Helm 0.5.0

Smoother touch control, a data saver, a home-screen widget, and a PC that stays reachable after Windows restarts.

New

Screen tab

• Flick scrolling: a quick swipe keeps scrolling and slows down, like on a phone.
• Select text in Swipe mode: long press, then drag. A long press without moving still right-clicks.
• Scroll speed and direction: Settings → Screen tab.
• Quick keys: one tap for Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z, Alt+Tab, Win, Esc and Close window (asks first). You can hide the row.
• Data saver: lower quality automatically on mobile data and over the relay, back to normal on Wi-Fi. Change it in Settings or with the Data saver chip.
• Quality badge: the picture shows signal, fps and speed in a corner.

Everywhere

• Signal on the status line: for example "Good 42 ms".
• Home-screen widget: Lock PC, Sleep, Shut down (asks first) and Screen, plus whether the PC is online.
• Stay reachable after restart (PC): turn it on in the desktop app's Settings (one admin prompt). After Windows restarts and before you sign in, your phone can still reach the PC on Wi-Fi or over the relay to restart, shut down, sleep or check it. Screen and mouse control start once you sign in.

Update

• Phone: Settings → Check for updates, or install Helm-android.apk over the old app.
• PC: Settings → Check for updates, or run the installer again.

Known limits

None of these have been tried on a real phone yet. Automated tests pass. Please report problems in Issues.

Helm 0.4.2

New Swipe mode for the Screen tab.

New

• Swipe mode: on the Screen tab, pick Swipe next to Trackpad and Touch. It works like using a phone:
  • Tap clicks where you touch.
  • Swipe with one finger scrolls the page under your finger.
  • Long press right-clicks.
  • Pinch zooms the picture. When zoomed in, swiping moves around the picture instead of scrolling.

Update

• Phone: Settings → Check for updates, or install Helm-android.apk over the old app.
• PC: Settings → Check for updates, or run the installer again. The PC side didn't change, so updating it is optional.

Helm 0.4.1

Fix for phones that can't connect on the same Wi-Fi.

Fixed

• Same-Wi-Fi connection: the phone now tries all of the PC's addresses at once, starting with the one on your Wi-Fi. Before, PCs with VirtualBox, VPN or other virtual adapters could make the phone give up before trying the right address.
• PC: no longer offers VirtualBox, Hyper-V, WSL, VMware, VPN (Radmin, Hamachi, ZeroTier, Tailscale, WireGuard) or TAP adapter addresses to phones.
• Relay address: mistyped saved addresses like wss://https://… are cleaned up automatically on both phone and PC.

Update

• PC: Settings → Check for updates, or run the installer again.
• Phone: Settings → Check for updates, or install Helm-android.apk over the old app.

If you paired before, scan the QR again after updating.

Helm 0.4.0

Control your Windows PC from your Android phone, and now your phone from your PC. Free, open source, no accounts.

Download

• Windows: Helm-windows-x64-setup.exe (installer) or Helm-windows-x64.exe (no install)
• Android 8+: Helm-android.apk

Already on 0.3.0? Use Check for updates in Settings on either app. If it doesn't work, download again and install over the old version. On 0.2.0 or older, uninstall the phone app first and pair again.

New in 0.4.0

Bluetooth mode. Your phone works as a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, with no Wi-Fi and no Helm on the PC. Pair it once in Windows Bluetooth settings. You get the touchpad, keyboard and media keys. Needs Android 9 or newer, and not every phone supports it; the app tells you if yours doesn't.

Control your phone from the PC. A new Phone page in the desktop app shows your phone's screen and lets you use it with your mouse and keyboard.

• You accept on the phone every session, and a notification with a Stop button stays visible.
• Control also needs Helm's Accessibility service turned on in Android settings. Without it you can watch but not control.
• Banking apps, password fields and the lock screen stay protected. No phone audio on the PC.

Known limits

• Neither feature has run on a real phone yet. Automated tests pass, but pairing, screen capture and tap control may have bugs. Please report what you find.
• Typing to the phone may use the clipboard, which overwrites what you'd copied there.
• Bluetooth typing assumes a US keyboard layout, so some symbols may differ.

Report problems in Issues.

