with the intended person, and use endpoint security appropriate to the sensitivity of the files. The project explains its design in the security documentation.
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IP address privacy and Tor
In ordinary file-mode Transit negotiation, the clients share their IP addresses with each other inside the encrypted exchange to try direct connectivity. Encryption protects the negotiation messages in transit, but it does not hide each endpoint’s address from the other participant.
The documented --tor mode is designed to avoid sharing those addresses. The project advises using its built-in Tor support rather than simply wrapping the program in an external Tor tool, which may not prevent Transit from advertising endpoint addresses. Its current Tor documentation says transfers using Tor still use a transit relay and do not use onion services. These are implementation details that can change; check the documentation for the version you run. See the project’s Tor guidance.
Reliability, speed, and public servers
Magic Wormhole’s public mailbox and transit servers do not come with a performance or uptime guarantee. The introduction to the official documentation, under the name of author Brian Warner, says: “I cannot make any guarantees about performance or uptime for these servers: if you want to use Magic Wormhole in a production environment, please consider running a server on your own infrastructure (just run wormhole-server start and modify the URLs in your application to point at it).” This is the project’s recommendation for production use, not an independent measurement of service availability. Read the official introduction.
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Whether a direct route is available depends on network reachability; a relay may be needed when it is not. The cited project materials provide no transfer-speed benchmark, so they do not support a reliable speed ranking for direct versus relayed transfers. Operators with production reliability requirements can consider self-hosting the server infrastructure and configuring clients to use it.
CLI, graphical, and mobile clients
The command-line interface is the clearest documented route for a computer-to-computer transfer and exposes options such as code allocation and Tor support. The project’s ecosystem overview also identifies Warp as a GNOME graphical client that works with the CLI and mentions an Android application. Those examples do not establish current maintenance, platform compatibility, or complete feature parity. Check each client’s current project page and supported features before choosing it. See the ecosystem overview.
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