From download to a working desk in five minutes.
Two Windows PCs on the same network. One has the keyboard and mouse (the host); the other only shows its screens (the client).
Install on both PCs
Run the installer on each PC and accept the administrator prompt. The installer is not signed yet, so SmartScreen shows a warning once: More info, then Run anyway.
Answer one question
On first start DeskStitch asks which PC this is. Pick host on the PC with the keyboard and mouse, client on the other. Leave Start with Windows on: with it there is no administrator prompt at logon.
Allow it through the firewall
Windows asks once whether DeskStitch may use the network. Tick Private networks. Both PCs talk over TCP port 51525 and find each other with UDP broadcasts on the same port. If you use a VPN, let it allow local-network traffic (NordVPN: Settings → Connection → Allow LAN).
Pair the two PCs
It encrypts everything between the two PCs. Anyone with the code and access to your network could send input to the client, so treat it like a Wi-Fi password.
The client shows a pairing code such as K7PD-3XQF in its status pill. On the host open Settings, paste the code into Pairing code, leave Other PC on auto and press Save. The two PCs find each other by themselves; the pill turns green within seconds.
Look at the desk map
The host now shows every screen of both PCs as tiles in true proportion, blue for this PC and green for the other, the dot is your cursor. The map is built from each PC's display arrangement and the physical size each monitor reports.
Adjust it if needed
If a screen stands somewhere else on your desk, press Edit layout, drag the tile and press Done editing. Edges snap to neighbours. ← → ↑ ↓ nudge by 1 mm, with Shift by 10 mm. Reset to auto layout starts over from the display settings.
Use it
- Push the cursor against an edge that borders the other PC and it crosses; push back to return. Corners never switch, so close buttons and hot corners stay safe.
- Ctrl+Alt+1…9 jumps to screen 1…9 (the order in the desk map).
- Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Esc brings the cursor home to the host, always.
- Text and images you copy on one PC can be pasted on the other.
- Close the window and DeskStitch keeps running in the tray; double-click the icon to bring the window back.
Settings worth knowing
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Edge push | How hard you push against an edge before switching. Raise it if you switch by accident, lower it if it feels sticky. |
| Corner block | No switching within this many millimetres of a screen corner. |
| Movement | absolute: the host's pointer speed applies everywhere. relative: the other PC applies its own pointer speed and acceleration. |
| Speed multiplier | Makes the cursor faster or slower on the other PC only. |
| Dim inactive screens | Darkens the screens of the PC you are not using. Off by default. |
| Start with Windows | Creates a logon task with administrator rights, so no prompt each morning. |
Trial and license
The host runs free for 7 days. After that it stays connected but no longer switches PCs until a license key is entered: main window → License, paste the key, Save key. The client never needs a key. Saving the key activates it online on this PC (internet is needed for a moment); afterwards it checks in about once a day and keeps working offline for 30 days. To use the key on another PC, click Deactivate this PC first, or free the seat from the new PC. A key costs 29 USD once: buy it here, it is shown right after payment and e-mailed to you. Lost it? Have it sent again.
Things to try first
- Cross into every screen of the other PC and back, from different heights; the cursor should appear where you expect.
- Type into a text editor on the other PC, including Shift, AltGr and accented characters.
- Drag a window on the other PC; scroll with the wheel; right-click.
- Copy text on one PC, paste on the other; then an image.
- Lock Windows (Win+L) while the cursor is on the other PC: it must come home.
- Close the client and reopen it; the host should reconnect on its own.
Anything odd: Help → Copy diagnostics makes a zip (logs, desk map, monitor list; pairing code removed) and send a report with it attached.