APE Viewer 0.6.3 preview: Windows, Mac and Linux

Windows, Mac and Linux desktop preview

This release adds Apple Silicon Mac and Linux x64 viewer previews alongside the Windows portable preview. Choose the build for the computer you connect from at https://apeviewer.com/downloads.

The Mac/Linux viewers connect to a Windows PC. Each remote monitor can open in its own window or full screen; Free shows one screen at a time and Premium opens them together. The previews use the same account and pairing flow as the Windows app.

Downloads

• Windows: APEViewer.exe, portable preview. The existing stable Windows installer remains available from the latest stable release.
• Mac: APEViewer-macos-arm64-preview.zip, Apple Silicon, macOS 13 or later.
• Linux: APEViewer-linux-x86_64-preview.tar.gz, x64, glibc 2.36 or later. Read the included requirements; use an unlocked Secret Service keyring.
• SHA256SUMS lists the hashes of the release files. Each native archive has a matching codec source/build companion on this release.

Mac and Linux preview limits

The Mac/Linux viewers do not yet host, transfer files, draw or show app-only streams. Linux clipboard is X11 only. Real Mac GUI/Keychain, physical audio/controllers/rumble and mixed-display acceptance are still in progress. These are viewer previews with platform-specific limits. Preview updates are manual. The Windows app retains its Windows features.

The Mac app has an ad hoc integrity signature and is not Developer ID signed or notarized. Keep OS security and keychain/keyring protections enabled. Report problems at https://apeviewer.com/help#report.

Security and libraries

This preview includes fixes for password-pairing approval, friend device revocation, stale authentication/recovery contexts and updated TLS verification dependencies. The corresponding account-service update was deployed before these downloads were published.

Native video libraries are dynamically linked FFmpeg (LGPL 2.1 or later) and OpenH264 (BSD source license), built from pinned upstream sources with GPL/nonfree components disabled. Notices, build configuration and corresponding source archives are included. These libraries retain their own modification/replacement and applicable reverse-engineering rights. Application source remains proprietary.

Full requirements and feature matrix: https://apeviewer.com/downloads.

APE Viewer 0.6.2

APE Viewer 0.6.2

Update APE Viewer on both PCs: the one you connect from and the one you connect to.

Disconnect devices from your account

• On the website's Account page, choose Disconnect beside an app, browser or shared PC. Disconnecting a PC signs out its app and stops sharing.
• Sign Out Everywhere ends every app and browser sign-in, including the browser you use to confirm it. Your subscription and friends stay on your account.
• Online apps and PCs check about once a minute. Offline PCs pick up the sign-out when they reconnect. Update both PCs to 0.6.2 or later to stop paired and local connections too; older versions can keep those connections running.
• After a remote sign-out, sign in again on that PC before connecting or turning sharing back on.
• Choosing Share this PC instead also signs the previous PC out and stops its sharing.

When encoding cannot keep up

• With NVIDIA encoding, a stream can step down from Best quality to Balanced, then Fastest, if encoding keeps taking too long. The connected person sees a notice. Your saved quality setting stays as you chose it.

Update from the app (Update button) or download APEViewerSetup.exe below.

First-five Windows setup pilot

I make APE Viewer and I'm looking for people who already need to reach a Windows desktop with two or more physical monitors from a second Windows PC or laptop. The same five pilot places shared across my invitations offer 30 days of Premium, with no card, purchase or automatic charge; feedback is optional.

Both PCs must run Windows 10/11 x64, starting on the same home network. The installer is unsigned. One place per person on a confirmed Free account without active Premium.

To request a place, use the signed-in Help form, mention the first-five pilot, both Windows versions and desktop monitor count. Places go in the order eligible requests are received, after account confirmation; I'll confirm a place before activation. The 30 days start at activation and create no subscription.

Full pilot terms and first-connection guide. Free remains one shared PC and one screen at a time, with switching and no session time limit; Premium opens the host's screens in separate windows at the same time.

APE Viewer 0.6.1

APE Viewer 0.6.1

Update APE Viewer on both PCs: the one you connect from and the one you connect to.

The APE button is back

• When the stream toolbar hides, it shrinks to the APE button again instead of disappearing. Click the button to open the toolbar. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M still works too.
• Drag the APE button anywhere in the window. The toolbar opens at the top, on that side.
• To keep the whole toolbar showing, turn off Shrink to the APE button when the mouse leaves in Settings > Stream toolbar.

