About BoxView Helper
The optional Mac app that adds sound, microphone, camera, Window Jump and remote support to BoxView.
BoxView works with nothing extra on your Mac: it uses the Screen Sharing that comes with macOS. BoxView Helper is a small, free menu bar app you can add for things Screen Sharing doesn't carry.
What it adds
On your own Mac, used from BoxView:
| Feature | What you get |
|---|---|
| Mac sound | The Mac's sound plays on your iPhone or iPad, at its own volume. The Mac can stay muted. |
| BoxView Microphone | Your phone's microphone appears on the Mac as an input called BoxView Microphone. |
| BoxView Camera | Your phone's front camera appears on the Mac as a camera called BoxView Camera. |
| Window Jump and previews | Window titles, minimised windows and windows on other Spaces in BoxView's window list, and previews in the Quick switcher. |
| Clicks | A ring in BoxView where someone clicks at the Mac, and a ring on the Mac where you click. |
On a Mac someone helps you with, it's the app that accepts invites and rings when they call.
Which Macs it runs on
BoxView Helper runs on macOS 11 Big Sur or later, on Intel and Apple silicon Macs. Some features need a newer macOS:
| Feature | Needs |
|---|---|
| Remote support, pairing, Window Jump, clicks, BoxView Microphone | macOS 11 |
| BoxView Camera | macOS 12.3 |
| Window previews | macOS 14 |
| Mac sound | macOS 14.4 |
On an older macOS, the menu says what's missing, for example Mac sound needs macOS 14.4 or later, and BoxView shows Needs macOS 14.4 on the Sound tile.
How BoxView talks to it
BoxView finds BoxView Helper each time a session connects, and shows the helper's controls in the session controls under Mac sound & devices. Without the helper, nothing changes.
BoxView Helper uses its own connection on TCP port 47900, separate from Screen Sharing. Sessions that use a Secure Connection (SSH) reach it through the same SSH login. Each paired phone has its own key, and everything on the connection is encrypted with it.
The port only opens once you've paired a phone with the code shown on the Mac. A Mac that's only helped through invites never listens on the network.