Setup guide

Everything here takes a few minutes. Pick your version: SharpDesk signs in and finds your Macs anywhere; SharpDesk Lite connects directly and pairs with BetterDisplay.

Paid versionSetting up SharpDesk

1 · Install and sign in — on both Macs

  1. Install SharpDesk.app on the Mac you sit at and the Mac you connect to. Move it to Applications and launch it — it lives in the menu bar.
  2. Open the menu-bar panel and enter your email. A 6-digit code arrives from [email protected] — enter it, and this Mac joins your account.
  3. Repeat on the other Mac with the same email. Both Macs now appear in each other's panel, live.
💡No other setup exists. No IP addresses, no port forwarding, no VPN — signed-in Macs find each other over the internet.

2 · Your first sharpened session

  1. On the Mac you sit at, grant Accessibility access when SharpDesk asks (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility). This is how SharpDesk measures your viewer window precisely.
  2. In the panel, under Sharpen a Mac, click the Mac you're about to view. Its card highlights and reads “Connected — open your viewer.”
  3. Open your viewer — Screens, Apple Screen Sharing, any VNC client — and connect to that Mac as usual.
  4. That's it. SharpDesk resizes the remote Mac's display to exactly fit your view, follows as you resize, and shows the live match on the card (1918 × 1148). Close the viewer and the remote display restores itself.
✨The Mac being sharpened shows a small sparkle on its card while a session is live.

3 · Session controls

When a Mac is selected, a controls card appears under it:

WindowAuto (frontmost window) tracks whatever viewer is in front. Pin a specific window if you keep other apps in the foreground.
Extend / MirrorExtend keeps the remote Mac's own desktops alongside the sharpened display; Mirror shows the same content on its physical screens.
Black out the Mac's physical displayTurns the remote Mac's physical screens dark during the session — useful when the Mac is in a shared room.
Keep matching window sizeOn by default. Turn off to hold the current resolution while you move windows around.
Restore when window closesOn by default. Turn off if you want the remote display to stay as-is after you disconnect.
Restore NowPuts the remote Mac's display back immediately and starts the session fresh.

On the hosting side, the This Mac card has Reset Displays — it un-blackouts, un-mirrors, and removes the virtual display on the Mac you're sitting at. It's the escape hatch if a session ever leaves the screens in a state you didn't want.

4 · Devices & security

Free versionSetting up SharpDesk Lite

The two pieces

Lite is the do-it-yourself version: you run a small app on each side and connect them directly, over your own network or VPN (Tailscale works great).

On the Mac you sit atSharpDesk Lite Client Helper — watches your viewer window and sends the resize instructions.
On the remote MacA display backend: either BetterDisplay (if you already use it) or the free SharpDesk Lite Host.

Both Macs must be able to reach each other directly — same network, or a VPN like Tailscale that gives the remote Mac a stable address.

Option A — with BetterDisplay

  1. On the remote Mac, install BetterDisplay and enable its HTTP integration in BetterDisplay's settings. The default port is 55777. Set an access token there if you want one (recommended outside your own network).
  2. On your Mac, open Lite Client Helper and add a host: pick the BetterDisplay backend, and enter the URL — e.g. http://192.168.1.20:55777 on a LAN, or http://<tailscale-ip>:55777 over Tailscale. Paste the token if you set one.
  3. Pick the remote screen to manage and the viewer window to match, choose Extend or Mirror, and connect your viewer as usual.
⚠️BetterDisplay's HTTP integration listens on the remote Mac. Keep it on a trusted network or behind a VPN, and use an access token.

Option B — with SharpDesk Lite Host

  1. On the remote Mac, launch SharpDesk Lite Host. It creates and manages the display directly — nothing else to install or configure. It listens on port 17387.
  2. On your Mac, in Lite Client Helper, pick the SharpDesk Host backend and enter http://<remote-address>:17387.
  3. Everything else works the same: pick the window to match, Extend or Mirror, blackout, restore-on-close.

Troubleshooting

The sign-in code doesn't arrive

Check spam for mail from [email protected], and use Resend in the panel. Codes expire quickly — request a fresh one if in doubt.

The other Mac shows “Connecting…”

The remote Mac is offline or asleep, or its This Mac switch is off. SharpDesk reconnects on its own — the moment the other side is back, the session resumes.

My session matched the wrong window

Auto mode tracks the frontmost window. Pin your viewer explicitly with the Window picker in the session controls.

The remote Mac's screens look wrong after a session

On that Mac, open SharpDesk and press Reset Displays in the This Mac card. It restores the physical screens and removes the virtual display, whatever state things are in.

Lite can't reach the remote Mac

Confirm the two Macs can reach each other (same network or VPN up), the backend is running (BetterDisplay with HTTP integration on, or Lite Host launched), and the URL uses the right port — 55777 for BetterDisplay, 17387 for Lite Host.

Stuck? Write to [email protected] — a human reads it.