rdesktop – A RDP Client to Connect Windows Desktop from Linux

rdesktop is an open source software that enables you to connect and manage your remote Windows desktop from your Linux computer using RDP – Remote Desktop Protocol. In other words, while you are sitting in front of your Linux system at home or office, and access your Windows desktop as if you’re sitting in front of the Windows machine.

Read Also: 11 Best Tools to Access Remote Linux Desktop

In this article, we will explain how to install rdesktop in Linux system to access the remote desktop of Windows computer using the Hostname and IP Address.

Windows Settings

To enable rdesktop to connect to any given Windows machine, you need to make few following changes on the Windows box itself.

  1. Enable RDP port no. 3389 in Firewall.
  2. Enable remote desktop under Windows Operating System.
  3. Require at least one user with a password.

Once you make all of the above Windows configuration settings, you can now move further to install rdesktop on your Linux system to access your Windows desktop.

Install rdesktop (Remote Desktop) in Linux

It is always preferable to use a default package manager such as yum, dnf or apt to install software to handle dependencies automatically during installation.

# yum install rdesktop   [On CentOS/RHEL 7]
# dnf install rdesktop   [On CentOS/RHEL 8 and Fedora]
# apt install rdesktop   [On Debian/Ubuntu]

If rdesktop is not available to install from the default repositories, you can download the tarball from Github here or use the following wget command to download and install it as shown.

# wget https://github.com/rdesktop/rdesktop/releases/download/v1.8.6/rdesktop-1.8.6.tar.gz
# tar xvzf rdesktop-1.8.6.tar.gz
# cd rdesktop-1.8.6/
# ./configure --disable-credssp --disable-smartcard
# make 
# make install

Connecting to Windows Desktop Using Hostname

To connect Windows host from Linux desktop type following command using -u parameter as username (narad) and (ft2) as the hostname of my Windows host. To resolve hostname make an entry at /etc/hosts file if you don’t have DNS Server in your environment.

# rdesktop -u narad ft2
rdesktop using hostname
Use rdesktop using hostname

Connecting to Windows Desktop Using IP Address

To connect Windows host from Linux machine, use username as (narad) and IP Address as (192.168.50.5) of my windows host, the command would be as.

# rdesktop -u narad 192.168.50.5
rdesktop using IP Address
Use rdesktop using IP Address

Please execute man rdesktop in command prompt If you would like to know more about it or visit rdesktop project website. Kindly share it and let us know your comments through our comment box below.

If you read this far, tweet to the author to show them you care. Tweet a thanks
Ravi Saive
I am an experienced GNU/Linux expert and a full-stack software developer with over a decade in the field of Linux and Open Source technologies

Each tutorial at TecMint is created by a team of experienced Linux system administrators so that it meets our high-quality standards.

Join the TecMint Weekly Newsletter (More Than 156,129 Linux Enthusiasts Have Subscribed)
Was this article helpful? Please add a comment or buy me a coffee to show your appreciation.

20 thoughts on “rdesktop – A RDP Client to Connect Windows Desktop from Linux”

  1. On my Red Hat 8.2, I had first to run:

    # dnf install libX11-devel libXcursor-devel libtasn1-devel nettle-devel gnutls-devel
    

    And then it worked with:

    # ./configure --disable-credssp --disable-smartcard
    
    Reply
    • We have Debian only with the SSH package installed and RDESKTOP in the call center with 16 machines logging into the Windows Server 2016 TS. However, if an employee goes out to have a coffee and the computer is without activity, he drops the rdesktop and returns to the home screen. Debian is ready with login and password. How do I never go into standby?

      Reply
    • @Thiruvengadam,

      Run the following commands to install rdesktop offline on any Linux distribution.

      # wget https://github.com/rdesktop/rdesktop/releases/download/v1.8.3/rdesktop-1.8.3.tar.gz
      # tar -xvf rdesktop-1.8.3.tar.gz
      # cd rdesktop*
      # ./configure
      # make
      # make install
      
      Reply
  2. I installed rdesktop, but I noticed that day by day he keeps flashing the screen, has updated video drive and nothing …. anyone have any tips?

    Reply

Got something to say? Join the discussion.

Have a question or suggestion? Please leave a comment to start the discussion. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated and your email address will NOT be published.