User Manual

1.1 · What Phonestra is

Phonestra is a Linux program that brings the apps of your Android phone to your PC. Each app opens in its own window, like a PC program, and is used with mouse and keyboard. The phone stays on the desk: it only needs to be on, unlocked and on the same Wi-Fi network as the PC.

The apps keep running on the phone, with their data and their accounts: Phonestra shows their picture on the PC and sends clicks and keystrokes to the phone. With Phonestra you can:

• open the phone's apps in PC windows, even several apps at once;
• type with the PC keyboard and copy and paste text in both directions;
• hear the phone's audio through the PC speakers;
• see the phone's notifications on the PC;
• install apps, send files to the phone and receive files from it;
• take screenshots and record an app's screen.

1.2 · Who this manual is for

First-time users can follow ch. 5 “First steps”: it goes from the downloaded file to the first app open on the PC in a few steps. The ch. 17 “Glossary” explains the less common words.

1.3 · Conventions

In this manual, “phone” always means the Android phone connected to Phonestra; “PC” means the computer running Linux. Phonestra's interface is in Italian or English, chosen in Preferences › Language (Preferenze › Lingua): Automatic (system) follows the language of the PC, and a change takes effect the next time Phonestra starts (14.1 “The “Preferences” page”). The manual quotes the English labels exactly as they appear, with the Italian label in parentheses where it differs. The names of Android settings (for example Wireless debugging (Debug wireless)) may vary slightly from one brand to another: the manual uses the most common ones.

2.1 · Requirements

2.2 · Downloading Phonestra

1. Open Phonestra's site in your browser: https://phonestra.nicfio.it, section “Get it”.
2. Download the Phonestra-<versione>-x86_64.AppImage file (the button “Download for Linux”).
3. Move the file wherever you like, for example to your home folder. Phonestra runs from there: it does not need to be installed.
4. Make the file executable, once only: in the file manager, right-click the file, “Properties”, the “Permissions” tab, the checkbox that allows running it as a program (the exact name varies from one desktop to another). Or from a terminal, with the command below.

$ chmod +x Phonestra-*-x86_64.AppImage

2.3 · Starting Phonestra

Start Phonestra by double-clicking the file, or from a terminal:

$ ./Phonestra-*-x86_64.AppImage

• Phonestra does not add icons to the system menu: to open it again, start the file again.
• If Phonestra is already open, starting it a second time does not open a second Phonestra: it brings the drawer to the front (or reopens it if it had been closed).

2.4 · Closing Phonestra

Phonestra closes when all of its windows are closed: the drawer and the app windows. If you close only the drawer, the open apps stay open.

1. Close the app windows and the drawer, with the × at the top right.
2. Phonestra pauses any music or video the phone was playing, closes the apps open in windows and puts the phone back the way it was: screen back on, previous screen timeout and volume.
3. After a few seconds the program exits.

2.5 · Updating Phonestra

1. Download the new release, as the first time, and make it executable.
2. Close Phonestra, if it is open.
3. Start the new release. The phone, preferences and favorites are kept: they live in ~/.config/Phonestra, not in the AppImage file.
4. Delete the old release's file.

The version in use is shown in About (Informazioni), at the bottom of the drawer's sidebar.

3.1 · Before you start

The first connection is done only once for each phone, without a cable, in a few minutes. Phonestra asks you to turn on four things on the phone; how to do it on your model you can find out with the search in the phone's Settings.

• The phone: Android 14 or later, charged, unlocked, within reach.
• The PC and the phone on the same Wi-Fi network.
• Phonestra running: at first start Add a phone (Aggiungi un telefono) opens by itself; for an additional phone, open it from the drawer with Add phone (Aggiungi telefono) (13.1 “Adding another phone”).

3.2 · The “Add a phone” window

The window is called Add a phone (Aggiungi un telefono). On the left, under the heading Prepare the phone (Prepara il telefono), is the list of the four things to do; on the right, the WHAT I SEE ON THE NETWORK (COSA VEDO IN RETE) and STUCK? (TI SEI BLOCCATO?) boxes and the button for the cable route.

