Game on one PC, stream from another, and move between them like they're one machine. Slide your mouse off the edge of one screen and keep going on the next, with copy and paste, screenshots and files following along.
A gaming PC and a streaming PC in one case, or side by side, shouldn't mean two keyboards, two mice and a USB stick. CoreHQ makes the whole rig feel like one computer.
CoreHQ sits quietly in the system tray (menu bar on a Mac) and just works.
Arrange your computers the way they sit on your desk by dragging tiles. Push against a screen edge and you're on the next PC. The short push means no accidental jumps.
Ctrl+Alt+F1…F12 takes you straight to any of up to 12 computers. Set each key with a right-click.
Text, images and whole folders of files move with you from PC to PC, to your Mac and to Linux. Switch images or files off from the tray when you don't want them to move.
Monitor died, laptop lid shut, or a PC in another room? Right-click it and choose View screen to see it live in a window, then click the picture to take over. Nothing to switch on and no extra passwords.
Every computer needs the same password to join, and everything, including your clipboard and files, is encrypted on the way. Optionally lock them all when you lock the main PC.
Computers find each other on their own, reconnect after sleep, and offer each new version with one click, so the whole rig stays on the same version.
No accounts, nothing to configure on your router. Works best with everything on the same home network (wired is best).
On the PC with your keyboard and mouse, open CoreHQ, choose The main PC, pick a password and click Save & apply.
Open CoreHQ, choose Controlled by the main PC and enter the same password. It finds the main PC by itself.
On the main PC, open Screen layout, click Scan network and drag each computer to where its screen sits.
Install it on every computer in your setup. After that, CoreHQ keeps itself up to date.
For your main PC and every other Windows PC. Unzip and run CoreHQ.exe. Nothing to install.
Download for Windows 41 MB · Windows 10 or 11M1, M2, M3 or M4 Macs (most Macs from late 2020 on).
Download for Apple chip 44 MB · macOS 12 or laterOlder Macs. Not sure which you have? Apple menu → About This Mac.
Download for Intel Mac 46 MB · macOS 12 or laterFor a Steam Deck in Desktop Mode, CachyOS and most 64-bit Linux. Easiest with the one-line install below.
Download for Linux 44 MB · 64-bit (x86_64)Open Terminal (⌘+Space, type Terminal, press Return), paste this line and press Return. It picks the right version, installs it and opens it, with no "damaged app" warnings.
curl -fsSL https://crowstew.com/CoreHQ/install-mac.sh | bash
Open a terminal (Konsole on a Steam Deck in Desktop Mode), paste this line and press Enter. It installs CoreHQ in your home folder, adds it to the app menu and starts it, and tells you if one more setting is needed.
curl -fsSL https://crowstew.com/CoreHQ/install-linux.sh | bash
Handy keys: Ctrl+Alt+F1…F12 jump to a computer · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L lock to this screen · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H back to the main PC
Windows warns about new programs it hasn't seen many people download yet. CoreHQ isn't signed with a paid certificate, so it gets this warning.
The quickest fix is the one-line Terminal install above. Or, just once:
The Mac has to allow it: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, switch on CoreHQ, then quit CoreHQ from the menu bar and open it again. After an update you may need to switch it on again.
Games turn the camera by how far the mouse moves, not where the pointer is. CoreHQ switches to game mode by itself when a game takes over the mouse (hides the pointer or locks it in the window). If a game isn't noticed, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L to lock the mouse to that screen: that always turns game mode on. Press it again to unlock. Every computer needs CoreHQ 3.1 or newer.
CoreHQ controls Linux through a virtual keyboard and mouse, which the system has to allow once. The installer checks this and prints the exact command; it's also here. Run it in a terminal and enter your password (on a Steam Deck, first set one by typing passwd), then log out and back in:
echo 'KERNEL=="uinput", SUBSYSTEM=="misc", TAG+="uaccess", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"' | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/60-corehq-uinput.rules && sudo modprobe uinput && sudo udevadm control --reload && sudo udevadm trigger --name-match=uinputIf a firewall is on (e.g. ufw), also run sudo ufw allow 24850. CoreHQ runs in Desktop Mode on SteamOS; switching to Game Mode closes it.
Every computer needs CoreHQ 3.2 or newer. A Mac asks once to allow it: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording, switch on CoreHQ, then reopen CoreHQ on the Mac. On Linux it works in X11 desktops such as a Steam Deck's Desktop Mode (not Wayland yet). Each computer can switch viewing off in its Options tab.