How it works

What happens after you press Connect, and who can see what.

You do not need this page to use RealFrame. It helps when something goes wrong.

Finding each other

Both computers keep a small connection open to a coordinator. That is the only thing they need to reach on the internet. It is why you open no ports.

When you press Connect, the coordinator tells each side how to reach the other. Then it gets out of the way.

Direct first, relay only if needed

The two computers try to talk straight to each other. That is faster, so it is always tried first.

Some networks block that, like strict office firewalls and some mobile networks. Then the session goes through a relay, a server that passes packets along without being able to read them.

The toolbar tells you which one you got. See direct and relayed.

Screen to stream

On the host, every frame is:

1. Grabbed from the screen.
2. Squeezed by the graphics card's video encoder.
3. Locked with encryption before it hits the network.

Your side does the same list backwards. Nothing runs in a browser engine, which is where a lot of lag comes from in other tools.

Who can read what

The keys are made by your two computers. The servers never get them. So a relay carries locked data it cannot open. On top of that, every hop uses TLS 1.3.

Your account is what says the two computers belong together, and the coordinator only introduces devices on the same account. There is also an optional 6-digit check for the introduction itself, off by default. See how devices trust each other.

Why the picture changes

Wi-Fi speed moves around all the time, so the stream moves with it.

• The host watches what actually arrives and adjusts.
• Packets go out spread over time, not in bursts a Wi-Fi radio would drop.
• Lost packets get repaired, or a fresh full frame is sent.

So a quality setting is a ceiling, not a target. See picture quality.

The parts

You can run all of it yourself. See self-hosting.