Blue

An OS X app to share bluetooth peripherals and screens between Macs.

Features

Share the same bluetooth keyboard and mouse between multiple computers
Turn Bluetooth on/off for a Mac remotely
Remotely toggle Target Display Mode on iMacs (to use screen as another monitor)
Send a friendly shutdown signal to another Mac remotely
Send public SSH keys to another Mac
Notifications (kinda)
Dock menu actions
Application menus
Context menus
Remembers window positioning
Menubar

Getting Started

Download the the Blue.app.zip file from the latest Release. Unzip the file and move the app to your Applications folder.

You will need to manually add the bluetooth keyboard and mouse to each mac beforehand if you haven't already. It's easiest to do this by turning bluetooth off on the other computers. You will also need to setup SSH keys on each computer if you haven't already (more info provided in the app).

You should install the app on every computer that will share the same bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Open the app and add cards for the other computers. The address you enter should be pingable from the command line, e.g., nathan-imac.local. You can also add a card for the host computer, and if so use 'localhost' as the address.

Usage

Generally you should open the app on the computer that currently has the bluetooth keyboard and mouse and from there switch to another computer. Alternatively you can use a third computer to handle switching between the other two.

Updating

Just download a new version from Releases. All configuration data is stored in ~/Library/Application Support/blue and will continue to work across all releases except perhaps when the major number changes.

Tips

Hold command (⌘) when switching to another computer to also toggle Target Display Mode.
Toggling Target Display Mode will only work when the iMac has a keyboard connected (bluetooth or otherwise).
There are additional actions available when you right click a card.
You can also perform some actions by right-clicking the dock icon or using the icon in the menubar.
To debug issues, open up the console via View -> Toggle Development Tools.
The app periodically sends signals to check the status of other computers. If you aren't using the app then close the window or quit the app to prevent unnecessary operations. There is a preference under 'Options' to automatically quit the app after switching to another computer.
If you use a VPN, you should disconnect from the VPN before switching away from it otherwise you won't be able to switch back.

Notice

Please note that this app works by simply turning bluetooth on and off. This affects ALL bluetooth devices, so if you have other bluetooth devices that you need to keep connected while the keyboard and and mouse is on another computer then this app will not work for you.

About

This little project is a hackday foray into some new technologies such as Electron and Polymer. Of course it doesn't hurt if it's actually a little useful as well.

In my setup I have a personal iMac + a Mac Pro for work. The Mac Pro is connected to an Apple Cinema Display. I have a single Apple bluetooth keyboard and trackpad:

When I'm working on the Mac Pro I like to have it connected to the bluetooth peripherals, Cinema Display, and also using the beauiful screen of the iMac as a second monitor. When work is done, I then switch to my iMac for personal stuff like recording music. I want to use the same bluetooth keyboard and mouse though and also have the iMac use the Cinema Display. I want to do all of this without fumbling around with USB devices or extra physical hardware.

Previously I had a script that managed most of this, but sometimes it failed and I ended up not being able to use my bluetooth peripherals on either computer. So basically Blue solves this very specific problem in overly complicated yet underwhelming fashion :)

Caveat, the Cinema Display has one built-in thunderbolt cable. I also have a thunderbolt cable connected to my iMac. When working, both cables are connected to the Mac Pro. When it's time to use the iMac I disconnect both cables from the Mac Pro, and connect the cable from the iMac to the Cinema Display. It may sound complicated but it's not, and as the only physical step in the process overall it runs quite smoothly.

Development

Developed using electron, nodejs and polymer. Probably will only build on OS X.

Prereqs

node
bower (npm install -g bower)
eslint (optional, npm install -g eslint)

Install

npm install && bower install

Run

npm run start

Build and Package

npm run dist

Release

Releases are pushed to Github.

Before releasing, commit all changes and push. To push changes to Github, you must have the GHE_TOKEN_BLUE environment variable defined, set to the value of a Github personal access token. For example, in ~/.bashrc:

export BLUE_DIST_TOKEN=token

Release a draft:

npm version [patch | minor | major]
npm run dist
npm run draft

Release a regular version:

npm version [patch | minor | major]
npm run dist
npm run release

Version Guidelines

patch - use for bug fixes that are fully compatible with the previous db and config files.
minor - use for enhancements that are fully compatible with the previous db and config files.
major - use after finalizing major feature updates, or for changes that are not compatible with the previous db and config file formats.