If you are anything like me, the quest to create a seamless bridge between an Android phone and a Windows PC has been a long, mildly exasperating odyssey.
For years, the go-to recommendation has been Microsoft’s Phone Link. It promises friction-free integration, but in practice, it feels bloated, demands a Microsoft account, and has an uncanny tendency to disconnect at the exact moment you need it to behave. The alternatives are not without complications either. I liked Intel Unison, but it has been discontinued, and KDE Connect, while quite capable, carries the unmistakable DNA of a tool built by Linux engineers for fellow Linux engineers.
What I wanted was something that felt native, respected my privacy, and did not require a cloud login just to paste a link from my desktop to my phone.
That was when I discovered Sefirah. It is an open-source project on GitHub created by a developer who goes by shrimqy. You will not find it prominently featured in the Play Store, and there is no marketing engine amplifying it. Yet after a week of practical, day-to-day use, I am convinced it is the most effective Android-to-PC integration tool available until something proves otherwise.
- OS
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Android & Windows
- Price model
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Free (open-source)
Sefirah is a lightweight, open-source tool that bridges your Android phone and Windows PC over your local network. Unlike Microsoft’s Phone Link, Sefirah gives you complete access to your device: full notification and app mirroring, bidirectional clipboard sync, SMS texting from your desktop, direct file sharing, and Android storage integration right in Windows File Explorer.
Sefirah turns your Android phone into a true PC companion
Microsoft wishes Phone Link could be like this
Sefirah handles device integration with a clean, linear setup. After installing the Android app and the Windows companion, pairing the two devices is quick and uncomplicated. As long as both are connected to the same network, you confirm the matching keys on each screen, and the link is established. You can even choose whether to connect manually each time if you prefer tighter control, or enable Auto Connect so your phone links to your PC the moment you walk through the door.
Once paired, the Android app becomes a full remote control hub for your PC. It shows your computer’s connection status and gives you direct access to essential power options, including Lock, Hibernate, Restart, and Shutdown. It also brings your PC’s volume controls onto your phone as a responsive slider, so you can silence your computer from another room without reaching for your mouse.
The clipboard sharing feature is where Sefirah first won me over. Copy text, links, or images on your PC, and they appear on your Android device almost instantly, and the sync works seamlessly in the opposite direction as well. Unlike some solutions that require you to trigger syncs or navigate labyrinthine menus manually, Sefirah just works in the background. There’s even support for automatically populating your clipboard with received images if you enable that option in settings.
Clipboard syncing, though, is only the entry point. Sefirah also routes your Android notifications straight to your Windows desktop using a clean, unobtrusive toast system. Instead of reaching for your phone every time it vibrates, the alerts surface directly on your PC. You can interact with them as well, clearing them from both devices or sending SMS replies right from your desktop.
Sefirah goes beyond the basics
With storage integration and screen mirroring
The Android storage integration is a perfect example of how Sefirah really separates itself from the competition with features that are too good to be true. If you’re running Android 11 or higher and grant the necessary permissions, Sefirah creates a network drive in Windows Explorer that links directly to your phone’s storage. Your phone’s files will become browsable right alongside your PC folders. So, if you need to move files wirelessly or grab a photo from your phone, navigate to the Sefirah drive and drag it over. Likewise, if you want to move a document to your phone, drop it in the folder.
The documentation flags this as an experimental feature, and performance can vary on certain Windows builds, especially older versions of Windows 10 or unofficial variants of Windows 11. It also includes a strict warning not to assign the remote storage location to an existing folder, as doing so will erase everything in it.
Sefirah also includes full-screen mirroring via Scrcpy, the well-regarded open-source mirroring tool, which it integrates without much friction. Once you download the Scrcpy executable and set its location in the settings panel, you can mirror your Android display on your PC and control the device from your desktop. It is ideal for walkthroughs, troubleshooting, or simply interacting with mobile apps on a larger, more comfortable screen. USB provides the most stable connection, although wireless mirroring is available if you take a moment to configure ADB wirelessly and set the correct port settings.
My Mac and Windows laptops are united at last — thanks to this open-source app
It works really well to connect certain devices.
Consider this your official exit from Phone Link
Setting up Sefirah does require a bit more initial effort than clicking “install” on a mainstream app. You’ll have to grant several permissions on Android, make sure your firewall isn’t blocking the required ports 5149–5169, and possibly troubleshoot a few connection quirks if your network configuration is out of the ordinary. But once configured, it’s quite stable and reliable.
The documentation does a solid job of guiding you through the process, covering most real-world scenarios with enough detail to avoid confusion. It even accounts for dual-SIM devices, which is helpful if you regularly switch between multiple numbers for SMS.