Each item opens with a click and contains:

• why it is needed, in plain words;
• the WHERE TO FIND IT (DOVE SI TROVA) box, with the word to type into the search in the phone's Settings;
• Done › (Fatto ›), to press when the item is done (the first three);
• Ask Google ↗ (Chiedi a Google ↗), which opens a Google search in the browser with the question already typed: it explains how to do it on your model, often with a video.

3.3 · Step by step

1. Check that the phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the PC; press Done › (Fatto ›).
2. Unlock the Developer options (Opzioni sviluppatore; item 2); press Done ›.
3. If the phone has Auto Blocker (Blocco automatico) or Advanced Protection (Protezione avanzata) turned on, turn them off (item 3); press Done ›.
4. In Developer options turn on Wireless debugging (Debug wireless) and tap Allow (Consenti) for the network. Phonestra notices by itself and opens item 4.
5. Tap the Wireless debugging label, then Pair device with pairing code (Associa dispositivo con codice di associazione): the phone shows a 6-digit code.
6. Type the 6 digits into the field of item 4. There is nothing to press: with the sixth digit Phonestra pairs, connects and saves the phone.
7. When Done! “<phone name>” is connected via Wi-Fi. (Fatto! «<nome del telefono>» è collegato via Wi-Fi.) appears, press Start using the phone (Inizia a usare il telefono): the drawer opens.

3.4 · The 6-digit code

After pairing, Phonestra removes the expiry of this PC's authorization, so the connection doesn't have to be redone after a few days of not being used (15.2 “What stays switched on on the phone”).

3.5 · The cable route

The Android 10 or earlier? Connect with the cable (Android 10 o precedente? Collega col cavo) button, at the bottom right, opens the fallback route: the first connection with the USB cable, designed for phones that don't have Wireless debugging. Afterward the cable is unplugged and Phonestra works over Wi-Fi as always.

• The window moves on by itself: it notices every step done on the phone.
• Without the Always allow from this computer (Consenti sempre da questo computer) checkmark the cable works but Wi-Fi doesn't: “Always allow” missing (Manca «Consenti sempre») appears and the request must be repeated by unplugging and replugging the cable.
• On Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco phones there is an extra step, One more step for Xiaomi (Un passaggio in più per Xiaomi): turn on USB debugging (Security settings) (Debug USB (impostazioni di sicurezza)), otherwise the apps are visible but don't respond to mouse and keyboard.
• If after 20 seconds the window is still at the first step, the What the PC sees (Cosa vede il PC) box appears with the list of USB devices: it is useful to photograph for someone helping remotely.

3.6 · Later connections

After the first connection there is nothing more to do: at startup Phonestra looks for the phone on the network and connects by itself.

• The phone must be on, unlocked, on the same Wi-Fi network and with Wireless debugging (Debug wireless) turned on.
• Android sometimes turns Wireless debugging off by itself, for example when switching Wi-Fi networks. Just turn it back on in Developer options (Opzioni sviluppatore): the code doesn't need to be redone, the PC stays paired.
• On a new network the phone asks again for Allow (Consenti) for that network.

4.1 · How the drawer is laid out

The drawer is Phonestra's main window: it opens at startup and gathers the phone's apps, notifications, preferences and the phone's screen. The name comes from the Android app drawer, the place where Android keeps its apps.

• The drawer follows the desktop's light or dark theme.
• When you type while the drawer is in the foreground, the text goes into the Search for an app (Cerca un'app) search box: Enter opens the first app found.
• Closing the drawer does not close the open apps; Phonestra quits when no window is left (2.4 “Closing Phonestra”).

4.2 · The phone pill

In the middle of the title bar is the phone pill: a colored dot, the phone's name and the connection status.

Clicking the pill opens the phone menu:

4.3 · The sidebar

4.4 · The phone screen in the drawer

On the right of the drawer is the drawn phone. When the connection works, it contains the phone's real screen, live, even if the phone's physical screen is off.

