No Man's Sky lets you roam a vast, seemingly endless galaxy with your friends across any platform with cross-play. You can locate them quickly with the cross-read feature through two different methods. The most direct way is to find them in the multiplayer area aboard the Space Anomaly. You need to board one and enter the general social hub to locate your friends walking around. You should be able to see their names above their character's head when you approach them, and you can also tell what platform they're using by an icon next to their name. When you stand in front of them, hold the indicated button to party together.
The second way to find friends directly is to share your No Man's Sky code with them or receive theirs. You can find this code in the friends list menu, in the Network Options tab, at the bottom of the screen. If you choose to see your code, you will need to send it to your friends outside of the game, for example via text or Discord message.
They can then add you to their friends list to send you an invite. You can enter your friend's code on the same screen to add them to your friends list and hover over their name on your list to send them a group invite. It may take a little time to sync with them, but when you connect, you can freely explore the No Man's Sky galaxy together.
