Touchpad gestures
Move, tap, double-click, two-finger scroll, right-click, and click-and-drag from one large touch surface.
Project 01 · Initial release
A phone becomes your Linux mouse and keyboard.
Portway serves a touch controller straight from your computer. Open it in a phone browser, pair once, and control the host without a native app or a cloud relay.
- Runs on
- Linux
- Written in
- Rust
- License
- MIT
- Requires
- A browser
LOCAL CONTROL PATH / 01
No cloud hop. Phone and host talk directly on your network.
WHY / 02
Remote control without another account, app, or vendor in the middle.
Portway is a small server with a specific job. It serves its own controller, accepts authenticated input over WebSockets, and hands that input to Linux. Your phone needs only a modern browser.
HOW IT WORKS / 03
Three parts. One local connection.
Portway defaults to port 2721 and serves everything the controller needs from the Linux host.
- 01
Run it on Linux
The service starts an HTTP(S) and WebSocket server beside the uinput backend.
portway serve - 02
Open it on your phone
Visit the host’s local address. There is no app package to install or update.
192.168.1.42:2721 - 03
Pair and control
Exchange a short-lived six-digit code for a browser session, then use the touchpad or keyboard.
portway pair
CONTROLS / 04
Made for the awkward moment when the keyboard is elsewhere.
Reach for the phone already beside you: pause a video, move a window, enter a command, or navigate from across the room.
A useful keyboard
Send US-ASCII text, sticky modifiers, navigation keys, F1–F12, and common media controls.
Kernel-level input
Events go through Linux /dev/uinput, so the basic path is not tied directly to X11 or Wayland.
Defensive release
Disconnects, hidden pages, inactivity, and server shutdown all release held keys and mouse buttons.
INSTALL / 05
Build it, then let the guided installer do the system work.
Portway uses the latest stable Rust toolchain. On a conventional systemd distribution, the installer creates an unprivileged service, configures access to /dev/uinput, and starts it at boot.
NixOS stays declarative; a flake package and NixOS module are included in the repository.
git clone https://github.com/heptanal/portway.git
cd portway
cargo build --release --locked
scripts/install-linuxSECURITY / 06
Local does not automatically mean private.
Portway requires authentication by default, but plain HTTP does not encrypt pairing codes or input.
- 01Use it on a trusted network and restrict port 2721 with your firewall.
- 02Configure native HTTPS when traffic needs protection in transit.
- 03Run the service as an unprivileged user—not root.