• You use it with the mouse just like the app windows: a click is a tap, a drag is a swiping finger (7.1 “Mouse and touchpad”).
• It is there for the things that are not apps: the Home screen, the notification shade, quick settings, recent apps, widgets. You open them as on the phone, with the mouse instead of your finger.
• It receives keystrokes only after a click on the screen; a click elsewhere sends the keys back to the app search.
• Dragging files onto the drawn phone sends them to the phone (10.3 “Sending files to the phone”).
• Below the screen, a card appears for a transfer in progress (10.5 “The transfer in progress”).

When the phone cannot be used, a veil over the screen explains why:

4.5 · Short messages

Short messages appear at the bottom of the window and disappear after a few seconds. In the drawer, for example:

• Wait for the current transfer to finish (Aspetta la fine del trasferimento in corso): a file transfer is already in progress.
• The phone is not connected (Il telefono non è collegato): the requested action needs the connection.
• Rereading the phone's apps… (Rilettura delle app del telefono…): after Update now (Aggiorna ora) in the preferences.
• “<name>” added: you'll find it in “My phones” («<nome>» aggiunto: lo trovi in «I miei telefoni»): after Add phone (Aggiungi telefono).

5.1 · The path

This path takes you from a freshly downloaded Phonestra to the first app used on the PC, in five stages. Each stage points to the chapter that explains it in detail.

5.2 · Your first app

1. With the phone unlocked and the drawer open, wait until the phone pill says connected via Wi-Fi (collegato via Wi-Fi) and the apps appear.
2. Click an app, for example the messaging app. Or type its name and press Enter.
3. The app opens in its own window. The phone's screen is off (Phonestra turns it off as soon as it connects): the phone stays on and unlocked, and Phonestra uses it without the screen (ch. 12 “The phone's screen”).
4. Use the app with the mouse: a click is a tap, the wheel scrolls, the PC keyboard types.
5. To go back to the app's previous screen, press the Back (Indietro) button at the top left, or Esc.
6. To close the app, close its window: the app closes on the phone too.

5.3 · Home, Back and the notification shade

6.1 · Opening an app

Each phone app opens in its own window. There are many ways to open one, and several apps can be kept open at the same time.

• A click on the app's icon in the drawer's Apps (App) page.
• Typing the name into the Search for an app (Cerca un'app) search box (just start typing with the drawer in front) and pressing Enter: the first app found opens.
• From the FAVORITES (PREFERITI) card, at the top of the page, with the apps chosen as favorites.
• With a click on a notification, in the Notifications (Notifiche) page or in the system alert (ch. 9 “Notifications”).

If the app is already open, its window comes back to the front: each app has only one window. The list shows the apps that have an icon in the phone's app screen, including Settings (Impostazioni) and Camera (Fotocamera).

6.2 · An app's menu

Right-clicking an app in the drawer opens its menu:

6.3 · Anatomy of a window

An app's window has a bar at the top with a few buttons; everything else is the phone's app.

App windows are ordinary desktop windows: you can move them, tile them side by side, make them full screen, and they appear in the desktop's taskbar with the app's name.

6.4 · Size, rotation and portrait-only apps

The app adapts to the window: when you widen the window, the app gets more room, as on a tablet; when you narrow it, it goes back to looking like the phone. The same happens when you maximize the window to full screen.

• Rotate (Ctrl+R) swaps the window's width and height: a tall, narrow window becomes wide and short. It does not work with a maximized window or during a recording.
• To enlarge the app's content (a map, a photo), use zoom: Ctrl + wheel, Ctrl++ and Ctrl+−, or a pinch on the touchpad (7.1 “Mouse and touchpad”).

6.5 · Closing an app

1. Close the window with the × at the top right, or More commands › Close app, or Ctrl+W.
2. The app closes on the phone too: it is removed from the recent apps.
3. If the app was playing music or a video, it is paused, so the phone does not keep playing on its own.

6.6 · When the connection drops

If the connection drops (the Wi-Fi is interrupted, the phone locks), the windows do not close. The last image of the app stays, blurred, with a veil that explains what is happening.

