Share your keyboard, mouse, and clipboard seamlessly between Linux and Windows.

Features • What's New • Installation • Quick Start • How It Works • Configuration • Contributing

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🍴 This is a fork of lucky-verma/mwb-linux

It adds native Wayland bidirectional support, a configuration GUI, file copy/paste, switch-from-any-edge with a modifier "easy mouse" mode, smoother input, and more. See What's new in this fork for the full list. All credit for the original Linux client and the MWB protocol implementation goes to the upstream project.

What is this?

MWB Linux is a native Linux client that connects to Microsoft PowerToys Mouse Without Borders on Windows. Move your mouse to the edge of the screen and it seamlessly jumps to the other machine — along with your keyboard and clipboard. Bidirectional control now works natively on Wayland (KDE Plasma 6 / GNOME 46+), not just X11.

flowchart LR
    A["🐧 <b>Linux PC</b><br/>Mouse · Keyboard · Files"] <-->|" 🖱️ Mouse · ⌨️ Keyboard · 📋 Clipboard · 📁 Files "| B["🪟 <b>Windows PC</b><br/>Mouse · Keyboard · Files"]

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No extra software needed on Windows beyond PowerToys, which bundles Mouse Without Borders.

Features

• Bidirectional mouse sharing — Control both machines from either keyboard/mouse
• Native Wayland support — Bidirectional input via the InputCapture portal + libei (no xdotool/xinput, no root); X11 still supported
• Switch from any edge — Cross left/right/top/bottom; choose which edges, or require a held modifier (Shift/Ctrl/Alt) — PowerToys-style "Easy Mouse"
• Configuration GUI — mwb gui opens a local web UI to edit settings and control the service
• Clipboard & file sync — Copy text, images, or files on one machine and paste on the other
• Keyboard forwarding — Type on your Linux keyboard, text appears on Windows
• Full mouse support — Scroll wheel, touchpad two-finger scroll, horizontal scroll, middle click, and side buttons (back/forward)
• Encrypted — AES-256-CBC encryption with PBKDF2 key derivation
• Remembered permission — The Wayland capture prompt only appears once (persists across reboots)
• Lightweight — Single Go binary, minimal dependencies

What's new in this fork

Everything below is added on top of lucky-verma/mwb-linux:

Wayland

• Native bidirectional input on Wayland via the org.freedesktop.portal.InputCapture portal + libei — the upstream project is X11-only for the capture direction. Compositor-native edge barriers and input suppression replace xdotool/xinput, and no root is needed.
• The capture permission dialog is remembered (persist_mode + restore_token), so it only prompts once.
• The binary auto-selects the Wayland driver on a Wayland session and the X11 path otherwise.

Switching

• Any-edge switching (left/right/top/bottom) instead of a single configured edge.
• Selectable edges (edges) and a full disable option.
• Modifier-gated switching (switch_modifier) — only cross while holding Shift/Ctrl/Alt, like PowerToys' Easy Mouse.

Clipboard / files

• File copy/paste in both directions over MWB's separate file-transfer channel (received files land in ~/Downloads/MouseWithoutBorders/ and on your clipboard).

Input quality

• Fixed scroll direction, added touchpad two-finger scroll and horizontal scroll.
• Added middle-click and side-button (back/forward) forwarding.
• Smoother cursor motion (single combined packet + sub-pixel accumulation).
• Resolution-free coordinate mapping — no need to configure the remote screen size.

Configuration

• A built-in web GUI (mwb gui) to edit all settings, toggle bidirectional/edges/modifier, and start/stop/enable the systemd service.
• bidirectional config flag so the daemon can be fully config-driven (no CLI flags needed).

Demo

Direction	What happens
Mouse hits an enabled edge on Linux	Cursor crosses to Windows
Mouse hits the return edge on Windows	Cursor returns to Linux
Ctrl+C on Windows	Text / image / file available on Linux
Ctrl+C on Linux	Text / image / file available on Windows
Type on Linux keyboard	Text appears in focused Windows app

Installation

Install from source — this fork isn't published as a prebuilt package. The whole thing is a single Go binary; the steps below are complete for a fresh machine.

Replace <your-username> with your GitHub user (or use lucky-verma/mwb-linux for the upstream X11-only version).

1. Install dependencies

Wayland (KDE Plasma 6+ / GNOME 46+) — recommended:

Distro	Command
Arch / CachyOS	sudo pacman -S go libei wl-clipboard
Debian / Ubuntu	sudo apt install golang libei-dev wl-clipboard
Fedora	sudo dnf install golang libei-devel wl-clipboard

X11:

Distro	Command
Arch / CachyOS	sudo pacman -S go xdotool xorg-xinput xclip
Debian / Ubuntu	sudo apt install golang xdotool xinput xclip x11-xserver-utils
Fedora	sudo dnf install golang xdotool xinput xclip

You need Go 1.25+. On Wayland, libei/libei-dev is a build dependency (cgo); wl-clipboard is a runtime dependency for file/clipboard sharing.

