# Magic Wormhole

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/magic-wormhole/

17 people recommended Magic Wormhole in Hacker News comments, 3 had mixed feelings and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 14 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free open-source tool for sending files between computers with a typed code, valued for running on many platforms and in browsers. Critics report it fails in some cases and is slower than LocalSend.

Summary written by Claude from 21 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 20 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Free and open source on many platforms (3 comments in the sample): "you can get magic wormhole clients for platforms that your SO uses through the usual distribution channels" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49750486)) "They are available on many platforms with FOSS licenses with very limited centralization." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47847531)) "the free and MIT licensed version" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49604485))
- Runs in web browsers (2 comments in the sample): "Wormhole can be run in the browser easily." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45995488)) "Just needs a WebRTC capable browser." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45996234))
- Long-deployed and proven in use (2 comments in the sample): "It works and has been deployed for a long time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47934338)) "I've just been using magic-wormhole for this." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46637297))
- Simple typed code between computers (1 comment in the sample): "The nice part of wormhole is that I can type the token phrase into another computer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084201))

## What people warn about

- Unreliable and fails in some cases (3 comments in the sample): "craps out semi-regularly for me, and its a pita to script" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46085013)) "croc has worked in places where MW has not" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48884255)) "Magic-Wormhole fails in all test cases." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47934532))

## Other file transfer apps people recommend

- [LocalSend](https://hackerapproved.com/p/localsend/): 65 recommend, 14 mixed, 23 criticize
- [Kermit](https://hackerapproved.com/p/c-kermit/): 13 recommend, 1 mixed, 4 criticize
- [croc](https://hackerapproved.com/p/croc/): 12 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize
- [OpenSSH scp](https://hackerapproved.com/p/scp/): 10 recommend, 1 mixed, 9 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Magic Wormhole", https://hackerapproved.com/p/magic-wormhole/ (17 recommend, 3 mixed, 5 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.