• Phonestra retries by itself, every few seconds. Reconnect now (Riconnetti ora) retries right away.
• When the connection comes back, the app reappears in its window, where it was.
• Close (Chiudi) closes the window.
• If the phone is only locked, the veil does not appear: the subtitle changes to Phone locked: unlock it to continue (Telefono bloccato: sbloccalo per continuare). After unlocking, Phonestra reconnects by itself.

6.7 · Protected screens

Some apps protect certain screens: banking apps, passwords, paid videos. Android does not let them be shown outside the phone.

Instead of the black image, Phonestra shows Protected screen (Schermata protetta): This app does not allow this screen to be shown outside the phone. The app's other screens work normally. (Questa app non permette di mostrare questa schermata fuori dal telefono. Le altre schermate dell'app funzionano normalmente.)

7.1 · Mouse and touchpad

In the app windows, and on the phone screen in the drawer, the mouse acts as your finger.

7.2 · Keyboard and shortcuts

The PC keyboard types into the app that has the focus. Some keys do extra things:

7.3 · Typing with the PC keyboard

The on-screen keyboard of the phone does not appear: you type with the PC's keyboard, using its key layout (Italian, if the PC is set to Italian).

• Letters, numbers and common symbols reach the app as if they had been typed on the phone.
• Accented letters (à, è, ì, ò, ù) and less common symbols go through the phone's clipboard: Phonestra puts them in the phone's clipboard and pastes them into the app.
• Shortcuts with Ctrl reach the app as they would from a keyboard connected to the phone.

7.4 · The clipboard

The clipboard works in both directions, automatically, for plain text only.

• If there is no text in the PC's clipboard, Ctrl+V shows There is no text in the PC's clipboard (Negli appunti del PC non c'è testo).
• Text copied on the PC goes to the phone only when you paste it, and only to the connected phone.
• For images and files, use Send files… (Invia file…) and Receive files… (Ricevi file…) (ch. 10 “Apps and files”). A Phonestra screenshot still ends up in the PC's clipboard as an image.

8.1 · Audio from the PC

While Phonestra is connected, the audio of the phone's apps comes out of the PC's speakers (or headphones). The phone stays silent.

• This applies to all apps: music, videos, games, notification sounds, navigation.
• Audio starts a few seconds after the connection: it may be missing in the first moments.
• Audio and video stay in sync, recordings included (11.2 “Recording the screen”).
• When Phonestra closes, any music or video that was playing is paused: the phone does not start playing again on its own through its loudspeaker.

8.2 · Volume

Volume is adjusted on the PC, as for any other program: with the keyboard's volume keys or with the desktop mixer, where Phonestra shows up as a program playing sound.

During the connection Phonestra turns the phone's media volume all the way up: some apps do not start their audio when the phone's volume is at zero. The phone still makes no sound, because the audio comes out only from the PC. When it closes, Phonestra restores the previous volume.

8.3 · Calls

Calls stay on the phone: you answer and talk with the phone in hand.

• When a call comes in, Phonestra turns the phone's screen back on, so you can answer from the phone (12.4 “Incoming calls”).
• Android does not allow the voice of calls to be carried to the PC: even with Phonestra you hear it from the phone.
• The PC's microphone does not reach the phone.

8.4 · Camera and microphone

Apps open in a Phonestra window use the camera and microphone of the phone, as always.

• A video call open in a window works: you see it on the PC, but it films and listens from the phone.
• To take photos with the Camera app in a window, point the phone and click to shoot.
• The phone does not become a webcam or a microphone for the PC's programs.

9.1 · The “Notifications” page

The drawer's Notifications (Notifiche) page shows the phone's notifications, newest first. The number next to Notifications in the sidebar says how many there are.

• Notifications are grouped by app, in cards showing the app's name and how many notifications it has.
• For each app you see the last 2; the N more notifications from <app> › (altre N notifiche di <app> ›) button shows the others.
• Each notification has an icon, title, text and time. Clicking a notification opens the app in its window.
• The × next to a notification hides it: Hide (it stays on the phone) (Nascondi (sul telefono resta)). Hide all (Nascondi tutte), at the top, hides them all.
• With no notifications the page says No notifications (Nessuna notifica).
• Notifications refresh every few seconds, as long as the phone is connected.

