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Henroun's avatar
Henroun
Copper Contributor
Aug 17, 2026

How can I share or mirror iPad screen to Macbook Pro M5?

I want to display my iPad screen on my MacBook in real time — not just transfer files or use sidecar for extending the display, but actually see a live mirror of what's on my iPad on the MacBook scre...
device management
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Banahan1's avatar
Banahan1
Tin Contributor
Aug 17, 2026

ios-screen-mirror is a completely free tool that can share iPad screen to Mac. This tool works by capturing the iOS device screen in JPEG format and transferring it over TCP, which is a more technical and "challenging" method.

This method is designed for users comfortable with the command line and requires setting up two separate Go projects to work. If you are learning how to share iPad screen to Mac with this tool, here are the key steps:

  1. Install Dependencies: On your Mac, use Homebrew to install the necessary libraries, including libusb, pkg- config, ff mpeg, and GStreamer plugins.
  2. Set Up the Video Stream: You first need to clone and run another project called ios-video-stream from GitHub (git clone https//github.com/nanoscopic/ios_video_stream.git), build it with Go (go build), and run it with ./ios-video-stream -stream. This component starts the video capture from your iPad.
  3. Run the Mirror Tool: Clone the ios-screen-mirror project, build it with Go (go build), and run it with ./ios-screen-mirror -pull.
  4. View the Stream: Open your browser and go to http//localhost:8000. Click the "open" button to view the mirrored screen from your iPad.

 

Given the complexity and age of ios-screen-mirror, a far simpler and more robust alternative is to use Apple's built-in features for a similar task. If your goal is to mirror your iPad screen to your Mac, the AirPlay or Sidecar features, which are built into macOS, are far more reliable and require no setup at all.

You can connect your iPad to your Mac via the AirPlay menu in the menu bar or use Sid ecar to use your iPad as a second display if you are wondering how to share iPad screen to Mac. For an even more seamless experience, features like Un iversal Control let you use one keyboard and mouse across both devices.