How to install RemoteAccessApp on Linux (.deb or .tar.gz)

• A 64-bit (x86-64) PC. ARM computers aren't supported by the Agent yet.
• A distribution from about 2018 or later (glibc 2.27 or newer), such as Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint or Fedora.
• A desktop running on X11 (Xorg) or Wayland. Both work. On Wayland the desktop asks once to approve screen sharing (see below).
• A free RemoteAccessApp account. You can create one on the website.

You don't need to change anything. The Agent sees which kind of desktop you're signed in to and works with either. If you're curious, open a terminal and run:

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

If it prints x11, there's nothing more to do. If it prints wayland (Ubuntu's default), the desktop asks once to approve screen sharing, the first time someone connects. It's covered in the steps below, and in how to access an Ubuntu desktop remotely.

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   Step 1: Download the package on the Linux PC

   On the Linux PC, open the download page. It offers the Linux files when you visit from Linux: the .deb for Ubuntu, Debian, Mint and other distributions that use apt, and the .tar.gz for any other 64-bit distribution. Every file is checked against the signed release before the website hands it to you.

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   Step 2: Install it

   Open a terminal in the folder you saved it to (usually Downloads). For the .deb, run the command the download page shows, which looks like this:

   sudo apt install ./remoteaccessapp_*_amd64.deb

   apt installs the libraries it needs, puts the Agent and the Console in /opt/remoteaccessapp and adds them to your app menu: RemoteAccessApp (the Console, to reach your other PCs), RemoteAccessApp Agent (this computer's settings) and Get help (one-time code). If an older RemoteAccessApp Agent or Console package is installed, this one replaces it and your settings stay. For the .tar.gz, extract it and run its install script:

   tar -xzf remoteaccessapp-*-linux-x64.tar.gz
   cd remoteaccessapp-*/
   ./install.sh

   That installs it just for you, in your home folder, with no sudo. Run ./install.sh --system instead to install it for everyone on the PC in /opt/remoteaccessapp.

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   Step 3: Open RemoteAccessApp Agent

   Find RemoteAccessApp Agent in your app menu and open it. Its window asks you to Connect this computer to your account.

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   Step 4: Enter a setup code, or sign in

   On your dashboard at remoteaccessapp.com, or in the RemoteAccessApp Console, choose Add a PC to get a 6-digit code. Type it under Setup code in the Agent. The code works once, for 10 minutes. Or switch to Sign in and use your email and password, with your two-step code if you have one. The password is only used to add the computer; it isn't stored there.

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   Step 5: Check it's online

   The window shows the computer is online and waiting for a console. It appears on your dashboard and in the Console's Devices page within seconds. Open it from there to check: the Linux PC asks Allow remote access? and you click Allow.

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   Step 6: On Wayland, approve screen sharing once

   On a Wayland desktop, the first session also shows the desktop's own Remote Desktop dialog. Turn on Allow Remote Interaction, keep Remember This Selection ticked and click Share. It's remembered, so you won't see it again, and unattended access works with nobody at the PC.

• It starts by itself. Once the computer is set up, the Agent adds itself to your desktop's startup programs. Start when I sign in in its window turns that off or on.
• The Agent's icon sits in the tray. On Ubuntu that's at the top right, through its AppIndicator support. KDE, Xfce and Cinnamon show it in their own tray. On a desktop without a tray, the Agent's window stays open instead (closing it minimizes it).
• Updates are signed. The Agent checks for new versions and installs only ones that match the signed release; an update brings the Console up to date too. A copy installed for just you updates itself when nobody is connected. A .deb install needs your administrator password to update: you can also install a newer .deb over it the same way as the first time, and your settings stay.
• Your settings stay private. The Agent keeps them in ~/.config/remoteaccessapp and ~/.local/share/remoteaccessapp, the Console in ~/.config/remoteaccessapp-console, readable only by your Linux user.

Next, decide whether you want to reach the PC when nobody's there: see unattended access on a Linux PC.

Open RemoteAccessApp from the app menu and sign in with the same account: that's the Console. Your PCs are listed on its Devices page, and you open one to see and control it, end-to-end encrypted, with chat, clipboard text and files. Your saved SSH, SFTP, VNC and Remote Desktop hosts are there too (Remote Desktop opens in FreeRDP: sudo apt install freerdp2-x11). It has nearly everything the Windows Console has: the terminal, file transfer, chat, teams, the management views, Help someone and the settings. See how to control a Windows PC from Linux for a first session, and RemoteAccessApp is now on Linux for what came with the Linux release.

For the .deb:

sudo apt remove remoteaccessapp

For the .tar.gz, run ./uninstall.sh from the folder you extracted (with --system if you installed it for everyone). Add --purge to delete your settings as well. Removing the package never deletes other users' settings. The computer stays listed in your account until you remove it on the dashboard, or with Remove this computer… in the Agent before you uninstall.

The Linux Agent help article covers the common problems: screen sharing on Wayland, a computer that can't reach RemoteAccessApp, a firewall in the way, and a missing tray icon.

RemoteAccessApp for Linux is free, and a Linux PC counts as one of the 5 PCs on the free plan. File transfer and clipboard sync are free with an account; sound and every monitor are part of Pro, on Linux as on Windows. The overview of free remote desktop for Linux PCs lists what each plan includes.