Guide

How to transfer files to and from a Linux PC remotely

Getting a file onto a Linux PC you're helping, or a log file off it, shouldn't mean emailing it to yourself or setting up a file share. In a RemoteAccessApp session you can send files to the Linux PC, browse its folders and copy files back, with the person there in the loop.

This guide covers dropping files on a session, the file browser, the clipboard, and where everything ends up on the Linux side.

  • Drop files on the session
  • Browse home and /
  • Resumes if the connection drops

Updated · Works on 64-bit Linux desktops, X11 or Wayland

Send files to the Linux PC

  1. Step 1: Open a session to the Linux PC

    Connect from the RemoteAccessApp Console on Windows or Linux, or from the website. The person at the PC clicks Allow, unless unattended access lets you in. Files are only reachable during a session they allowed, with Allow remote control on.

  2. Step 2: Drop the files on the screen

    Drag files from your own computer onto the remote screen. In the website you can also choose Send files from the session's menu, and in the Console, Send files in the session toolbar.

  3. Step 3: Find them in Downloads

    They're saved in ~/Downloads/RemoteDesk, in the home folder of the person signed in to the Linux desktop.

It works the other way round too. If you use Linux yourself and control a Windows PC from Linux, drop files from your Linux file manager onto that session to send them to Windows.

Browse the Linux PC's folders

In the Console, choose Browse files in the session toolbar, or open the File transfer page. The Linux PC shows two starting points: your home folder and the filesystem root (/).

  • Download files from the Linux PC to yours, or Upload them into the folder you choose.
  • Big files resume. If the connection drops, the transfer carries on where it stopped instead of starting over.
  • Make folders and delete files as you would locally.
  • It's the desktop user's access. You can read and write wherever the person signed in may, and nowhere else. The Agent never uses root.

Only need to check a file's size or read the last lines of a log? You can run Linux commands without a remote session instead, and the person at the PC sees the exact command first unless unattended access lets you in. Between your own Windows PCs, the guide to sending large files between your PCs has tips for big folders.

Copy and paste

Clipboard sync copies text and pictures both ways between your computer and the Linux PC, while Clipboard sharing is on in the Agent's window there. Copying files through the clipboard isn't available on Linux yet; drop them on the session or use the file browser instead.

Working from a phone's browser? The Clipboard and files sheet does the same job there, and files you send from the phone land in ~/Downloads/RemoteDesk on a Linux PC. See copy, paste and send files from your phone.

Files in the chat

On every plan, you can attach pictures and files to a chat message. On the Linux PC they're shown in the chat and saved in ~/Downloads/RemoteDesk too. It's the easy way to send one file on the free plan.

When files aren't allowed

  • In a help session with a one-time code, files can't be copied either way.
  • With remote control turned off at the PC, its files can't be reached.
  • Through a team, you need the Files permission for that PC.
  • Without an account (a connection made with only a code), files can't be sent or browsed; the chat still takes files.

The help article on sending files covers error messages and the File transfer page in more detail. If you still need to contact support from a Windows PC, the article on finding troubleshooting logs shows which Console log to attach.

What it costs

File transfer and clipboard sync are free with an account, on Linux PCs as on Windows PCs. Pro adds more PCs, sound and every monitor.

Questions, answered

More on RemoteAccessApp for Linux

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