🌳 Open Access Kit
Menu

OnionShare

OnionShare lets you share files, receive files, host a website, and chat — all anonymously over the Tor network. There is no central server: your computer becomes a temporary onion service that only the people you invite can reach.

OnionShare is bundled on this removable media in the software/onionshare/ folder (M and L tier distributions only).

Install OnionShare

Open software/onionshare/ on this removable media and install the file for your operating system:

File Operating System
OnionShare-win64-*.msi Windows
OnionShare-*.dmg macOS
OnionShare-*.flatpak Linux

Windows: Run the .msi installer and follow the prompts. Administrator access is required.

macOS: Open the .dmg, drag OnionShare to your Applications folder, and launch it. macOS may ask you to approve the app from an unidentified developer — go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.

Linux (Flatpak): Install with:

flatpak install --user OnionShare-*.flatpak

If Flatpak is not installed, your distribution's package manager can add it: sudo apt install flatpak (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install flatpak (Fedora).

Verify the Installation (Optional)

Every file in software/onionshare/ is accompanied by a .asc signature file. You can verify the download against the OnionShare signing keys bundled in keys/onionshare-signing.gpg:

gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring /path/to/keys/onionshare-signing.gpg \
    --verify OnionShare-*.msi.asc OnionShare-*.msi

A good result shows Good signature from "Micah Lee", "Saptak Sengupta", or "Miguel Jacq". See Verifying Signatures for a full walkthrough.

Send Files

Use Send mode to share files with someone. OnionShare creates a temporary onion address; anyone with that address can download your files through Tor Browser.

  1. Launch OnionShare and select Share Files.
  2. Drag files or folders into the window and click Start sharing.
  3. Copy the .onion address shown and send it to your recipient through a secure channel (Signal, an encrypted email, etc.).
  4. Keep OnionShare open until the recipient confirms they have downloaded everything. Closing it ends the transfer.

By default, OnionShare stops sharing after the first download. Uncheck Stop sharing after files have been sent if multiple people need to download.

Receive Files

Use Receive mode to let someone upload files to you without revealing your IP address to them.

  1. Select Receive Files in OnionShare.
  2. Click Start Receive Mode.
  3. Share the .onion address with the person sending you files.
  4. Received files appear in your Downloads folder. You will see a notification when a transfer completes.

Host a Website

Use Host a Website mode to serve static HTML files as an anonymous onion site.

  1. Select Host a Website.
  2. Add your HTML files (and any images, CSS, etc.).
  3. Click Start sharing.
  4. The .onion address is your website — share it with anyone who should be able to visit it through Tor Browser.

This is useful for publishing documents or resources when you need to protect both your identity and the identity of your readers.

Anonymous Chat

Use Chat mode for a temporary, encrypted group chat room that requires no account.

  1. Select Chat in OnionShare.
  2. Click Start chat server.
  3. Share the .onion address with participants — they open it in Tor Browser.
  4. Messages are end-to-end encrypted and leave no server logs. When you close OnionShare, the chat room ceases to exist.

Security Tips

More Information