Guide · 2 min read
For the Mac mini's whole screen, turn on Screen Sharing, which comes with macOS. To use one of its apps as a window of its own on your MacBook, install Wormhole on both Macs, pair them once with a six-digit code, and pick the window.
The app runs on the Mac mini or Mac Studio, where the memory, the storage and the licences are. You sit at the MacBook. There are two ways to bring the app over: the other Mac's whole screen, or just the app's window.
Can I see the Mac mini's whole screen on my MacBook?
Yes, with Screen Sharing, which comes with macOS. On the Mac mini, open System Settings, then General, then Sharing, click the Info button next to Screen Sharing and turn it on. If Remote Management is on, turn it off first: Apple says the two cannot be on at the same time. Then connect from the MacBook, from the Finder sidebar or by the mini's hostname.
You get the mini's desktop inside one window, with every app on it. That is the right tool when you want to work on the other Mac.
Can I use just one app from the Mac mini, as a window here?
Yes. Wormhole opens a single window from the other Mac on your MacBook as a window of its own, with its own Dock icon and its own place in ⌘Tab. You can click, scroll and type into it, and resizing your copy resizes the real one. The other three ways to do this, and what each needs, are in four ways to use another Mac's apps.
How do I set it up?
The setup guide has the same steps with pictures. In short:
- Install it on both Macs. Drag the app into Applications on the Mac mini (or Studio) and on the MacBook. It is the same app on both: there is no separate host version. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
- Choose what each Mac does. The first time it opens, the app asks how the Mac is used. On the Mac mini, choose Share its windows. On the MacBook, choose View windows here.
- Allow what each Mac asks for. The MacBook asks only for Local Network. The Mac mini also asks for Screen Recording, to capture the windows you choose, and Accessibility, to pass your clicks and keystrokes to them. Without Accessibility, a shared window is view-only.
- Pair once. On the MacBook, choose Pair with and the Mac mini. Both screens show the same six digits; confirm on both. A Mac you have not paired cannot list or open anything.
- Open a window. Press ⌃⌥⌘Space, or choose Open a window… from the menu bar, search, and pick the app's window. It opens on the MacBook as an app of its own.
To keep the mini sharing after a restart, turn on Open at login in Settings › General on the mini.
Does it work when the Mac mini is on another network?
Yes, if the MacBook can reach it by address, over Tailscale for example. In the pairing window, type the Mac mini's IP address or hostname under Add by address, then pair as usual. The mini lists its own addresses, Tailscale's included, in its menu bar panel. It listens on TCP port 47473, so a firewall between the two must allow that port.
Is the connection private?
The two Macs connect directly, with no server in between, and every frame is end-to-end encrypted. Password managers, hidden windows and windows without a title are filtered out on the Mac mini before the list of windows leaves it. More answers are in the FAQ.