How to Share Your Clipboard Between Two Windows PCs

Two PCs on one desk, one keyboard and mouse, and a copy on the left machine that needs to land on the right one. Reaching for a USB stick or emailing yourself the text is the slow way. Three approaches solve it properly: a software KVM that shares input and clipboard over the local network, a clipboard manager with network sync, or a cloud sync service. This guide covers the first two. Cloud sync's tradeoffs are in Clipboard History Across Devices: What Microsoft Syncs.

First: what "sharing the clipboard" actually moves

A shared clipboard moves whatever you copy: text, images, HTML, file references. The limits that matter: very large copies may not transfer, files have size caps, and rich formats sometimes degrade to plain text on the receiving end. Also, everything you copy is now visible on the network path between the machines. On a trusted home or office LAN that is fine. On café Wi-Fi, think twice.

Option 1: Mouse Without Borders (the Microsoft answer)

Mouse Without Borders is a Microsoft Garage project that now ships inside PowerToys. It lets one keyboard and mouse control up to four computers, and the clipboard follows the cursor: copy on PC A, move the mouse to PC B, paste. It also transfers files through the clipboard. Press coverage notes a file size limit around 100 MB; Microsoft's Learn page does not document the exact cap, so treat large transfers as best-effort.

Setup, from Microsoft's documentation:

1. Install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or GitHub on both machines. Both must be on the same network.
2. On the first computer, open PowerToys Settings, select Mouse Without Borders, enable it, and click New Key to generate a security key.
3. On the second computer, enable Mouse Without Borders, enter the first computer's name and the security key, and click Connect.
4. Move the mouse past the screen edge to cross between machines. Drag the device icons in settings to match your physical layout.

Once connected, clipboard sharing is on. Copy text on one machine, paste on the other. No accounts, no cloud, no subscription. The traffic stays on your local network.

Two notes from the Learn page. Running Mouse Without Borders as a service (PowerToys in admin mode, Use Service toggle) lets it control elevated applications and the lock screen on the other machine, but Microsoft warns this adds security risk if someone uses it as an attack vector. And it is Windows-only: for a Windows-plus-Mac or Windows-plus-Linux desk, see Deskflow below.

Option 2: Deskflow (cross-platform, open source)

Deskflow is the actively maintained open-source software KVM: one keyboard and mouse across Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD, with clipboard sharing. It is the project to reach for when the desk is not Windows-only.

Status matters in this category, because several names you will find in old guides are dead. Barrier, the original popular fork, is unmaintained. Input Leap, the fork by Barrier's active maintainers, was archived in July 2026. A comparison reviewed in August 2026 lists Barrier as "legacy installations only" and Deskflow as the active cross-platform pick. If a tutorial tells you to install Barrier, check its date.

Option 3: Ditto network sync

Ditto can communicate with other computers over a network to keep clipboards in sync. This is sync without shared input: each PC keeps its own keyboard and mouse, but copies propagate. It suits a desktop plus a laptop where you do not want cursor-crossing, just shared history. Ditto's sync is a peer feature of a local-first app, not a cloud account. The Ditto basics are in Edge-Drop vs Ditto: Hover Shelf or Tray History?: Hover Shelf or Tray History.

What about Remote Desktop?

Remote Desktop already shares the clipboard between host and guest by default; when it breaks, that is a bug, not a missing feature. The fixes are in Remote Desktop Copy-Paste Not Working and Citrix and VDI Clipboard Redirection. The tools above are for two physical machines side by side, not a remote session.

When the connection will not establish

Mouse Without Borders needs both PCs on the same network and reachable. If Connect fails, check in order: both PCs on the same Wi-Fi network (not one on wired and one on a guest network), Windows Firewall allowing PowerToys through (the first launch usually prompts), and the computer name typed exactly (find it in Settings > System > About). VPNs on either machine commonly break discovery; disconnect the VPN, connect, and re-test.

If the clipboard shares but files do not, the file is probably over the size limit. Compress it or use a proper transfer tool; the clipboard is not a file mover.

Method comparison

For two Windows PCs on one desk, Mouse Without Borders wins on simplicity. For mixed-OS desks, Deskflow. For sync without shared input, Ditto. For a laptop you carry between home and office, cloud sync or a portable manager on a USB stick (Portable Clipboard Managers: Clipboard History From a USB Stick).

Security checklist

• Prefer LAN tools (Mouse Without Borders, Deskflow, Ditto sync) over cloud clipboard services when both PCs are on the same trusted network. Less infrastructure, fewer copies of your data.
• Remember that a shared clipboard shares everything: passwords, tokens, private messages. If you copy a secret on PC A, it is now pasteable on PC B. Clear it after use: How to Pause Clipboard Capture When You're Copying Secrets.
• On untrusted networks, skip clipboard sharing entirely or use the encrypted options. Some tools encrypt by default; verify rather than assume.

Related reading

• Clipboard History Across Devices: What Microsoft Syncs
• Remote Desktop Copy-Paste Not Working
• How to Share Clips Between Home and Office PCs
• How to Pause Clipboard Capture When You're Copying Secrets
• Edge-Drop vs Ditto: Hover Shelf or Tray History?
• Automatically Sync Text I Copy: Should You Turn It On?

Sources

• Microsoft Learn: Mouse Without Borders (up to four computers, clipboard sharing, file transfer, setup, service mode): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/mouse-without-borders
• XDA Developers: Mouse Without Borders in PowerToys (shared clipboard, file transfer): https://www.xda-developers.com/mouse-without-borders-powertoys-feels-magic/
• MakeUseOf: Mouse Without Borders and Peek in PowerToys (setup steps, clipboard and file sharing): https://www.makeuseof.com/mouse-without-borders-peek-powertoys/
• ShareClick synergy-alternatives comparison, reviewed August 22, 2026 (Deskflow active, Barrier unmaintained, Input Leap archived July 2026): https://github.com/phun333/shareclick/blob/HEAD/site/synergy-alternatives.md
• Portable Freeware Collection: Ditto entry (network sync between computers): https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1361

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