Profile pictures

• Add one on the Account page (Add picture…). Your friends see it instead of your initials, and only they can.

Hosting is easier to set up

• Share only some programs: choose Only some apps… under What they see for a person, or click Share only some apps… on the People & permissions tab.
• File transfer sits right next to What they see, and you can turn it on or off for someone while they're connected.
• View only and Full control change what someone can do, never what they see.
• Custom now opens every permission for that person.
• Your devices are listed on their own. The PC you're using isn't listed anymore, because it doesn't connect to itself.
• Friends: set what a friend can do on the Friends page, before they ever connect.
• Turning Sound or Clipboard on for someone who's connected now works right away, without reconnecting.
• With nobody connected, Connected now is one short line again, so the rest of the page stays in view.

Your PCs

• Hide from the list: PCs you can't reach move to a Hidden group at the bottom, which you can open any time.
• Quick connect's Enter opens only an exact match. F5 looks for PCs again, and Enter connects to the PC you've picked.

Settings

• Open APE Viewer when you sign in to Windows: the app starts in the tray. (Hosting's own Start with Windows is separate and unchanged.)
• The update button is also at the bottom of Settings, next to Donate. When there's an update, it shows at the bottom of the sidebar too.

Fixes

• Someone you disconnect loses control of the PC right away.
• People limited to some screens can't end up seeing a different screen after Windows renumbers your displays.
• A device removed from your account loses owner rights at once, even if it's also paired.
• For people who see only some apps, Ctrl+Esc, Ctrl+Shift+Esc and Alt+Tab no longer reach the rest of the PC.
• Sending an empty folder no longer blocks every transfer after it, and files arriving no longer make keys stick on the other PC.
• Controllers only drive the other PC while a stream window is in front.
• Turning the clipboard off stays off after an automatic reconnect.
• Choosing Turn Hosting off from the tray during a stream works again, and Alt+number no longer plays the error sound.
• Your PCs settings are saved as you change them.
• Windows shows the right version number in APEViewer.exe's file properties.

Update from the app (Update button) or download APEViewerSetup.exe below.

APE Viewer 0.6.0

APE Viewer 0.6.0

Update APE Viewer on both PCs: the one you connect from and the one you connect to.

A new look

• APE Viewer is redesigned from top to bottom: calmer, denser and easier to scan.
• Your PCs is now a list with the details beside it. Pick screens on the map, choose how each one opens, and connect from the same page.
• Hosting is built around people: who's connected now, and what each person can see and do.
• In a stream, a compact toolbar at the top replaces the floating button and the big menu. It hides itself, and every button has a tooltip with its shortcut. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M still shows it.

Send and get files

• Drop files or folders on a stream window to send them to the PC you're connected to. Or use Files > Send files… in the toolbar.
• Files > Get files from brings files over from that PC's Desktop, Documents or Downloads.
• The person at the PC can send you files too: Hosting > Connected now > Send files….
• Files arrive in Downloads\APE Viewer, and Windows treats them like downloaded files.
• File transfer is a permission per person, and nobody gets it until you turn it on for them (Hosting > People & permissions), not even with Full control. Your own devices always can.
• When the PC sends you files you didn't ask for, you choose whether to accept them.
• The stream keeps its frame rate while files move, because transfers slow down when the picture needs the bandwidth.

Share only some apps

• Let someone see only the apps you choose, like sharing a window on a call. They see those windows and nothing else of your desktop.
• Turn it on in Hosting > People & permissions > the person > Only these apps, then tick the apps.
• Their mouse and keyboard reach only those windows. Ctrl+Alt+Del and file transfer are off for them.
• Sound and the clipboard are for the whole PC, not per app.

Also

• Everything from 0.5.15: drawing on the screen, Ctrl+Alt+Del as its own permission, screens per person, reconnecting after a drop, and Premium turning on within a minute.

It needs APE Viewer 0.6.0 on both PCs for files and app-only sharing. Older versions keep working together as before.

Update from the app (Update button) or download APEViewerSetup.exe below.

APE Viewer 0.5.15

APE Viewer 0.5.15

Update APE Viewer on both PCs: the one you connect from and the one you connect to.

Draw on the screen

• Pen, highlighter, arrow, circle and laser pointer on the remote PC's screen: stream menu > Controls > Draw on Screen, or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+D. Everyone watching that screen sees the drawing, and so does the person at that PC.
• Drawings fade after 15 seconds, or stay until Clear if you pin them. Esc or Done stops drawing.
• It needs APE Viewer 0.5.15 on the remote PC.

