magic-wormhole
Securely transfer data between computers
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Magic Wormhole is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and solves a real problem—secure, code-based file transfer with minimal setup. The MIT license is permissive. Install it if you need to move files between machines without pre-arrangement or if you want to add encrypted transfer to a Python application. The only caveat is that it depends on external relay infrastructure (mailbox and transit servers) that you do not control; verify those services remain available for your use case.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or higher; depends on system-level networking and cryptographic libraries that twisted and pynacl may require compilation for on some platforms.
- Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel.
- Active maintenance as of 2026-07-26 with 22816 repository stars.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — Released under the MIT license (permissive), allowing use in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-05-05 (101 days) · last repo commit 2026-07-26 · 22,816 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 684,088 downloads/mo, #5,359 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install magic-wormhole
from wormhole import create
wormhole_code = create() # generates a code to share
# or use the CLI: wormhole send <file>- Whether the mailbox server and transit relay infrastructure remain publicly available and maintained
- Performance characteristics when transferring very large files or directories
- Whether pywin32 dependency affects non-Windows installation or is conditionally installed
What it is and what it does
Magic Wormhole is a tool for securely moving files, directories, or short text between two computers without requiring prior setup, shared infrastructure, or manual configuration. The sender generates a short, human-pronounceable code (like a passphrase) that the receiver types into their machine; the two endpoints then establish an encrypted connection and transfer the data. The codes are single-use, do not need memorization, and support tab-completion to minimize typing.
The package works as both a command-line utility and a Python library, making it suitable for ad-hoc transfers as well as programmatic integration. It relies on end-to-end encryption (via pynacl and cryptography), a relay server for initial connection brokering, and the Twisted networking framework for asynchronous I/O. The tool is designed for simplicity and security: no accounts, no passwords, no pre-shared keys—just a code.
Use it for
- Send a file or folder to a colleague without setting up cloud storage or email
- Programmatically transfer data between two Python applications on different machines
- Securely share sensitive files with end-to-end encryption and no persistent server storage
- Quickly move a directory tree across a network without SSH or rsync setup
- Integrate encrypted peer-to-peer file transfer into a Python application
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Magic Wormhole is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and solves a real problem—secure, code-based file transfer with minimal setup. The MIT license is permissive. Install it if you need to move files between machines without pre-arrangement or if you want to add encrypted transfer to a Python application. The only caveat is that it depends on external relay infrastructure (mailbox and transit servers) that you do not control; verify those services remain available for your use case.
Install
magic-wormhole on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Active maintenance as of 2026-07-26 with 22816 repository stars. Requires Python 3.10 or higher and depends on 15 runtime packages including cryptographic libraries (pynacl, cryptography) and networking stacks (twisted, autobahn).
Requires Python 3.10 or higher; depends on system-level networking and cryptographic libraries that twisted and pynacl may require compilation for on some platforms.
License in practice
Released under the MIT license (permissive), allowing use in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install magic-wormhole
from wormhole import create
wormhole_code = create() # generates a code to share
# or use the CLI: wormhole send <file>Verify before relying
- Whether the mailbox server and transit relay infrastructure remain publicly available and maintained
- Performance characteristics when transferring very large files or directories
- Whether pywin32 dependency affects non-Windows installation or is conditionally installed
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 15 packagesspake2pynaclattrstwistedautobahnautomatcryptographytqdmclickhumanizetxtorconzipstream-ngiterable-ioqrcodepywin32 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 101 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 684,088 / month, #5,359 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: ConsoleProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonTopic :: Security :: CryptographyTopic :: System :: NetworkingTopic :: System :: Systems AdministrationTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: magic_wormhole-0.24.0-py3-none-any.whl
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