remote-desktop

A self-built remote desktop tool (TeamViewer/RustDesk architecture). The Master app enters an ID + password and connects to the Client app running on a remote machine, sees its screen, and controls mouse + keyboard.

 MASTER (.exe)  <--signal-->  SIGNALING SERVER  <--signal-->  CLIENT (.exe)
  control a PC        (Node + ws, on a VPS)         the PC being controlled
   render + input                                    capture + input inject
        \___________________ media / input _______________________/
                    Phase 0: relayed via server
                    Phase 2+: direct P2P WebRTC

Both Master and Client are native Windows apps that ship as single-file installers (no .NET install needed on the target machine — the runtime is bundled).

Current phase: Phase 2 — WebRTC P2P (working, verified end-to-end)

Video and input now flow directly peer-to-peer over WebRTC; the server only brokers the introduction (ID/password) and relays SDP/ICE.

• Client captures the screen (GDI), VP8-encodes each frame (pure-C# SIPSorceryMedia.Encoders), and sends it on a WebRTC video track.
• Master receives the track, decodes VP8 to a WriteableBitmap, and renders it.
• Input travels master→client on a WebRTC data channel; Client replays with SendInput.
• Encryption (DTLS-SRTP), NAT traversal (STUN, with coturn as TURN fallback), and congestion control come from WebRTC. The relay server never sees pixels or input.

Verified end-to-end with the real session classes: capture → VP8 → P2P → decode at 1920×1080 plus a live input channel. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for the protocol, security model, and the Phase 0–4 roadmap.

Repo layout

remote-desktop/
├─ server/            Node + ws — signaling & Phase-0 relay (runs on a VPS)
├─ src/
│   ├─ Shared/        signaling WebSocket wrapper + config
│   ├─ Client/        WPF app — capture, VP8 encode, input injection, WebRTC peer
│   └─ Master/        WPF app — WebRTC peer, VP8 decode/render, input capture
├─ tests/E2E/         headless end-to-end test driving the real session classes
├─ installer/         Inno Setup scripts → dist\*-Setup-*.exe
├─ docker/            coturn (TURN relay) config — used from Phase 2
├─ viewer/            legacy browser viewer (still works; Master exe supersedes it)
├─ build.ps1          publish both apps + compile both installers
└─ RemoteDesktop.sln

Build the installers

Requires the .NET 8 SDK and Inno Setup 6 (both installable via winget):

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8
winget install JRSoftware.InnoSetup

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File build.ps1

Produces:

installer\dist\RemotlerAgent-Setup-0.1.0.exe   (~70 MB, admin install)
installer\dist\Remotler-Setup-0.1.0.exe   (~70 MB, per-user install)

The Client installer requests admin (it injects input) and offers optional sign-in autostart. The Master installs per-user with no UAC.

Run it (Phase 0)

1. Signaling server — on a machine both ends can reach (localhost for a same-PC test; a public VPS for real remote use):

cd server && npm install && npm start      # ws://0.0.0.0:8080

2. Client (on the PC to be controlled): install and run RemotlerAgent-Setup. Set the server URL, click Start. It shows a 9-digit ID and a password. Hand those to whoever will connect.

3. Master (on your PC): install and run Remotler-Setup. Enter the server URL, the Client's ID and password, click Connect. The remote screen appears and your mouse + keyboard drive it.

Same-PC smoke test: run all three locally with ws://localhost:8080. For real remote use, put the server on a public VPS and point both apps at it. Use wss:// behind a TLS reverse proxy for anything beyond your own LAN.

Release control: in the Master, press Ctrl+Alt+End to disconnect without sending those keys to the remote machine.

Dev build (no installer)

dotnet build RemoteDesktop.sln -c Release
dotnet run --project src\Client\Client.csproj
dotnet run --project src\Master\Master.csproj

Safety / legality

Only connect to machines you own or are explicitly authorized to control. The Client shows a visible "session active" banner and requires a password by design — keep both. Screen capture + synthetic input + networking is also the classic RAT signature, so antivirus may flag unsigned builds; code-sign the Client before distributing it. See the security section in the architecture doc.