Mac iPad direct connections I’d like my iPad to talk to my MacBook Pro directly (not via cloud or router) sometimes, such as:


in a location where the “free WiFi” blocks https
when I suspect eavesdropping even though https isn’t blocked.
when I am on a Greyhound bus that falsely advertises WiFi. or an airport that falsely advertises “free.”
out and about with no router at all.


I know it can be done with a cat-5 cable.  I think it can be done through the sync cable, though I don’t know how.  But it would be nice to do it WiFi or Bluetooth.  (Bluetooth may be too slow?).  Shell via ssh, web server, VNC/X11/other display mirror, MySQL, etc.

Tutorial somewhere on MacOS/IOS communication without router between?  Wireless preferred.  Preferably simple, but I’m retired from software engineering and haven’t yet forgotten everything (though the skill is definitely fading).
Create a computer-to-computer network

If you want to set up a temporary Wi-Fi connection between your Mac and another device, you can create your own network using the Wi-Fi menu.


Click the Wi-Fi status icon  in the menu bar and choose Create Network.
Enter a name and choose a channel for your network.
Click Create.


When you create a computer-to-computer network, the Wi-Fi menu icon changes to show a computer . When you’re done, click the Wi-Fi menu again and choose Disconnect to close the network you created.

Show Wi-Fi status in the menu bar

Use the Wi-Fi status icon  in the menu bar to switch between Wi-Fi networks, turn Wi-Fi on or off, or open Network preferences.


If the Wi-Fi status icon isn’t in the menu bar, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Network.
Click Wi-Fi in the list at the left.

If Wi-Fi isn’t in the list, click the Add button  at the bottom of the list. Click the Interface pop-up menu, choose Wi-Fi, give the Wi-Fi service a name, then click Create.
Select “Show Wi-Fi status in menu bar.”


Four signal bars appear in the Wi-Fi status icon in the menu bar. The more black bars you see, the higher the signal quality.

References

macOS Sierra: Create a computer-to-computer network

macOS Sierra: Show Wi-Fi status in the menu bar