Quick Start

This guide will quickly walk you through sending and receiving files with NXFR.

Before starting, ensure you have successfully installed NXFR by following the Installation Guide.

Step 1: Start the Daemon

If you haven't already started the NXFR daemon (or set it up as a systemd service), run it in the background:

nxfr-daemon &

(Note: Using the systemd service as described in the installation guide is the recommended approach for daily use).

Step 2: Check Status

Verify that the daemon is running properly and check your device's identity by running the status command:

nxfr status

Example Output:

NXFR Daemon Status: Online
Device Name: My-Laptop
Device ID: e4f1b3c9a2...
Uptime: 00:15:30
Active Transfers: 0
Receiving Enabled: true

Step 3: Enable Receiving

To allow other devices to find you and send you files, you must explicitly enable receiving. This publishes your device via mDNS and starts listening for incoming connections.

nxfr receive --enable

(You can disable this at any time with nxfr receive --disable to become completely invisible on the network).

Step 4: Send a File

To send a file to a device on your local network, use the send command. You can target the device by name or ID using the --to flag.

nxfr send photo.jpg --to "Friend's Laptop"

If you don't specify the --to flag, the CLI will open an interactive TUI (Text User Interface) for you to browse and select a nearby device.

Example Output:

Discovering devices...
Found "Friend's Laptop" (IP: 192.168.1.105)
Initiating transfer of 'photo.jpg' (2.4 MB)...
[========================================] 100%
Transfer complete!

Step 5: Receive Files

When another device attempts to send you a file, you need to monitor for incoming requests and accept them. You can use the watch command to interactively accept or reject incoming transfers:

nxfr watch

Example Output:

Waiting for incoming transfers...

Incoming transfer request:
From: Friend's Laptop
File: meeting-notes.pdf (1.2 MB)
Action: [A]ccept / [R]eject? A

Accepting transfer...
[========================================] 100%
File saved to ~/Downloads/NXFR/meeting-notes.pdf

Step 6: Pair Devices for Trust

To avoid having to manually verify a connection's security every time, you can pair devices. Pairing involves verifying a Short Authentication String (SAS).

Initiate a pairing request:

nxfr pair "Friend's Laptop"

Both devices will display a 6-digit code. If they match, confirm the pairing:

SAS Code: 489201
Does this match the code on "Friend's Laptop"? [y/N]: y
Pairing successful. Device added to trusted database.

Tips for Power Users

• Self-send for testing: You can test the daemon's loopback interface by sending a file to yourself using nxfr send ./test.txt --to self.
• Direct IP connection: If mDNS isn't working on your network, you can bypass discovery and connect directly via IP using the --addr flag: nxfr send ./test.txt --addr 192.168.1.105:17394.
• Resume interrupted transfers: By default, NXFR supports resumable transfers. If a transfer fails midway, simply running the exact same nxfr send command again will resume using the --retry mechanism.