[opensourcedex]

RustDesk is a free, open source remote desktop & access project written in Rust and released under AGPL-3.0. It has 123,854 GitHub stars, 19,128 forks and 147 open issues, and was last pushed 15 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #1 of 1 tracked projects in Remote Desktop & Access, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 590 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

RustDesk — Self-hosted remote desktop you fully control

What is RustDesk?

What it is

RustDesk is an open-source remote desktop application written in Rust, designed for self-hosting as a privacy-focused alternative to proprietary solutions like TeamViewer. It enables remote control of machines across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS platforms using a peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture by default, with optional relay and rendezvous servers for NAT traversal. The project lives in the remote access and productivity ecosystem, targeting users who require full control over their infrastructure and data.

The concrete problem it solves is the dependency on commercial remote desktop services that often involve third-party servers, data collection, and licensing costs. RustDesk eliminates these concerns by allowing users to deploy their own server components or rely on its built-in discovery mechanisms, while still supporting direct connections where possible.

Key capabilities

  • Peer-to-peer remote desktop control with optional relay via public or self-hosted servers
  • Cross-platform support: native clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS
  • Built-in rendezvous/relay infrastructure with the option to run custom servers
  • Support for RDP protocol via integration or proxy
  • Flatpak and F-Droid distribution for Linux and Android respectively
  • Multi-language UI with translations in over 20 languages
  • Direct binary downloads, GitHub releases, and nightly builds available

Who uses it and how

  • Individuals and small teams self-hosting a personal remote access solution without recurring fees
  • Privacy-conscious organizations deploying internal remote support with full auditability
  • Developers and sysadmins using the CLI and server components to integrate remote access into automation workflows
  • Users on Linux distributions preferring Flatpak or F-Droid for sandboxed, auditable deployments

Getting started

Install via binary download from GitHub Releases, use cargo run for local builds, or deploy the official Docker image rustdesk/rustdesk-server. Hosted options include the public rendezvous/relay servers or self-hosted server binaries and Docker images.

When to use it — and when not to

Use RustDesk when you need full control over remote access infrastructure, want to avoid third-party data handling, or require open-source compliance. It is not ideal for enterprises needing enterprise-grade support SLAs or integrated features like file sync, multi-factor authentication, or centralized user management out of the box. Self-hosting requires managing a RustDesk server (database, storage, SMTP for email notifications if used), and P2P connectivity may fail behind strict NATs without relay configuration.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline


Build • Docker • Structure • Screenshots
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We need your help to translate this README, RustDesk UI and RustDesk Doc to your native language

[!Caution] Misuse Disclaimer:
The developers of RustDesk do not condone or support any unethical or illegal use of this software. Misuse, such as unauthorized access, control or invasion of privacy, is strictly against our guidelines. The authors are not responsible for any misuse of the application.

Chat with us: Discord | Twitter | Reddit | YouTube

RustDesk Server Pro

Yet another remote desktop solution, written in Rust. Works out of the box with no configuration required. You have full control of your data, with no concerns about security. You can use our rendezvous/relay server, set up your own, or write your own rendezvous/relay server.

image

RustDesk welcomes contribution from everyone. See CONTRIBUTING.md for help getting started.

FAQ

BINARY DOWNLOAD

NIGHTLY BUILD

Get it on F-Droid Get it on Flathub

Dependencies

Desktop versions use Flutter or Sciter (deprecated) for GUI. This tutorial is for Sciter only, since it is easier and more friendly to start. Check out our CI for building the Flutter version.

Please download Sciter dynamic library yourself.

Windows | Linux | macOS

Raw Steps to build

  • Prepare your Rust development env and C++ build env

  • Install vcpkg, and set VCPKG_ROOT env variable correctly

    • Windows: vcpkg install libvpx:x64-windows-static libyuv:x64-windows-static opus:x64-windows-static aom:x64-windows-static
    • Linux/macOS: vcpkg install libvpx libyuv opus aom

  • run cargo run

Build

How to Build on Linux

Ubuntu 18 (Debian 10)

sudo apt install -y zip g++ gcc git curl wget nasm yasm libgtk-3-dev clang libxcb-randr0-dev libxdo-dev \
        libxfixes-dev libxcb-shape0-dev libxcb-xfixes0-dev libasound2-dev libpulse-dev cmake make \
        libclang-dev ninja-build libgstreamer1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev

openSUSE Tumbleweed

sudo zypper install gcc-c++ git curl wget nasm yasm gcc gtk3-devel clang libxcb-devel libXfixes-devel cmake alsa-lib-devel gstreamer-devel gstreamer-plugins-base-devel xdotool-devel

Fedora 28 (CentOS 8)

sudo yum -y install gcc-c++ git curl wget nasm yasm gcc gtk3-devel clang libxcb-devel libxdo-devel libXfixes-devel pulseaudio-libs-devel cmake alsa-lib-devel gstreamer1-devel gstreamer1-plugins-base-devel

Arch (Manjaro)

sudo pacman -Syu --needed unzip git cmake gcc curl wget yasm nasm zip make pkg-config clang gtk3 xdotool libxcb libxfixes alsa-lib pipewire

Install vcpkg

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg
cd vcpkg
git checkout 2023.04.15
cd ..
vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh
export VCPKG_ROOT=$HOME/vcpkg
vcpkg/vcpkg install libvpx libyuv opus aom

Fix libvpx (For Fedora)

cd vcpkg/buildtrees/libvpx/src
cd *
./configure
sed -i 's/CFLAGS+=-I/CFLAGS+=-fPIC -I/g' Makefile
sed -i 's/CXXFLAGS+=-I/CXXFLAGS+=-fPIC -I/g' Makefile
make
cp libvpx.a $HOME/vcpkg/installed/x64-linux/lib/
cd

Build

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk
cd rustdesk
mkdir -p target/debug
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/c-smile/sciter-sdk/master/bin.lnx/x64/libsciter-gtk.so
mv libsciter-gtk.so target/debug
VCPKG_ROOT=$HOME/vcpkg cargo run

How to build with Docker

Begin by cloning the repository and building the Docker container:

git clone https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk
cd rustdesk
git submodule update --init --recursive
docker build -t "rustdesk-builder" .

Then, each time you need to build the application, run the following command:

docker run --rm -it -v $PWD:/home/user/rustdesk -v rustdesk-git-cache:/home/user/.cargo/git -v rustdesk-registry-cache:/home/user/.cargo/registry -e PUID="$(id -u)" -e PGID="$(id -g)" rustdesk-builder

Note that the first build may take longer before dependencies are cached, subsequent builds will be faster. Additionally, if you need to specify different arguments to the build command, you may do so at the end of the command in the `` position. For instance, if you wanted to build an optimized release version, you would run the command above followed by --release. The resulting executable will be available in the target folder on your system, and can be run with:

target/debug/rustdesk

Or, if you're running a release executable:

target/release/rustdesk

Please ensure that you run these commands from the root of the RustDesk repository, or the application may not find the required resources. Also note that other cargo subcommands such as install or run are not currently supported via this method as they would install or run the program inside the container instead of the host.

File Structure

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is RustDesk free to use?

RustDesk is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does RustDesk do?

Self-hosted remote desktop you fully control

What is RustDesk written in?

RustDesk is primarily written in Rust. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk, and it has 123,854 GitHub stars.