Ongoing notifications, the ones that stay while an app is working (for example music playing or a navigation app), do not appear, nor do notifications with no title and no text.

9.2 · Pop-up alerts

When a new notification arrives on the phone, Phonestra shows a system alert, like those of the PC's other programs: it appears in the corner of the screen and stays in the desktop's notification list.

• Alerts respect the desktop's “Do Not Disturb”.
• Alerts arrive only while Phonestra is open and connected to the phone.

9.3 · Choosing the alerts

In the Preferences (Preferenze) page, NOTIFICATIONS (NOTIFICHE) tab, you choose what the alerts show.

1. Open Preferences (Preferenze) in the sidebar.
2. In the NOTIFICATIONS tab, press the button next to Apps that can alert (App che possono avvisare).
3. In the Apps that can alert window, turn off the switch of the apps that should not produce alerts. The choice is saved immediately.

10.1 · Installing an app

Phonestra installs on the phone apps downloaded as .apk files, with no cable and without going through the phone.

1. In the drawer press Install app… (Installa app…) and choose the file (the Choose the app to install (Scegli l'app da installare) window shows only Android apps (.apk) (App Android (.apk)) files). Or drag the .apk file onto the phone drawn on the right of the drawer.
2. Phonestra asks for confirmation: Install “<file>”? (Installare «<file>»?). Press Install (Installa).
3. The transfer card, on the drawn phone, shows the progress, then installing… (installazione in corso…).
4. At the end “<file>” installed («<file>» installata) appears and the app joins the drawer's list.

10.2 · Uninstalling an app

1. In the drawer, right-click the app and choose Uninstall… (Disinstalla…).
2. Phonestra asks for confirmation: Uninstall <app>? (Disinstallare <app>?) with The app and its data will be removed from “<phone>”. (L'app e i suoi dati verranno tolti da «<telefono>».) Press Uninstall (Disinstalla).
3. If the app was open, its window closes. At the end <app> uninstalled (<app> disinstallata) appears: the app leaves the list and the favorites.

10.3 · Sending files to the phone

Files sent from the PC arrive in a folder on the phone, Download unless you chose another, and show up right away in the phone's Gallery and file app.

1. In the drawer press Send files… (Invia file…) and choose one or more files (Choose the files to send, Scegli i file da inviare). Or drag them from the file manager onto the drawn phone: Drop to send to the phone (Rilascia per inviare al telefono) appears.
2. The transfer card shows the file's name and Sending to the phone · <sent> of <total> (Invio al telefono · <inviati> di <totale>).
3. At the end “<file>” is in Download on the phone («<file>» è in Download sul telefono) appears (or in the chosen folder).

• A file with the same name as one already there does not replace it: it arrives with a number, for example foto (1).jpg.
• An .apk file dragged onto the phone is not copied but installed, after confirmation.
• The destination folder on the phone is chosen in Preferences (Preferenze) › Files sent to the phone (File inviati al telefono): Download, Documents (Documenti), Pictures (Immagini), Camera (Fotocamera), Music (Musica) or Movies (Video).

10.4 · Receiving files from the phone

Without a cable, the PC's file manager does not see the phone. To copy photos and documents from the phone to the PC, use Receive files… (Ricevi file…).

1. In the drawer press Receive files…: the Receive files from the phone (Ricevi file dal telefono) window opens, on the Recent (Recenti) place.
2. Choose a place on the left, then open folders with a click. The path at the top and the Parent folder (Cartella superiore) arrow take you back.
3. Click the files to receive: they get checked. Checks stay even when you change folder, and at the bottom you see how many files are selected and how big they are.
4. Press Receive (Ricevi). The window closes and the files arrive in the PC's Downloads (Scaricati) folder (shown at the bottom: They arrive in Downloads, Arrivano in Scaricati).
5. At the end N files received in Downloads (N file ricevuti in Scaricati) appears, with the Open folder (Apri la cartella) button.

