Appkin

appkin.devhotseat

In developmentWindows · Ubuntu · macOS beta

Hotseat

One desk, several computers, one key.

Hotseat moves your keyboard, mouse, headset and monitor between two or three computers with one key.

Hotseat is in development and not released yet. It works today on Windows 11 and Ubuntu 26.04; the macOS version is in beta.

What it does

A closer look

Real screens of Hotseat, with sample computers.

  • The Hotseat window: three computers, Studio PC, MacBook Pro and ubuntu-box. Green cables run from the headset, monitor, keyboard and mouse to MacBook Pro. Below: the F11 key, next ubuntu-box, and the Home button.

    The desk

    Your computers on top, your devices below, and a cable from each device to the computer it is on. Click a computer to switch.

  • The Hotseat window. Title: You're on Studio PC, sound from ubuntu-box. A purple cable runs from the headset to ubuntu-box; blue cables run from the monitor, keyboard and mouse to Studio PC, each marked pinned.

    Sound on its own

    The headset plays another computer while the monitor, keyboard and mouse stay pinned where they are.

  • The Hotseat window with the Files card open. Holiday 2024 and 2 more, to MacBook Pro, 1.4 GB of 3.2 GB; render.mov from MacBook Pro, 12 GB copied there, with a button Fetch and paste; notes.txt to ubuntu-box, waiting for it to be online.

    Files

    Files go to another computer from the Hotseat window, each with its progress.

  • Hotseat settings, Shortcuts: Next is F11, Home is Ctrl+Alt+Win+H, Stop is Ctrl+Alt+Win+Esc, each with a Change button.

    Shortcuts

    Three shortcuts: the next computer, home, and Stop, which brings everything back at once.

  • Hotseat settings, Monitor inputs: Studio PC on DisplayPort, MacBook Pro on HDMI, ubuntu-box not on the monitor.

    Monitor inputs

    Say which input each computer is plugged into, and the monitor goes with the keyboard.

  • Hotseat settings, Screens side by side. A plan of two screens: MacBook Pro, smaller, touching the left edge of Studio PC. Below it the buttons Left, Right, Above, Below and Take out, a choice for the shared monitor, and ubuntu-box listed as not on the desk.

    Screens side by side

    Show Hotseat where each screen stands. The pointer crosses only where screens touch.

About Hotseat

Hotseat is for a desk with more than one computer on it: a work laptop beside your own PC, a Mac next to a Linux box, two towers sharing one monitor.

Press one key and the keyboard, mouse, headset and monitor move to the next computer together. Press again for the one after that.

There is no account and no cloud: the computers are linked over your local network.

Status
In development
Runs on
Windows, Ubuntu, macOS beta
This page
appkin.dev/hotseat
The app
hotseat.appkin.devOpens when the app is released.
Help
hello@appkin.dev
Published by
Appkin