Use macOS Screen Sharing from Linux without extra server software
pippin is a native Rust client that connects to the built-in screen sharing server on Apple Silicon Macs, bringing low-latency HEVC video, two-way clipboard, and automatic display resizing to X11 or Wayland desktops.
- LinkLoot access
- Free
- Provider costs
- Unknown
What you get from it
What it does
pippin lets a Linux machine connect to the high-performance Screen Sharing mode normally reserved for Mac-to-Mac sessions. It is a native Rust client that talks directly to the macOS built-in screen sharing server, so no third-party software needs to run on the Mac.
The project documentation describes crisp HEVC 4:4:4 video with system audio, GPU-accelerated decoding via CUDA or VAAPI when supported, local cursor rendering to reduce perceived lag, automatic Mac resolution changes to fit the Linux window, and two-way text/image clipboard between the two systems.
Who it helps
This fits users who need to reach an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS Sonoma (14.0) or later from a Linux desktop using X11 or Wayland. It also requires IPv4 connectivity with UDP ports 5900 and 5901 open. The client needs a wgpu-supported GPU, meaning Vulkan or OpenGL support.
Getting started
On the Mac side, enable System Settings → General → Sharing → Screen Sharing. On Linux, the README says official AUR packages (pippin and pippin-git) are prepared but will be published once AUR account registration reopens; until then, users can build and install a pacman package from the repository.
Building from source requires Rust 1.95 or newer plus clang, pkg-config, FFmpeg development headers, and ALSA. After installing dependencies, the documented command is:
cargo install --locked --git https://github.com/jonesy827/pippin
Optional audio support depends on libfdk-aac. Without it, pippin runs silently. Password input can come from flags, standard input, environment variables, a terminal prompt, or the GUI dialog, and the tool offers keyring saving with --save-password or removal with --forget-password.
Limits and costs
The project is licensed under AGPL-3.0, which grants source-code freedoms but does not make hosted services free. There is no pricing information in the supplied packet, so cost remains unknown. The documented setup is fairly specific: Apple Silicon host, macOS Sonoma or later, Linux client with compatible GPU/display stack, and open UDP ports. Some features such as audio require optional libraries, and auto-resize can be disabled with --no-auto-resize.
Source links
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