How to Use RustDesk with Self-hosted Server¶

Link¶

What is RustDesk¶

RustDesk is a free and open-source remote desktop software. It is cross-platform and supports Windows, MacOS, and Linux. It is very easy to use and has a very friendly user interface. The most outstanding feature of RustDesk is that it supports self-hosted server. You can build your own server and use it to connect to your remote machine. This is very useful for those who want to control their remote machine but don't want to use public server.

Client Installation and Use¶

The focus of this article is how to build your own server and use it to connect to your remote machine. Check the github link for client downloading and the official guide for installation and use.

Before We Start¶

I assume you have a cloud server running Linux. If you don't have one, you can follow the this article.

References and Resources¶

Start of Our Journey¶

We start from Here!

Connect to Your Server via SSH¶

In my case I use MobaXterm to connect to my server via SSH. You can use any SSH client you like, for example, Termius, PuTTY, etc.

Make a Directory for RustDesk¶

For my case, I made a directory called RUSTDESK-Sever in root directory /. To do that, run the following command:

cd /

then

sudo mkdir RUSTDESK-Server

and then go to the directory:

cd RUSTDESK-Server

Download RustDesk Server¶

Go to the 🌐 RustDesk Server Release Page and pick the corresponding version for your server. For my case, I picked rustdesk-server-linux-amd64.zip and downloaded it to my server.

Right click on the downloaded file and copy the link address. Then run the following command to download it to your server:

wget <link for the downloaded file>

In my case, I ran the following command:

wget https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk-server/releases/download/1.1.9/rustdesk-server-linux-amd64fb.zip

sudo apt-get install unzip

Then run the following command to unzip the file:

unzip rustdesk-server-linux-amd64.zip

After unzipping the file, you will see a folder called amd64. For convenience, lets rename it to RustDesk:

mv amd64 RustDesk

cd RustDesk

Try to Run RustDesk Server with Screen¶

What is Screen¶

Screen is a terminal multiplexer. It allows you to run multiple terminal sessions inside one terminal window. It is very useful when you want to run a program in the background and don't want to keep the terminal window open. You can just detach the screen and close the terminal window. The program will keep running in the background. You can also reattach the screen and check the program's output.

Install Screen¶

sudo apt-get install screen

Check the Contents of the Folder with 'tree'¶

First, we need to install tree:

sudo apt-get install tree

Then run the following command to check the contents of the folder:

sudo tree

You will see the following output:

RustDesk
├── hbbr
├── hbbs
└── rustdesk-utils

Run Screen and RustDesk Server¶

Now, we can use two Screens to run RustDesk hbbr and hbbs. First, run the following command to create a new Screen:

screen -R hbbr

Then run the following command to start RustDesk hbbr:

./hbbr

Then you will see some printouts on the screen if this step is successful. Then press Ctrl + A + D to detach the screen. Then run the following command to create a new Screen:

screen -R hbbs

Then run the following command to start RustDesk hbbs:

./hbbs

Then you will see some printouts on the screen if this step is successful. Then press Ctrl + A + D to detach the screen. Then run the following command to check the running screens:

screen -ls

You will see something like:

There are screens on:
        12345.hbbs      (Detached)
        12345.hbbr      (Detached)
2 Sockets in /run/screen/S-root.

Copy the Public Key for Client Configuration¶

Now we can check the contents with tree again:

sudo tree

You will see the following output:

.
├── RustDesk
│   ├── db_v2.sqlite3
│   ├── db_v2.sqlite3-shm
│   ├── db_v2.sqlite3-wal
│   ├── hbbr
│   ├── hbbs
│   ├── id_ed25519
│   ├── id_ed25519.pub
│   └── rustdesk-utils
└── rustdesk-server-linux-amd64.zip

The key is in id_ed25519.pub. Run the following command to print the key:

cat id_ed25519.pub

or the command below:

more id_ed25519.pub

Copy the key and save it somewhere. We will use it later.

