snapdrop/README.md

# Snapdrop

[Snapdrop](https://snapdrop.net) is inspired by Apple's Airdrop, but is a Progressive Web App built with Polymer and Web RTC.

#### Snapdrop is built with the following awesome technologies:
* [Polymer](https://www.polymer-project.org)
  * [Polymer Starter Kit](https://developers.google.com/web/tools/polymer-starter-kit/)
  * [Polymer Elements](https://elements.polymer-project.org/browse)
* [WebRTC](http://webrtc.org/)
  * [PeerJS](http://peerjs.com)
* [WebSockets](http://www.websocket.org/) fallback (iDevices don't support WebRTC)
  * [BinaryJs](http://binaryjs.com/)
* [NodeJS](https://nodejs.org/en/)
* [Material Design](http://www.google.com/design/spec/material-design/introduction.html)

### Frequently Asked Questions

### Instructions
* [Video Instructions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XN02GkcHUM) (Big thanks to [TheiTeckHq](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_DUzWMb8gZZnAbISQjmAfQ))
* [idownloadblog](http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/12/29/snapdrop/)
* [thenextweb](http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/12/27/snapdrop-is-a-handy-web-based-replacement-for-apples-fiddly-airdrop-file-transfer-tool/)
* [winboard](http://www.winboard.org/artikel-ratgeber/6253-dateien-vom-desktop-pc-mit-anderen-plattformen-teilen-mit-snapdrop.html)
* [免費資源網路社群](https://free.com.tw/snapdrop/?utm_content=buffere6987&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer)

##### What about the connection? Is it a P2P-connection directly from device to device or is there any third-party-server?
It uses a P2P connection if WebRTC is supported by the browser. (WebRTC needs a Signaling Server, but it is only used to establish a connection and is not involved in the file transfer).

If WebRTC isn’t supported (Safari, IE) it uses a Web Sockets fallback for the file transfer. The server connects the clients with a stream.  


##### What about privacy? Will files be saved on third-party-servers?
None of your files are ever saved on any server. 
Snapdrop doesn't even use cookies or a database. If you are curious have a look [at the Server](https://github.com/capira12/snapdrop/blob/master/server/ws-server.js)
But it does use Google Analytics. 

##### Is SnapDrop a fork of ShareDrop?
No. ShareDrop is built with ember. Snapdrop is built with Polymer. 
I wanted to play around with Progressive Web Apps and then I got the idea to clone Apple’s Airdrop. By doing research on this idea I found and analysed ShareDrop. I liked it and thought about how to improve it.
ShareDrop uses WebRTC only and isn't compatible with Safari Browsers. Snapdrop uses a Websocket fallback and some hacks to make Snapdrop work due to the download restrictions on iDevices. 


### Snapdrop is awesome! How can I support it? 
* File Bugs, Give Feedback, Suggestions
* Share Snapdrop on your social media.
* [Buy me a cup of coffee](https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=R9C5E42UYEQCN)
* Fix bugs and do a Pull Request. This is my first open source project, so I am not very used to the common workflow, but we'll figure it out!
* Do Security Analysis and suggestions


## Run the project on your device
* Install npm, bower, gulp and the dependencies as described [here](https://github.com/PolymerElements/polymer-starter-kit#install-dependencies)
    * `npm install & bower install`
* run `gulp serve`
* In a second shell run `node index.js`