Skip to content
RemoteAccessApp
Get Pro

Linux desktops (X11 and Wayland)

Free remote desktop for Linux PCs

RemoteAccessApp for Linux includes the Agent (so this PC can be reached) and the Console (to reach your other PCs). See and control your Linux PCs from a web browser or from the RemoteAccessApp Console on a Windows or Linux PC, and reach your other PCs from Linux. The guide to controlling a Windows PC from Linux covers that direction.

It's free for up to 5 PCs, works behind any home or office router, and asks the person at the screen before anyone gets in.

Download freeCreate a free account
  • Free for 5 PCs
  • Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Fedora
  • X11 and Wayland

Remote desktop for the Linux PCs you look after

Plenty of homes and offices have a Linux PC or two next to the Windows ones: a family laptop that got a second life with Ubuntu, a developer's workstation, a Mint PC for a parent who only needs a browser. Until now, RemoteAccessApp could reach those over SSH but not show you their desktop. The Linux Agent changes that, as our post RemoteAccessApp is now on Linux explains. Install it, set the computer up with a 6-digit code, and it sits in your account next to your Windows PCs.

There's a .deb package for Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint and other distributions that use apt, and a .tar.gz with an install script for everything else, which can install just for you without sudo. Both are for 64-bit (x86-64) PCs. The install guide walks through each, and the help article RemoteAccessApp on Linux also covers approving screen sharing on Wayland, fixing connection problems and uninstalling.

The person at the Linux PC stays in charge, exactly as with our free remote desktop software for Windows. Unless they've turned on unattended access, the computer asks Allow remote access? and shares nothing until they click Allow (the question also pops up as a desktop notification with Allow and Don't allow). While anyone is connected, a banner stays on their screen with an End button, and they can turn remote control off to make the session view-only. On GNOME, the screen-sharing icon in the top bar shows too, and Stop sharing there ends the session.

X11 and Wayland both work

On X11 (Xorg) desktops it works straight away. On Wayland, such as Ubuntu's default GNOME session, the desktop asks once at the PC: in its Remote Desktop dialog, turn on Allow Remote Interaction, keep Remember This Selection ticked and click Share. After that it's remembered, and unattended access works with nobody there. A Wayland desktop without screen sharing can't be shared (the Agent says so); choose an Xorg session at the login screen there. Read X11 and Wayland explained.

What you can do in a session

  • See and control the desktop

    The Linux PC's screen, mouse and keyboard, live, with the quality and speed controls you know from Windows PCs.

  • Chat with the person there

    Chat both ways during a session, with pictures and files from your side shown in the chat.

  • A bash terminal

    Open a terminal on the PC from the Windows app, or run one command without opening a session.
    Terminal without a session

  • Processes, services, journal

    The Console's tools show processes, systemd services, sign-in sessions and the systemd journal.

  • No session timers

    Stay connected as long as you need. The PC stays awake while you're there, and if the network drops, the Agent reconnects on its own.
  • Pro

    Files and clipboard

    Drop files on the session, browse the PC's folders, and copy text and pictures both ways.
  • Pro

    Sound

    Hear the Linux PC's sound during a session, from PulseAudio or PipeWire.
  • Pro

    Every monitor

    Free shows the PC's main screen. Switch between monitors, or see them all, with Pro.

Works through routers, with no port forwarding

The Linux PC and your browser or Console both connect out to RemoteAccessApp, which joins them. Nothing on your network has to accept connections from the internet.

Both connections are outgoing, so they pass through home and office routers.

Everything goes through RemoteAccessApp's servers, encrypted. There's no SSH port or VNC port to open, and no desktop-sharing service to expose to the internet. From the RemoteAccessApp Console, the session is encrypted end to end between the Console and the Linux PC, and the relay in the middle only forwards data it can't read. In a web browser it's encrypted too, but not end to end. Read more in remote desktop without port forwarding.

How it works

  1. Step 1: Install RemoteAccessApp on the Linux PC

    Download the .deb or .tar.gz from the download page on that PC and install it: one package with the Agent and the Console. Open RemoteAccessApp Agent from the app menu.

  2. Step 2: Set it up

    Type the 6-digit setup code from Add a PC on your dashboard, or sign in with your account. It starts by itself each time you sign in.

  3. Step 3: Connect

    Open the PC from the website in any browser, or from the Console on a Windows or Linux PC. Someone there clicks Allow, or it connects straight away under unattended access.

Free, with the same plans as on Windows

A Linux PC is one of your PCs, and the free plan covers up to 5 of them, Windows and Linux together, with 3 open at once. It's for personal and work use, with no card and no time limit. If your home or office has both, see how to look after Windows and Linux PCs from one app.

Pro adds unlimited PCs, as many open at once as you like, sound and every monitor, on Linux PCs as on Windows PCs. File transfer and clipboard sync are free with an account. Everything in the free plan stays free. Compare Free and Pro. The guide to transferring files to and from a Linux PC shows how to drop files on a session or browse the PC's folders from the Console.

Included free on Linux

  • Live screen and control, from a browser or the Console
  • The Console for Linux, to reach your other PCs
  • Unattended access for your own Linux PCs
  • One-time help codes for people you help
  • Chat, a bash terminal and commands without a session
  • Processes, systemd services and the journal
  • Allow prompt, session banner with End, and signed updates

More on Linux

  • From any browser

    A Mac, a Chromebook, a phone or any other computer: sign in to the website and open your Linux PC. No app needed.
    Browser access

  • From a Windows or Linux PC

    The RemoteAccessApp Console, with end-to-end encryption, the terminal and the tools.
    Control Linux from Windows

  • When nobody's there

    Unattended access, switched on at the Linux PC, for consoles it trusts. Locked screen? Type the Linux password to unlock it.
    Unattended access

  • Helping someone

    They read you the 8-digit code on their Home screen and click Allow. No account needed on either side.
    Help someone on Linux

  • Signed updates

    The Agent checks for signed updates and installs only ones that match. A per-user install updates itself when nobody's connected.

  • Securely

    Consent, a visible banner, end-to-end encryption in the app and settings kept private to your Linux user.
    How it's secured

Not on Linux yet

We'd rather you know before you install. These work on Windows but not on Linux yet:

  • ARM computers, like a Raspberry Pi: the Agent is for 64-bit x86 PCs. You can still reach a Pi over SSH and VNC.
  • Management of Linux PCs: scripts, restarts and updates on many PCs at once or on a schedule.
  • Direct connections on the local network: Linux sessions always go through your account.
  • Wayland desktops without screen sharing: choose an Xorg session at the login screen on those.

Questions, answered

More on RemoteAccessApp for Linux

Related