• You see the phone's shared storage, the same you see with a cable: not the apps' private data.
• Whole folders cannot be received: open the folder and use Select all.
• Hidden files (those whose name starts with a dot) do not appear.
• Received files keep the phone's date; if a file with the same name already exists, the new one arrives with a number, for example foto (1).jpg.
• With a single file, Open folder (Apri la cartella) opens the folder with the file already highlighted.

10.5 · The transfer in progress

Sends, installations and receptions happen one at a time. During the transfer, at the bottom of the drawer's drawn phone, there is a card with the file's name, the progress and a × to cancel.

11.1 · Taking a screenshot

A screenshot captures the app in a window at the phone's resolution, without the window's title bar.

• The file is named after the app, the date and the time: for example Maps 2026-09-30 10.42.05.png.
• The image on the clipboard can be pasted right away into another PC program (an email, a chat, a document).
• If the app does not show anything yet, No image to capture (Nessuna immagine da fotografare) appears.

11.2 · Recording the screen

1. In the app's window press Record the screen (Registra lo schermo; the button with the red dot).
2. The button turns into a red pill with the elapsed time, for example ● 0:42.
3. To stop, press the button again: Recording saved in Videos/Phonestra (Registrazione salvata in Video/Phonestra) appears.

• The video is an MP4 file in Videos/Phonestra, named after the app, the date and the time, for example Maps 2026-09-30 10.42.05.mp4.
• The video is saved exactly as it arrives from the phone, without re-encoding: it is small and does not slow down the PC.
• It includes audio too, which is the audio of the whole phone, not just of the app.
• During recording the app does not change shape: if you resize the window the image adapts, but the video keeps its initial size. Rotate (Ruota) does not work.
• If you close the window during a recording, the video is saved before the window closes.

12.1 · Why the screen turns off

As soon as it connects, Phonestra turns off the phone's screen. The phone stays on and unlocked: the apps keep running and responding to the PC's mouse.

• With the screen off you save battery and keep what you do from the PC private.
• Android allows apps to be shown on the PC only while the phone is unlocked: this is why Phonestra does not let it fall asleep. During the connection it sets the screen timeout to the maximum and at the end it restores it.
• Incoming notifications do not turn the screen back on: the phone only vibrates.
• The phone screen in the drawer keeps showing, live, what the phone would have on its screen.

12.2 · The phone in hand

When you pick the phone up again, the screen turns back on and stays on; when you put it down again, it turns off again.

12.3 · Locked phone

If the phone locks (for example with the power button, or with a double tap on the screen while it is off, a gesture on some brands), apps can no longer be shown: it is an Android security rule.

1. The drawer shows Phone locked (Telefono bloccato) with Unlock it to continue: I'll reconnect on my own. (Sbloccalo per continuare: mi ricollego da solo.); the app windows say Phone locked: unlock it to continue (Telefono bloccato: sbloccalo per continuare).
2. Unlock the phone with your PIN, fingerprint or face.
3. Phonestra reconnects on its own and the apps come back in their windows, where they were. The phone's screen stays on, because the phone is “in hand”; it turns off again at the first click from the PC.

12.4 · Incoming calls

Calls are made and received with the phone in hand (8.3 “Calls”).

• When the phone rings, Phonestra turns the screen back on: you answer from the phone as always.
• During the call the screen does not turn off on its own, even if the phone is not touched (you do not touch it while it is at your ear).
• After the call the screen stays on; it turns off again at the first click from the PC or after the phone's screen timeout.

13.1 · Adding another phone

Phonestra can remember several phones, but it uses one at a time. The phone in use is the “active” one; the others appear in the drawer's sidebar, under MY PHONES (I MIEI TELEFONI), marked not active (non attivo).

1. In the drawer, press Add phone (Aggiungi telefono), in the sidebar.
2. The Add a phone (Aggiungi un telefono) window opens: follow the steps as for the first phone (ch. 3 “Connecting the phone”).
3. At the end the drawer says “<name>” added: you'll find it in “My phones” («<nome>» aggiunto: lo trovi in «I miei telefoni»). The active phone does not change.

