What is mate-user-share?

mate-user-share is a tool that makes it easy to share files with other computers on your local network. It lets you share a folder from your computer so that nearby people can access it without needing any complex setup or cloud services. When you turn on file sharing, it starts a small web server that exposes a specific folder in your home directory called "Public." It then broadcasts the availability of that shared folder to other computers on your local network. This means someone else in your home or office can open their network browser, see your computer listed, and access the files you've placed in that folder. This tool is designed for people using the MATE desktop environment on Linux who want a simple way to share documents, photos, or other files with others on the same network. For example, you could use it to share a presentation with colleagues in a meeting room or give your family access to a folder of vacation photos. It runs quietly in the background while you are logged in, so you don't have to actively manage it. The project relies on a few existing software tools to work. It uses the Apache web server to handle the file sharing and a service called Avahi to announce the shared folder to other computers. These need to be installed on your system for it to function.