2. Set up uinput permissions

Input injection always goes through /dev/uinput, and on X11 input capture reads /dev/input/event*. Both need the input group (this avoids running as root):

sudo modprobe uinput
echo uinput | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/uinput.conf
echo 'KERNEL=="uinput", GROUP="input", MODE="0660"' | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-mwb-uinput.rules
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger /dev/uinput
sudo usermod -aG input "$USER"

Log out and back in afterwards so the group change takes effect. On Wayland the InputCapture portal handles capture, so no root or /dev/input access is needed for the capture direction — only uinput for injection.

3. Build and install

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/mwb-linux.git
cd mwb-linux

# Wayland (cgo + libei):
make install-wayland

# …or X11:
make install

This installs a per-user systemd service: the binary goes to ~/go/bin/mwb and the unit to ~/.config/systemd/user/. Don't run make install with sudo — that installs under root and the --user service can't find the binary.

Now jump to Quick Start to configure the security key, then:

systemctl --user enable --now mwb
journalctl --user -u mwb -f          # follow logs

To uninstall: make uninstall. To run in the foreground for testing instead of as a service: mwb -bidi -debug.

Quick Start

1. Get the security key from Windows

Open PowerToys → Mouse Without Borders → copy the Security Key.

2. Configure

mkdir -p ~/.config/mwb
cat > ~/.config/mwb/config.toml << EOF
host = "192.168.1.100"        # Your Windows machine's IP
key = "YourSecurityKey"       # From PowerToys MWB
name = "linux"                # This machine's name (max 15 chars)
keyboard_layout = "auto"      # Inbound keyboard layout profile
EOF

3. Run

# Receive only (Windows controls Linux)
mwb

# Bidirectional (Linux also controls Windows)
mwb -bidi            # Wayland: no root needed (the portal handles capture)
sudo mwb -bidi       # X11: needs root/input-group to read /dev/input

You can also set bidirectional = true in config.toml (or toggle it in the GUI) so the systemd service starts in bidirectional mode without any flags.

4. Add your Linux machine on Windows

In PowerToys MWB, enter the security key and device name to connect.

Configuration GUI

Prefer a UI to the TOML file? Launch the built-in web GUI:

mwb gui

It opens a local page (http://127.0.0.1:15199) where you can edit every setting, toggle bidirectional mode, and start/stop/enable the systemd user service. Saved settings are written to config.toml; restart the service from the GUI to apply them. The server binds to localhost only.

File copy/paste

Copying a file on one machine and pasting it on the other works in both directions (text and images too). Files transfer over MWB's separate clipboard channel (the base port, 15100); received files are saved to ~/Downloads/MouseWithoutBorders/ and placed on the local clipboard so you can paste them in your file manager. Requires wl-clipboard on Wayland (wl-copy/ wl-paste) or xclip on X11. Single files only (zip a folder first); 100 MB cap.

How It Works

MWB Linux implements the full Mouse Without Borders protocol:

1. Dual-mode connection — Listens on port 15101 AND connects outbound (first one wins)
2. Handshake — AES-256-CBC encrypted challenge-response with PBKDF2-SHA512 key derivation
3. Heartbeats — Proactive keepalive every 5s prevents Windows from dropping the connection
4. Edge detection — 10ms cursor polling detects screen edges, instant switching with bounce prevention
5. Input forwarding — Mouse (absolute coords) and keyboard (VK codes) sent as MWB packets
6. Device isolation — xinput disable/enable prevents dual cursor movement during remote control
7. Clipboard — Bidirectional text/image sync via compressed clipboard packets

For detailed protocol documentation, see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

Configuration

config.toml

Field	Default	Description
host	(required)	Windows machine IP address
key	(required)	MWB security key (from PowerToys)
name	hostname	This machine's display name
port	15100	Base port (message port = 15101)
edge	left	X11 only. Screen edge for switching: left or right
edges	all four	Wayland only. Which edges switch to the remote, e.g. ["left","right"]. Unset = all four; ["none"] disables edge switching entirely
switch_modifier	(none)	Wayland only. Require a held key to cross edges (PowerToys "Easy Mouse"): shift, ctrl, or alt. Empty = cross freely
bidirectional	false	Enable bidirectional mode from config (same as -bidi). Lets the GUI and systemd service turn it on without editing flags
clipboard	true	Clipboard sync: set false to disable text/image sharing
accel_multiplier	2.0	Cursor speed when controlling Windows. Lower it (e.g. 1.0, 0.5) if the Windows cursor feels too fast
inbound_multiplier	1.0	Cursor speed when Windows controls Linux. 1.0 mirrors Windows exactly; raise it for faster inbound movement
keyboard_layout	auto	Inbound Windows-to-Linux keyboard mapping. auto detects the local Linux layout when possible; supported profiles include us, de, fr, be, es, it, gb, pt, no/dk/se/fi, ch, and nl

CLI Flags

Flag	Default	Description
-bidi	false	Enable bidirectional input (Linux → Windows)
-edge	(from config)	Override edge from config: left or right
-no-clipboard	false	Disable clipboard sharing (overrides config)
-debug	false	Enable debug logging
-config	~/.config/mwb/config.toml	Config file path

Windows Side Requirements

• PowerToys installed with Mouse Without Borders enabled
• "Move mouse relatively" set to OFF (required for bidirectional mode)
• "Share clipboard" set to ON (for clipboard sync)
• "Block screen saver on other machines" set to ON (recommended, keeps connection alive)
• Security key shared with Linux client
• Windows Firewall must allow ports 15100-15101 (TCP inbound/outbound)

Troubleshooting

"permission denied" on /dev/uinput

Run the setup permissions commands above, then log out and back in.