13.2 · Switching to another phone

1. In the sidebar, click the not active phone (the tooltip says Switch to “<name>”, Passa a «<nome>»).
2. If there are open apps, Phonestra asks for confirmation: Close N apps of “<active>” and switch to “<other>”? (Chiudere N app di «<attivo>» e passare a «<altro>»?) with Only one phone at a time: the app windows close. (Un solo telefono alla volta: le finestre delle app si chiudono). Press Switch (Passa).
3. Phonestra closes the windows, puts the previous phone back as it was and restarts connected to the other phone.

13.3 · Renaming a phone

1. Click the phone pill, at the top of the drawer, and choose Rename… (Rinomina…).
2. In the Rename the phone (Rinomina il telefono) window, type the new name and press Rename (Rinomina).

The name changes only in Phonestra: the phone's name in its own settings stays as it was. Until you rename it, Phonestra calls it Phone (Telefono), or Tablet, in the language of the interface; with several phones it adds the model, for example Phone · Galaxy S23+ (Telefono · Galaxy S23+). It does not use the name the phone gives itself, because that name is in the language of whoever wrote it. To go back to the default name, rename the phone with an empty name.

13.4 · Forgetting a phone

“Forgetting” a phone removes it from Phonestra. This is useful, for example, when you change phones or give one away.

1. Click the phone pill and choose Forget this phone… (Dimentica questo telefono…).
2. Read the Forget “<name>”? (Dimenticare «<nome>»?) window and press Forget (Dimentica).
3. Phonestra closes, putting the phone back as it was. If other phones remain, it restarts connected to the first one; otherwise, at the next start Add a phone (Aggiungi un telefono) opens.

To connect it again, just use Add phone.

14.1 · The “Preferences” page

The Preferences (Preferenze) page opens from the drawer's sidebar. Every change takes effect immediately (the language at the next start) and is saved automatically: there is no Save button.

14.2 · Where preferences are saved

The preferences are kept in the file preferenze.toml, in the folder ~/.config/Phonestra (15.4 “The folders on the PC”). There is no need to open it: the Preferences (Preferenze) page is enough.

To go back to the initial preferences, close Phonestra and delete preferenze.toml: at the next start every item goes back to its default value. The connected phone is not lost, because it is stored in another file.

15.1 · What changes on the phone

To work, Phonestra changes a few things on the phone, only while it is connected. When it closes it puts them back as they were, even if the connection drops suddenly.

• No app is installed on the phone, and nothing is left behind after closing.
• If Phonestra does not close properly (PC switched off abruptly, Wi-Fi lost), the phone puts itself back in order a few seconds later. If something stays changed, Phonestra restores it at the next connection: it remembers the previous values on the PC.
• After closing, the phone stays unlocked with the screen on: it turns off and locks by itself, after its screen timeout, as always.

15.2 · What stays switched on on the phone

Some things switched on for the first connection stay on even after Phonestra closes, so that next time there is nothing to do again.

15.3 · Privacy and security

• No internet. Phonestra only talks to the phone, on the home network. It does not send data to external servers, and has no advertising or usage statistics. The only exception is Ask Google ↗ (Chiedi a Google ↗) in Add a phone (Aggiungi un telefono), which opens the browser on a search, only if you press it.
• Encrypted connection. Everything between PC and phone travels encrypted, with the same protection as Android's Wireless debugging.
• Phonestra's key. The PC identifies itself to the phone with a secret key, in the file ~/.config/Phonestra/adbkey. Anyone who has that file can connect to the phone as Phonestra: do not copy or share it.
• Notifications. Phonestra reads the title and text of the phone's notifications to show them on the PC. It does not keep them: they only remain while Phonestra is open. With App name only (Solo il nome dell'app) the desktop alerts do not show sender and text.
• Clipboard. Passwords copied on the phone do not pass to the PC, and those copied on the PC from a password manager do not pass to the phone (7.4 “The clipboard”).
• PC screen. While Phonestra is open, anyone looking at the PC sees the phone's apps and notifications.
• Protected screens. Screens that apps protect (banking, passwords) never reach the PC.

