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
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.
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.
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
- 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
- Linux terminal without a sessionRun a command or open a bash terminal on a Linux PC from the Devices page: straight away under unattended access, otherwise after an Allow.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