Clipboard not syncing

Ensure the clipboard tool is installed: wl-clipboard on Wayland, xclip on X11.

Disable clipboard sharing

Set clipboard = false in config.toml, or run with -no-clipboard. The Linux client then never reads or writes the local clipboard, so it won't override what you copied on Windows.

Mouse controls both screens simultaneously

On Wayland the portal suppresses local input automatically. On X11 you need -bidi with sudo (or the input group) so device isolation via xinput can run.

Connection refused

• Check Windows firewall allows port 15100-15101
• Verify the IP address in config.toml
• Ensure PowerToys MWB is enabled on Windows

Cursor bounces back immediately

Set "Move mouse relatively" to OFF in PowerToys MWB settings.

Cursor returns from the far edge of the other laptop

Upgrade to a build with directional MachineSwitched/NextMachine filtering. The Linux client should only accept return requests from the edge configured by -edge; touching the other laptop's far edge should stop there, not bring control back to Ubuntu.

Project Structure

cmd/mwb/
  main.go             CLI entry point + driver selection
  gui.go, web/        Local web configuration GUI (mwb gui)
internal/
  capture/            Edge detection + input forwarding
    capture_linux.go    X11 path (xdotool/xinput/evdev)
    portal_wayland.go   Wayland InputCapture portal driver (build tag: wayland)
    ei_cgo.go           libei receiver (cgo, build tag: wayland)
  clipboard/          Clipboard sync (text/image in-band) + file transfer (:15100)
  config/             TOML configuration
  input/              Virtual mouse/keyboard via uinput
  network/            TCP connection, encryption, packet send/receive
  protocol/           MWB packet types, serialization, AES-256-CBC
docs/
  ARCHITECTURE.md     Detailed protocol and architecture documentation

Known Limitations

• Keyboard on Windows lock screen — Keyboard input may not work on the Windows lock screen (Winlogon desktop security restriction)
• Middle mouse button auto-scroll — Middle-click auto-scroll (scroll lock mode) does not work in browsers; normal middle-click works
• First connection — Initial handshake takes ~3-16s depending on Windows MWB state; subsequent reconnects are instant
• Bidirectional mode on X11 — The default build uses xdotool/xinput for edge detection and device isolation, so bidirectional mode needs an X11 (or XWayland) session. Receive-only mode works everywhere.
• Bidirectional mode on Wayland (opt-in build) — A native Wayland driver uses the org.freedesktop.portal.InputCapture portal + libei (compositor-native edge barriers and input suppression, no xdotool/xinput, no root). It is opt-in at build time because it needs cgo + libei: make build-wayland (Arch: libei; Debian: libei-dev). The binary auto-selects the portal driver on Wayland and the X11 path otherwise. Requires a compositor with the InputCapture portal (GNOME 46+, KDE Plasma 6+). On Wayland the cursor can switch from any edge (the edge setting is X11-only), and no remote-resolution config is needed — coordinates are normalized like MWB itself.
• Keyboard layout metadata — PowerToys MWB keyboard packets carry Windows virtual-key codes and flags, but not hardware scan codes or Unicode text. MWB Linux uses keyboard_layout profiles for common layouts; unsupported profiles fall back to the original US-compatible mapping. Fully zero-config global layout support requires sender-side scan code or Unicode metadata.
• Brief screen stall on return with many input devices — Device isolation re-enables every matched device via xinput when control returns to Linux. On setups with many input devices (e.g. several gaming peripherals exposing 15+ xinput sub-devices) the compositor can stall for ~1-2s on return (the cursor keeps moving, the screen briefly freezes). An EVIOCGRAB-based isolation was tried to avoid this but introduced a worse cursor regression and was reverted; a proper fix (EVIOCGRAB done right, or libei) is tracked for a future release.
• Cursor speed / drift — Remote cursor movement scales raw evdev deltas by accel_multiplier (default 2×); lower it if the Windows cursor feels too fast (the Windows side adds no acceleration of its own). Tracking is open-loop, so the virtual cursor may still drift from the actual position over long sessions.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Building

make build          # Build binary (X11 bidirectional)
make build-wayland  # Build with Wayland bidirectional (cgo + libei required)
make test           # Run tests
make lint           # Run linter
make check          # All of the above

Acknowledgments

• lucky-verma/mwb-linux — The project this is forked from. All of the original Linux client, the MWB protocol implementation, and the X11 bidirectional support come from there.
• Microsoft PowerToys — Mouse Without Borders is part of PowerToys (MIT License). This project implements the MWB network protocol for Linux; the file-transfer and clipboard wire formats were derived from the open-source PowerToys codebase.
• bketelsen/mwb — Initial Go implementation of the MWB receive-only client that upstream builds upon.

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.