More control over who can do what

• Ctrl+Alt+Del is a permission of its own. Devices signed in to your account can always use it. Friends and other people need you to turn it on for them, in Hosting > People, on the Friends page, or on the website's Account page.
• Draw on Screen is a permission too. People you add with control get it; for people you added before 0.5.15, turn it on in the same places.
• Choose the screens each person sees. In Hosting > People, limit someone to some of the screens you share. The PC enforces it.

Connections that recover

• If the connection drops (Wi-Fi, sleep, a restart), the app notices within about 10 seconds, shows Reconnecting… and brings back the same screens when the PC answers. Before, the picture just froze.
• Both PCs stay awake while someone is connected.
• PCs on your network no longer flicker in and out of the list, and connecting from anywhere over the internet recovers faster after a network blip.

Premium turns on within a minute

• After you buy or start a trial, both PCs pick up Premium within about a minute (it could take hours before). Check Subscription is always on the Account page.
• A PC whose sign-in expired keeps sharing with your own devices and paired ones, and Hosting asks you to sign in again.

Easier first run

• Use on This Network works on Windows too: connect PCs at home without an account.
• Signing in no longer ends with a browser error page.
• The first connection right after pairing doesn't wait for approval.
• Connection requests show up again after the sharing service restarts, and you can Cancel while waiting for the owner.
• Shared PCs join your account without opening Hosting first.

Steadier streams

• Portrait (rotated) monitors stream upright, and clicks land where they should.
• After a graphics driver update, a GPU reset or a monitor being unplugged, the picture comes back on its own (or that screen closes with a clear message) instead of freezing.
• If the video encoder fails, the PC recreates it or switches to the other encoder, and keeps streaming.
• Switching screens from full screen stays full screen on the same display, and a screen that can't open brings the previous one back.
• If a firewall blocks the video, the app says so (AV-1008) instead of showing a black window.
• When Premium ends during a session, extra screens and controllers close and you stay connected to one screen.

Fixes

• Opening the stream menu (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M) no longer leaves Ctrl, Alt and Shift held down on the remote PC.
• Turning the clipboard off in the stream menu stays off. Controller rumble stops when the stream window isn't in front.
• A PC you remove from your account isn't added back automatically.
• Setup closes the running app before it updates. If an update can't start sharing, it puts the previous version back.
• Failed update downloads are cleaned up. Errors from admin steps say what actually went wrong.
• Typing letters with AltGr (for example ą, ż) works in the app's text boxes.

Update from the app (Update button) or download APEViewerSetup.exe below.

APE Viewer 0.5.14

APE Viewer 0.5.14

Update APE Viewer on both PCs: the one you connect from and the one you connect to.

Ctrl+Alt+Del works

• Ctrl+Alt+Del for the remote PC (stream menu > Controls > Send, or press Ctrl+Alt+End) now brings up its security screen, where you can lock it, switch user, sign out or open Task Manager. Before, Windows on that PC ignored it.
• It needs APE Viewer 0.5.14 on the remote PC, sharing with APE Viewer's sharing service (set up in Hosting). If that PC has an older version, the app says so instead of sending it.
• If that PC is set to block it and the screen doesn't come up, the app tells you.

Switching screens on Free

• Switch in the stream menu now changes to the other screen and keeps you connected. If that screen doesn't open, the one you had comes back.

Free and Premium

• Free connects the same ways as before: on your local network, over Tailscale, or directly by address. Of the ways to connect, only connecting from anywhere over the internet needs Premium.
• Free shows one screen at a time and takes one person and one controller at a time, on every connection, including PCs that nobody signed in on.
• If you ask a PC on Free for several screens, it opens the first one and tells you why, instead of showing an error. Once the PC you connect to has 0.5.14, that's true from older versions of APE Viewer too.
• With Premium on either PC you see every screen at once, and a PC whose owner has Premium takes up to 4 people and 4 controllers. Premium starts with a 7-day free trial ($0 today).

Update from the app (Update button) or download APEViewerSetup.exe below.

APE Viewer 0.5.13

APE Viewer 0.5.13

Invite friends, get Premium free

• The Friends page has your invite link with a Copy Invite Link button. When a friend you invite subscribes to Premium, you get a month free (up to 12 a year), two weeks after their first payment. See your invites on apeviewer.com/account.
• Adding a friend by an email that has no account yet now saves the invitation: when they sign up, the invitation is waiting for them. It shows under People You Share With (cancel it any time), and they need your OK the first time they connect.

