RustDesk: Self-Hosted Remote Desktop
RustDesk is a remote desktop tool built to be self-hosted: run your own ID and relay servers and remote sessions never touch third-party infrastructure.
Why self-host RustDesk
TeamViewer and AnyDesk work well and route your sessions through vendor infrastructure, with licensing that flags heavy personal use as commercial. RustDesk gives you the same experience with the coordination servers under your control: the ID server handles peer discovery and the relay forwards traffic when a direct connection cannot be established. Sessions are end-to-end encrypted, and with self-hosting there is no vendor in the path at all.
What it does
RustDesk falls into the Remote Access category of self-hosted software. It provides remote control with file transfer, clipboard sync, multi-monitor support, and unattended access via a permanent password. Clients exist for Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and the web, and the Linux client supports both X11 and Wayland. Address books, two-factor authentication, and access controls are available for managing a fleet of machines.
Community traction
The project has well over 100k stars on GitHub, ranking it among the most starred open-source projects overall, and it has become the default recommendation whenever someone asks for a self-hosted TeamViewer replacement.
Deployment
The server side is two small binaries, hbbs and hbbr, packaged as Docker containers. They need a public IP and a handful of open ports; clients are then pointed at your server with a key. The open-source server is fully functional, with an optional paid Pro server adding web console and management features.
Alternatives
Apache Guacamole is browser-based and clientless, better suited to gateway access into a network. MeshCentral covers remote monitoring and management alongside remote control.
License
RustDesk is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0.
Links
RustDesk is the practical answer for supporting family machines without a commercial licence hanging over you.