One keyboard and mouse for your Mac and PC. Plus a second screen.

The free CommandDesk PC app, from smartinggoods.com/commanddesk/pc: Windows 10 (version 2004 from 2020, or later) or Windows 11, or Linux with the GNOME desktop (Ubuntu 24.04 or later, for example). Other Linux desktops such as KDE or Cinnamon aren’t supported yet.

Yes. Like them, it lets one keyboard and mouse control two computers over your network. CommandDesk is made for a Mac controlling a Windows or Ubuntu PC: you pair with a 6-digit code instead of typing IP addresses, it’s encrypted out of the box, the PC’s sound plays on your Mac, and it can also turn the PC into a second screen for your Mac. Synergy and Deskflow can control several computers at once; CommandDesk controls one PC at a time.

Apple’s Sidecar only works with an iPad. CommandDesk does the same job with a Windows laptop, a Surface or an Ubuntu PC: choose “Use [your PC] as a Second Screen” and your Mac’s desktop extends onto it, over your network, at the PC screen’s full resolution.

Yes. CommandDesk is a software KVM: no switch box and no cables between the computers. Your Mac’s keyboard and trackpad work on the PC as soon as you move the pointer across, and each computer keeps its own screen.

Any Mac with macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple silicon or Intel.

Choose “Use [your PC] as a Second Screen” in the CommandDesk menu. Your Mac gets an extra display, set to the PC screen’s own resolution so it’s sharp, and the PC shows it full screen. Drag windows onto it like any monitor. On a touchscreen PC such as a Surface, tap to click, drag, and scroll with two fingers. While the PC is a second screen you use it through your Mac, so controlling it with CommandDesk pauses until you stop. It needs version 1.1 or later of the free PC app, and works best on a wired network or 5 GHz Wi-Fi.

No. They just need to be on the same network, Wi-Fi or wired. A wired PC feels snappiest; on a busy public Wi-Fi the pointer can lag at times, as with any tool like this.

Yes. You pair each PC once by checking that both screens show the same 6-digit code. After that the connection is encrypted, your Mac only talks to the PC it paired with, and the PC refuses any Mac you didn’t approve.

While your Mac is connected, the PC’s sound plays through your Mac and the PC’s own speakers are muted. When you disconnect, they come back exactly as they were. On Windows versions before 2020 the PC keeps playing too.

One at a time. Pair as many as you like and switch between them from the CommandDesk menu.

No. $19 once for your Mac, including updates. The PC app is free.

If CommandDesk can’t connect to your PC, refund it yourself within 14 days from Manage my order (link below and in your licence email). It’s immediate.