Firewall Configuration¶

In your cloud server backend, you need to open the following ports: - 21115 for TCP - 21116 for TCP & UDP - 21117 for TCP - 21118 for TCP - 21119 for TCP

If necessary, you also need to open the above ports in your OS firewall. (try first without this step)

Clients Configuration and Connection¶

Ingredients for client configuration: - Server IP address - Public key

I assume you have installed RustDesk client on your local machine. If you haven't, please check the official guide for installation and use.

Open RustDesk client and find the ID of your computer in the column on the lefthand side. Then click the three dots button and then select the Network tab.

• For ID Server, input the IP address of your server. This is for hbbs.
• For Relay Server, also input the IP address of your server. This is for hbbr.
• For API Server, you can keep it blank.
• For Key, input the public key you copied from your server.

The above procedures are same for both the PC to control and the PC to be controlled.

On the PC to start the connection, input the ID of the PC to be controlled and click Connect. Then you will see a window pop up. Input the password of the PC to be controlled and click OK. Then you will see the desktop of the PC to be controlled.

So far, we have successfully connected to the PC to be controlled. But we still need to do some configuration to make this process more elegant.

Run RustDesk Server as a Service¶

The reason why we need to do this step is that we don't want to run RustDesk Server manually every time we restart our server. We want it to run automatically when the server starts.

There are two ways to do this: 1. Use pm2 2. Use systemd

Use pm2¶

This is the way recommended by the official guide. But I did not try this myself. Here are the steps you can follow:

First, you need to install nodejs and npm:

sudo apt-get install nodejs

Then install pm2:

sudo npm install pm2 -g

Then run the following command to start RustDesk Server:

# cd to the directory where you put RustDesk Server
pm2 start hbbr
pm2 start hbbs

Then run the following command to make pm2 run as a service:

pm2 startup

Use systemd¶

This is the way I tried myself. We need to create two service files for hbbr and hbbs respectively.

For hbbs

First, create a file called RustDeskHbbs.service in /usr/lib/systemd/system/:

sudo vim /usr/lib/systemd/system/RustDeskHbbs.service

Then copy the following content to the file:

[Unit]
Description=RustDesk Hbbs
After=network.target

[Service]
User=<your user name>
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>
ExecStart=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>/hbbs
ExecStop=/bin/kill -TERM $MAINPID

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

For hbbr

First, create a file called RustDeskHbbr.service in /usr/lib/systemd/system/:

sudo vim /usr/lib/systemd/system/RustDeskHbbr.service

Then copy the following content to the file:

[Unit]
Description=RustDesk Hbbr
After=network.target

[Service]
User=<your user name>
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>
ExecStart=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>/hbbr
ExecStop=/bin/kill -TERM $MAINPID

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then run the following command to start RustDesk Server:

sudo systemctl start RustDeskHbbs
sudo systemctl start RustDeskHbbr

or reload the systemd configuration:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable Force Encryption¶

You can modify the service file to enable force encryption.

For hbbs reopen the service file:

sudo vim /usr/lib/systemd/system/RustDeskHbbs.service

Then modify the ExecStart line to:

[Unit]
Description=RustDesk Hbbs
After=network.target

[Service]
User=<your user name>
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>
ExecStart=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>/hbbs -k _
ExecStop=/bin/kill -TERM $MAINPID

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

For hbbr reopen the service file:

sudo vim /usr/lib/systemd/system/RustDeskHbbr.service

Then modify the ExecStart line to:

[Unit]
Description=RustDesk Hbbr
After=network.target

[Service]
User=<your user name>
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>
ExecStart=<directory where you put RustDesk Server>/hbbr -k _
ExecStop=/bin/kill -TERM $MAINPID

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Additional Client Configuration¶

Sometimes, you need to grant access to Rustdesk to enable some functions. On Mac, you may need to enable accessibility for Rustdesk in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Privacy -> Accessibility. On windows, you may need to install a full version of Rustdesk to enable some functions. In both cases, there will be a reminder at the left part of the Rustdesk GUI.

The End.