Guide
How to run commands on a Linux PC without a remote session
Most checks on a Linux PC are one command: how full the disk is, whether a service is running, what the last log lines say. Opening the whole desktop for that is slow, and the person at the PC wonders why you're looking at their screen.
From the RemoteAccessApp Console on Windows or Linux you can run a bash command on a Linux PC, or open a terminal on it, without a session. Nobody's screen is shared. The Linux PC still decides: unless unattended access lets you in, the person there sees the exact command and chooses whether it runs.
- No screen shared
- The exact command, shown first
- bash, as the signed-in user
Updated · Windows or Linux Console, Linux desktops on X11 or Wayland
Run a command
Step 1: Pick the Linux PC
In the RemoteAccessApp Console on Windows or Linux, open the Devices page and right-click the Linux PC. Select several first to run the same command on all of them.
Step 2: Choose Run a command
Choose Run a command… and type or paste the command. It runs in bash; it can be several lines.
Step 3: Click Run
It runs as the person signed in to the Linux desktop, with their rights. A PC that has to ask first shows as waiting until the person there answers.
Step 4: Read the result
Each PC shows its output and the command's exit code. Stop ends a command that's still running.
A few that work well this way:
df -h free -h uptime systemctl --user --failed journalctl --user -n 30 --no-pager cat /etc/os-release
For an interactive shell instead, choose Open terminal. It opens bash on the Linux PC in a window on your side, also without a session, with full-screen programs like top and nano working as usual.
When it runs, and when the PC asks
The Linux PC decides exactly as it would if you opened a session from the same console. It runs straight away when unattended access is on and lets your console in: your console is on the PC's trusted list, or it's signed in to the account that owns the PC.
Otherwise the person at the PC sees Allow this command?, with who is asking and the whole command exactly as it will run. It runs only if they click Allow. If nobody answers in 45 seconds, nothing runs. If the PC has a connection password, it's asked for first.
It won't run at all when…
What the person at the PC sees
They never see your screen, and you never see theirs. While a command or terminal is running, the banner shows on their screen, and turning off Allow remote control stops it at once.
Good to know
- Commands run as the signed-in desktop user. The Agent never runs anything as root by itself; in the interactive terminal, sudo asks for the password as it would at the PC.
- bash is the shell on Linux PCs. PowerShell and VBScript are offered for Windows PCs only.
- Management (saved scripts on many PCs, on a schedule) isn't available on Linux PCs yet. Run a command handles one-off jobs on one PC or several.
- In a session, the same bash terminal opens in a panel under the screen. See controlling a Linux PC from Windows.
What it costs
Run a command and Open terminal are on the free plan, for up to 5 PCs. The commands come from the Console on Windows or Linux; the website doesn't run commands on PCs. The same works for Windows PCs: see running a command without a remote session.
Questions, answered
More on RemoteAccessApp for Linux
- Remote desktop for LinuxRemoteAccessApp for Linux: the Agent and the Console in one package. See and control your Linux desktops, on X11 or Wayland, free for up to 5 PCs.Learn more
- Install on LinuxInstall the Agent and the Console with the .deb on Ubuntu, Debian and Mint or the .tar.gz elsewhere, add the PC, and approve screen sharing once on Wayland.Read the guide
- Remote access to UbuntuInstall RemoteAccessApp on Ubuntu, approve screen sharing once at the PC, and open the desktop from a browser or the Console.Read the guide
- Control Linux from WindowsYour Linux PCs on the Console's Devices page next to your Windows PCs: screen and control, a bash terminal, processes, services and the journal.Read the guide
- Unattended access on LinuxTurn on unattended access at the Linux PC, trust your console once, approve screen sharing once on Wayland and start the Agent at sign-in.Read the guide
- Help someone on LinuxThe person on Linux reads you the 8-digit code on their Home screen and clicks Allow; you connect from the app or a browser.Read the guide
- Transfer files with a Linux PCDrop files on a session to put them in Downloads, or browse the Linux PC's home folder and filesystem from the Console, with resume.Read the guide
- Unlock a locked Linux PCA locked Linux screen is no dead end: type the user's password in the session and the system unlocks it, on Wayland and X11.Read the guide
- Approve screen sharing on WaylandThe one-time Remote Desktop dialog on Ubuntu and other Wayland desktops: what to pick, how to do it ahead of time, and what to do if it asks again.Read the guide
- Control Windows from LinuxInstall RemoteAccessApp on your Linux PC, sign in to the Console and open your Windows PCs: screen, keyboard, terminal, tools and files.Read the guide
- RemoteAccessApp on LinuxRemoteAccessApp for Linux is here, Agent and Console: X11 and Wayland desktops, the same Allow prompt and banner, a bash terminal, files and sound.Read the post
- X11 vs Wayland for remote desktopWhat X11 and Wayland change for screen sharing and remote control, and how the Agent works on both: on Wayland, approve once and it's remembered.Read the post
- Windows and Linux PCs in one appA mixed home or office in one account: the same Devices list, sessions, terminal, tools and consent rules for Windows and Linux PCs.Read the post
- When the Linux screen locksWhy a locked Linux screen so often ends a remote session, and how RemoteAccessApp keeps the PC awake and lets you unlock it, on Wayland and X11.Read the post
Related
- Run a command without a sessionRun one command or VBScript on your PCs without a live session: straight away under unattended access, otherwise after the person there allows it.Read the guide
- Remote console accessRemote console access to PCs, servers and devices: PowerShell, bash, SSH and serial consoles from anywhere, in the app or a browser.Read the guide
- SSH to a Linux serverConnect to a Linux server from Windows or another Linux machine, check its key, and copy files.Read the guide