15.4 · The folders on the PC

Phonestra does not write anywhere else: no menu icons, no services that start with the PC, no changes to the system. Deleting ~/.config/Phonestra brings Phonestra back to how it was at the first start.

15.5 · Removing Phonestra

1. Close Phonestra, so that the phone goes back to how it was.
2. Delete the file Phonestra-<versione>-x86_64.AppImage.
3. Delete the folders ~/.config/Phonestra and ~/.cache/Phonestra (in the file manager they are hidden folders: they appear with “Show Hidden Files” or Ctrl+H).
4. If you no longer need them, delete Pictures/Phonestra and Videos/Phonestra too.
5. On the phone: Wireless debugging › Paired devices, remove the PC; then turn off Wireless debugging and, if you like, Developer options (Opzioni sviluppatore).

After these steps nothing of Phonestra is left, neither on the PC nor on the phone.

16.1 · Common problems

16.2 · Phonestra's messages

16.3 · Phonestra's log

Phonestra writes a log of what it does: connections, drops, screen on and off, errors. It helps whoever is helping you understand a problem.

• If you start Phonestra from a terminal, the log lines appear in the terminal.
• If you start it with a double-click, they usually end up in the system log (the journal) and can be read with the command below.

$ journalctl --user --since today | grep -i phonestra

16.4 · Limitations to be aware of

• Only one phone active at a time (ch. 13 “Multiple phones”).
• The phone must stay on, unlocked and on the same Wi-Fi network as the PC.
• Calls, including those made from apps, are heard and made on the phone. Text messages are read and written with the messaging app, in a window, like the other apps.
• The PC's microphone and webcam do not reach the phone; the phone does not act as a webcam for the PC.
• Protected screens stay black; apps that forbid capturing their audio stay silent.
• Notifications hidden in Phonestra stay on the phone: Phonestra does not delete the phone's notifications.
• Developer options (Opzioni sviluppatore) and Wireless debugging (Debug wireless) can only be turned on by hand, on the phone: Android does not allow a program to do it.
• Only single .apk files can be installed.
• Phonestra is made for Linux on 64-bit Intel or AMD processors.

17.1 · Terms

Android

The phone's operating system. Phonestra works with Android 14 and later.

AppImage

A Linux program in a single file, which starts without being installed. Phonestra is distributed this way.

Clipboard

The copied text, ready to be pasted. Phonestra passes it between phone and PC (7.4 “The clipboard”).

Desktop pop-up

The desktop notification (pop-up alert) that Phonestra shows when a notification arrives on the phone.

Developer options

A hidden menu in Android's Settings; it is unlocked by tapping the build number 7 times.

Device pairing

The first meeting between phone and PC, with the 6-digit code: afterwards, the phone recognizes the PC on its own.

Drawer

Phonestra's main window, with the phone's apps, notifications and screen (ch. 4 “The drawer at a glance”).

In hand

The phone while you are using it with your hands: the screen stays on until you go back to the PC (12.2 “The phone in hand”).

Phone screen in the drawer

The live copy of the phone's main screen, on the right of the drawer, to be used with the mouse.

Pill

The rounded box at the top of the drawer with the phone's name and status.

Pinned apps

The favorite apps, chosen with a right-click and shown at the top of the Apps page.

Protected screen

A screen that an app does not allow to be shown outside the phone: in Phonestra it stays black, with a message.

Screen timeout

How long the phone waits without being touched before it turns the screen off and locks.

Toast

A short message that appears at the bottom of the window and disappears by itself.

Wi-Fi guest network

A separate Wi-Fi network for guests, offered by many routers: devices connected to it cannot see each other, and Phonestra does not find the phone.

Wireless debugging

A setting in Android's Developer options that lets a paired PC connect to the phone over Wi-Fi (in Phonestra's Italian interface: “Debug wireless”). Phonestra uses it for everything.