Synergy config

This is my setup for the open source core component of Synergy, a keyboard and mouse sharing tool.

Clone the repo and submodules into ~/code/

cd ~/code/
git clone --recursive https://github.com/lu0/synergy-core

Usage

Add synergy to path

cd ~/code/synergy-core
sudo ln -srf build/bin/synergy* /usr/bin/

Run Synergy GUI on both laptops, so you can see Client's and Server's name.

synergy

Modify ~/code/synergy-core/synergy.conf to your needs. Then link it to your Home folder.

ln -srf synergy.conf ~/.synergy.conf

Run synergy as Server on your primary PC (the one with the keyboard you're going to use).

synergy-core --server -f -a <address> -c ~/.synergy.conf

Run synergy as a Client on the other PC.

synergy-core --client -f <server-address>

Autostart (SDDM display manager)

Run Synergy as client at startup (if using SDDM)

sudo sh -c 'echo "" >> /usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup' 
sudo sh -c 'echo "/usr/bin/synergy-core --client <serverIP>" >> /usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup' 

Disable internal monitor

Paste this in /usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup of your 2nd computer, this will force SDDM to be displayed on the external monitor. Use this if you always keep the lid of your 2nd computer closed, just like I do.

xrandr --output eDP-1 --off

Or paste this if you want SDDM on both screens but the HDMI one has the wrong resolution (my 2nd computer is HD, but my monitor is FHD).

xrandr --output HDMI-1 --mode 1920x1080

Automatic Shutdown-WakeUp Schedule

Modify schedule-on-off.sh to your needs.

sudo ln -srf schedule-on-off.sh /usr/bin/

Paste this in /usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup

/usr/bin/schedule-on-off.sh

Prevent the computer from sleeping automatically when SDDM is active.

sudo sh -c "echo 'HandleLidSwitch=ignore' >> /etc/systemd/logind.conf"

Building

Rebuild Synergy if you need to or if the Synergy submodule has new commits. The binaries are symlinked, you don't need to repeat the previous step.

rm -rf build-previous/
mv build/ build-previous/
mkdir build && cd build/
cmake ../source-code-git/
make

If the build is unsuccessful, you may need the following libraries:

sudo apt install -y \
  qtcreator \
  qtbase5-dev \
  qttools5-dev-tools \
  qttools5-dev \
  cmake \
  make \
  g++ \
  xorg-dev \
  libssl-dev \
  libx11-dev \
  libsodium-dev \
  libgl1-mesa-glx \
  libegl1-mesa \
  libcurl4-openssl-dev \
  libavahi-compat-libdnssd-dev \
  qtdeclarative5-dev \
  libqt5svg5-dev \
  libsystemd-dev \
  libnotify-dev \
  libgdk-pixbuf2.0-dev \
  libglib2.0-dev

Disclaimer

I'm not the maintainer of Synergy, nor am I affiliated with Symless in any way. Bugs or issues related to Synergy should be reported directly on the official issues page.