Copy big folders between two PCs on your network

You want to move a big folder, for example a game, from one PC to another. Both PCs are on the same Wi-Fi or office network. Share Files does this with live progress, automatic retry and resume, and no commands to type.

Open it from the main menu with 8, or click the Share tab.

There are two sides:

• The PC that shares the folder.
• The PC that receives the copy.

On the PC that shares: Share a folder

1. Open Devpit and choose Share Files, then Share a folder.
2. Pick the folder to share.
3. If the PC has more than one network connection, pick the one the other PC is on.
4. If that network is set to Public, Devpit asks if it may switch it to Private. Windows blocks file sharing on a Public network. Devpit puts it back when you stop sharing.
5. Approve the Windows admin prompt. Devpit asks once.
6. Devpit sets up the firewall rule, a temporary login, and a read-only share of the folder. You see each step.
7. A card shows what the other PC needs:
   • the address (IP),
   • the share name,
   • the user name,
   • the password,
   • two commands for a PC without Devpit: a net use command that signs in, and a robocopy command that copies. The copy goes into a new folder, named after the share, in the folder that terminal is in. A long command wraps on the card instead of being cut, so you can read all of it.

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The card has these keys:

Key	What it does
c	Copy the net use line
r	Copy the robocopy line
p	Copy the password
s or Esc	Stop sharing (asks first)

8. Leave Devpit open while the other PC copies. Devpit keeps this PC awake, because a PC that sleeps stops sharing.
9. When you are done, stop sharing. Devpit removes what it set up: the shared folder, the temporary login, the firewall rule it turned on, and the network change.

Devpit also does this when you quit it with Ctrl+C.

If Devpit or the PC stopped while sharing

A crash or a power cut can leave the share behind. The next time you open Share Files, it offers Clean up an old share. You can also run this in a terminal:

devpit share cleanup

Windows asks for permission once. If nothing is left, it says “Nothing to clean up.” The temporary login also expires by itself after 48 hours.

On the PC that receives: Copy from a shared folder

1. Open Devpit and choose Share Files, then Copy from a shared folder.
2. Type the IP address of the other PC. It is on the sharing PC’s card.
3. Pick a shared folder from the list. If the other PC wants a sign-in before it lists its folders, Devpit asks first.
4. Sign in with the user name and password from the card.
5. Choose where to save the files.
6. Devpit measures the folder first. Nothing is copied yet. A big folder can take a minute.
7. You see the exact size, the number of files and the free space on the destination. Devpit warns you before it starts if:
   • there is not enough free space,
   • the destination is FAT32 and a file is bigger than 4 GB,
   • there is nothing new to copy,
   • some paths will be longer than 260 characters (this one only warns).
8. Press Enter to start.

Devpit does not save the password. It is used once to sign in.

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While it copies you see:

• a progress bar and how much is done, for example 47 GB of 80 GB,
• the speed and the time left,
• how many files are done, and how long it has run,
• the files finished most recently,
• a notice when the network hiccups and Devpit tries a file again.

Devpit runs robocopy for you, with up to 16 files at once.

If the copy stops: Resume

If the other PC stops answering, Devpit waits and tries again with a growing pause. When the PC answers, it carries on by itself. This works as long as Devpit stays open.

You can also stop it yourself with Esc. Closing Devpit in the middle also leaves the copy to resume. To resume a copy made without Devpit, see resume an interrupted file copy.

1. Open Devpit and choose Share Files.
2. Choose Resume the copy from the other PC. It shows how much is already copied.
3. Press Enter to resume, or d to throw the saved copy away.
4. If Windows has forgotten the sign-in, Devpit asks for the password again. The user name is already filled in.

Finished files are skipped, and half-copied files carry on.

When it ends

You see one of two things:

• a clear Done message with the size and time, or
• a list of the files that failed, with the reason and what to do. Press r to try them again.

If the same files keep failing for three rounds in a row and nothing new is copied, Devpit stops and shows that list.

Good to know

• The network sets the speed limit. Time is the folder size divided by your real speed. Devpit shows the real speed while it copies. The math, and what slows a copy down, is in move 100 GB between PCs.
• For the fastest, steadiest link, connect the two PCs with a cable. See connect two PCs with an Ethernet cable.
• It works in any Windows language.
• It works whether or not the other PC has Devpit.
• Both PCs must be on the same network. Sending over the internet is not part of this feature. For phones, Macs or other ways to move files, see transfer files between two PCs over Wi-Fi and LocalSend vs Quick Share vs Syncthing.

Safety

• The share is read-only. The other PC cannot change or delete your files.
• The sharing PC uses a temporary login named like devpit-x7k2, created for this share only. It can only read the shared folder. Its password is new every time and is never your own.
• The login expires after 48 hours even if nothing removes it.
• Devpit turns on only the firewall rule FPS-SMB-In-TCP, and only if it was off. When you stop, it turns off only what it turned on. If Windows names that rule differently, Devpit turns on the File and Printer Sharing group instead.
• Stop sharing removes the share, the login, the firewall rule and the network change. Quitting Devpit does the same.
• Share only the folder you mean to. Anyone on your network who has the password can read it while it is shared.
• Devpit does not turn on SMB encryption for the share. Unless your Windows is set to require it, the files cross the network unencrypted. Use it on a network you trust. See SMB vs FTP vs HTTP for what SMB protects and what it does not.
• Devpit refuses to share Windows folders, Program Files, the shared program data folder, or the whole system drive.