Premium, explained where you need it

• Premium now starts with a 7-day free trial ($0 today).
• When something needs Premium, the app says so plainly and offers Try Premium Free:
  • connecting to a PC from anywhere over the internet
  • seeing every screen at once
  • sharing more than one PC
• Hosting tells you when someone couldn't connect, or couldn't play with a second controller, because Free allows one at a time.
• After you start the trial, the app picks up Premium within seconds.

Clearer messages

• Connection errors use plain words. Internet connections are described as "connect from anywhere over the internet".

Update from the app (Update button) or download APEViewerSetup.exe below.

APE Viewer 0.5.12

APE Viewer 0.5.12

Friends and usernames

• New Friends page: pick a username, add friends by username or email, accept or decline invitations, connect to friends' PCs, and choose what each person can do (full control, view only, or your own mix, with Ask Me First).
• Friends see your @username instead of your email, in the app and on apeviewer.com.

Clearer navigation

• The sidebar is grouped: Connect (Your PCs, Friends) and Share (Hosting).
• Hosting (was This PC) shows its state at a glance: grey when off, green when ready, blue when someone is connected, amber when it needs attention. The Hosting page opens with the same colored status and the on/off switch.

Host controls (Hosting > Sharing settings)

• Choose which screens people can see and the default screen, and how many screens one person can watch at once.
• People at once, an upload limit per person, a frame-rate limit, and whether viewers may change this PC's resolution.
• Lock this PC when everyone leaves, and disconnect idle people after 15 minutes to 2 hours.

Connecting

• A PC that's on Tailscale and on your account now shows once and connects over Tailscale (direct). Use the Use Tailscale switch on its page to go over the internet instead.
• The Windows key goes to the remote PC while its window is in front (switch it in the stream menu > Controls).
• Ctrl+Alt+Del for the remote PC: stream menu > Controls > Send, or press Ctrl+Alt+End. It works when that PC hosts with APE Viewer's sharing service.

Update from the app (Update button) or download APEViewerSetup.exe below.

APE Viewer 0.5.11

APE Viewer has a clearer, roomier look, from your PC list to the controls inside a stream.

• Larger text, brighter labels and clearer buttons throughout the app.
• More space in the sidebar and PC list, with connection status and Connect buttons easier to spot.
• A larger monitor map and settings that fit better in smaller windows.
• A stream menu organized into Screens, Controls, Picture and Menu. Live stats stay visible, and Disconnect is always within reach.
• Clearer account, plan and sharing-permission layouts.
• The stream menu now includes the same 240 fps option as the main window. Actual frame rates depend on your PCs, settings and connection.

Choose Update in the app, or download APE Viewer.

• APEViewerSetup.exe is the installer. APEViewer.exe is the same app without installing.

APE Viewer 0.5.10

Premium is here

Every screen at once, unlimited shared PCs, up to 4 people and 4 controllers, and internet relays with nothing to set up. Try it free for a day: apeviewer.com. Launch price $6.99/month or $49/year, kept for as long as you stay subscribed.

What's new in 0.5.10

This update is mostly about security and reliability.

• Better protection for your sign-in, paired devices and sharing settings, especially on PCs used by more than one Windows account.
• Updates are safer. Everything is checked before the app is replaced, and if anything goes wrong your current version keeps working.
• Sharing recovers by itself after a crash or power loss in the middle of saving settings, and if sharing can't start, This PC now tells you why.
• More reliable connections to your own PCs, even when your account information is briefly out of date.
• Smoother screen switching: reopening or resizing a screen no longer shows leftover frames.
• No more "unknown publisher" warning each time you start the installed app after installing from a browser download.

Good to know

• Tailscale users: to connect to your own PCs over Tailscale without pairing, turn on Use Tailscale in Settings on the PC you connect from as well. Otherwise you'll be asked to pair once.
• On a PC where other Windows accounts could change APE Viewer's sharing settings, this update resets those settings to stay safe. If that happens, open This PC, check the permissions and turn sharing back on.

Install or update

• Already have APE Viewer? Click Update in the app.
• New here? Download APE Viewer, or in PowerShell: irm https://apeviewer.com/install.ps1 | iex
• APEViewerSetup.exe is the installer. APEViewer.exe is the same app without installing.

Need a hand? Help · support@apeviewer.com