Helm 0.3.0

Control your Windows PC from your Android phone. Free, open source, no accounts.

Download

• Windows: Helm-windows-x64-setup.exe (installer) or Helm-windows-x64.exe (no install)
• Android 8+: Helm-android.apk

Windows SmartScreen may ask: choose More info → Run anyway. Android asks you to allow installs from your browser.

Upgrading the phone app: uninstall once

This release moves to a permanent signing key, so Android won't install it over 0.2.0. Uninstall the old Helm app first, install this one, and pair again. From now on, updates install from inside the app.

New in 0.3.0

• Landscape touchpad: the pad fills the screen, with a right panel you choose (clicks, keys, media, volume, deck, or nothing).
• Floating keyboard: drag, resize and fade it, on the touchpad and over the live screen.
• More accurate cursor: Windows' pointer speed and "Enhance pointer precision" no longer distort movement. Normal mouse input is kept for full-screen games. Set it to auto, absolute or relative.
• Full-screen sharing: turn the phone sideways and your PC fills the display. Fit or Fill, a self-hiding toolbar, and touches landing on the right pixel.
• Connect from anywhere: one switch on PC and phone, and you can pair by QR without being on the same network. Tested through a live relay.
• In-app updates: both apps check, download, verify the signature and install. Tampered files are refused.

Known limits

• Not yet tried on a real phone: the new layouts, floating keyboard, cursor feel and the Android install flow. Cursor speed values may need tuning.
• In-app updates start working from the next release, and the desktop silent install hasn't been run for real yet.
• Away from home is slower than Wi-Fi: about 170–250 ms of delay in testing, so the touchpad feels laggy and live screen is about 20–28 fps at 720p. Buttons, media and files are fine.
• "Connect from anywhere" is off by default.

Report problems in Issues.

Helm 0.2.0

Control your Windows PC from your Android phone. Free, open source, no accounts.

Download

• Windows: Helm-windows-x64-setup.exe (installer) or Helm-windows-x64.exe (no install)
• Android 8+: Helm-android.apk

Or install on Windows from PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Niranjan266/helm/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

These builds aren't signed with a publisher certificate yet: Windows SmartScreen needs More info → Run anyway, and Android asks you to allow installs from your browser. Checksums are in SHA256SUMS.txt.

New in 0.2.0

• Desktop app: a real window with a tray icon. Closing the window keeps Helm running, so phones stay connected.
• Auto-reconnect: the phone finds your PC again after a Wi-Fi change or restart, even if its IP changed.
• New look: the Blueprint design on desktop and phone.
• Touchpad: smoother movement, three-finger gestures, flick scrolling, precision mode.
• On-screen gamepad with key and mouse mappings.
• Presentation mode: slide controls, PowerPoint notes, timer, laser pointer.
• Streaming: single-window streaming, gaming preset, drag mode, monitor mirror.
• Pairing and security: 6-digit code pairing, approve new phones on the PC, phone lock timeout.
• Dock and deck: folders, most-used order, deck pages, button sizes, custom icons.
• Everyday: clipboard history, quick file drop, find my phone, PC notifications on the phone, scheduled actions, health card.
• Wear OS companion (source only in this release, not included as a download).

Known limits

• This is an early release. Automated tests pass, but much of it, especially phone gestures, sensors and notifications, still needs real-device testing.
• PC notifications may not forward: Windows can refuse that access to unpackaged apps.
• Code pairing is less strong than QR pairing; prefer QR when you can. Details are in Docs/protocol/pairing-security.md.
• Away-from-home access needs a relay you host yourself. Automatic updates aren't active yet.

Report problems in Issues.

Helm 0.1.0 preview

First preview build of Helm — control your Windows PC from your Android phone. Untested on real phones yet; expect rough edges.

Windows: download Helm-agent-windows-x64.exe and run it (unsigned: SmartScreen → More info → Run anyway). Allow it on Private networks. Tray icon → Show pairing QR.

Android: install Helm-android-debug.apk (debug-signed; allow installs from your browser/file manager). Open Helm → Pair with QR. Phone and PC must be on the same Wi-Fi.

Checksums are in SHA256SUMS.txt. Report problems in Issues.