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Send and receive files from the terminal

3 min readUpdated Oct 30, 2026

Builds on Install.

markdrop send shares a file or folder directly from your computer. The recipient opens the link in a browser or runs markdrop get, and the bytes travel from your machine to theirs over an encrypted WebRTC connection. Markdrop's server only passes the small handshake messages that connect the two of you; it never receives the file.

Video coming soon0:40
Send a folder from one terminal to another. A short screen recording will play here.

Send a file

#
bash
markdrop send report.pdf

The CLI prints a share link, a room id and a QR code, then waits:

text
  ╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
  │  markdrop · P2P File Share                       │
  │                                                  │
  │  File    : report.pdf (2.3 MB)                   │
  │  Room    : a3f7c12e91                            │
  │  URL     : https://markdrop.in/share/a3f7c12e91  │
  ╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

  ⠋ Waiting for recipient to open the link…

Send the link (or scan the QR code) to the person who should get the file. When they open it, the transfer starts and a progress bar shows how far it has got. markdrop send serves one recipient: when the transfer finishes, it exits. Press Ctrl+C to stop sharing at any time.

Anyone with the link can download it

A share link isn't tied to a person. Send it only to the people you mean to, and stop the share when you're done.

Send a folder

#
bash
markdrop send ./screenshots

A folder is compressed into one zip before it is sent. markdrop get unpacks it into the original folder structure; a browser saves the zip.

#

Shares from the CLI are anonymous unless MARKDROP_TOKEN is set. With a token, the share is listed under your account, where an AI app connected to Markdrop can see it with list_shares. Without one, the CLI tells Markdrop nothing about the file.

bash
MARKDROP_TOKEN=mdk_•••• markdrop send report.pdf

Receive a file

#

Pass the full link or the room id:

bash
markdrop get https://markdrop.in/share/a3f7c12e91
markdrop get a3f7c12e91
text
  ✓ P2P connection established
  File : report.pdf
  Size : 2.3 MB

  Accept download of "report.pdf" (2.3 MB)? [Y/n]: y
  Receiving  [████████████████████████████████] 100%

  ✓ Saved to report.pdf

The CLI shows the file's name and size and asks before it downloads. While the file arrives, it is written to a hidden .markdrop-*.part file next to the destination and renamed when it is complete.

OptionWhat it does
-o, --outputWhere to save. A path with a file extension (~/Downloads/q3.pdf) is the file name; anything else is a folder, created if missing. Default: the current folder.
-y, --yesDownload without asking. Use it in scripts.
Existing files are replaced

If a file with the same name is already in the destination, markdrop get replaces it. Save into an empty folder with -o when that matters. (The receive_share tool of the local MCP server never overwrites; it picks a new name.)

markdrop get works with links made by markdrop send and links made in the browser at markdrop.in/share.

When the connection is slow or fails

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Most transfers connect directly between the two computers. When the networks in between don't allow that, the CLI falls back to a relay server. The relay passes the encrypted connection along but can't read it. Relayed transfers are usually slower than direct ones.

  • The sender drops off. If the sender's connection to Markdrop goes away before the transfer starts, markdrop get says "The sender is away — waiting for them to reconnect…" and waits up to 10 minutes.
  • A transfer stops moving. A transfer that makes no progress for 30 seconds ends with an error instead of hanging. Run the command again.
  • "someone else is receiving from this sender right now". The sender is serving another person. Try again when they are done.
  • "no sender found". The link is wrong, or the sender has stopped sharing.

Debugging slow transfers

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Two environment variables help when a transfer is slow on your network:

VariableEffect
MARKDROP_DEBUG=1Print each connection state change on standard error, and the pair of network addresses the connection settled on.
MARKDROP_ICE_EXCLUDE_IFACES=utun,tunLeave out network interfaces whose names start with these prefixes (comma-separated). VPN tunnels can carry the handshake but slow the transfer to a crawl.

More help: Troubleshoot transfers.

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