Linux and iPhone Continuity (iMessage / SMS)
Details
- External ID
- 49370499
- Source
- HN
- Company
- —
- Product
- Linux and iPhone Continuity (iMessage / SMS)
- Website domain
- github.com
- Launched
- Aug. 20, 2026
- Cohort
- —
- Upvotes
- 10
- Upvotes percentile
- 0.5772849462365591
- Tags
- —
- Fetched at
- Sept. 10, 2026, 5:32 a.m.
- Updated at
- Sept. 10, 2026, 5:32 a.m.
Description
After switching to 100% Linux a couple of years ago there was basically only one thing I missed about macOS and that was what Apple calls "Continuity". It's where you get texts, notifications, clipboard sync, file transfer (to/from) the iPhone from the Mac desktop. Especially that thing where OTP codes via text autofilled into the browser form I was waiting on.It took about 4 months of work:- reverse-engineering Apple/iOS Bluetooth behavior- MAP / OBEX- Bluetooth LE + Wi-Fi working together- iMessage through the iPhone's own cellular/iMessage stack- iOS app, Linux daemon, GTK app, Thunderbird/Firefox extension- no Mac involvedBut it is now something I'd love to show people. Contributions/bugs/feedback welcome!
Enrichment
- Theme
- cross-device control and OS utilities
- Vertical
- Horizontal
- Function
- Communication
- Audience
- B2C
- AI stance
- Not AI
- Project type
- Hobby / open-source project
- Normalized one-liner
- imessage sms on linux
- Manually corrected
- False
Could you build this?
No Recreating Apple Continuity on Linux requires reverse-engineering proprietary Apple protocols (APNs, ApplePushService, Bluetooth LE proximity beacons, and iMessage encryption) or interacting with native Apple device daemons.
What it would actually take: This requires implementing reverse-engineered Apple ecosystem protocols such as Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL), Bluetooth Low Energy continuity handshakes, and either tapping into jailbroken iOS daemons or emulating macOS push services/SRP authentication to intercept APNs and iMessage databases. The system needs custom low-level Linux daemon services, D-Bus integration, and cryptographically secure pairing protocols, demanding reverse-engineering and security engineering skills.
Discussion
2 comments analyzed.
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one — 186 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #86 of 187 (itself plus its competitors, highest first — normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 295 days after the earliest competitor.
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- Macky · ph · 2026-09-24 · 3 upvotes · similarity 0.46
- iWinBridge · ph · 2026-09-06 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.46
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- Maccess · ph · 2026-08-22 · 198 upvotes · similarity 0.43
- Remote Terminal · ph · 2026-09-14 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.43
- Praxos Update: iMessage and SMS Actions · hn · 2025-10-29 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.43
Other launches for this product
- No other launches for this product.