Skip to content

Web Client

Jump to bottom
marcpope edited this page Jul 27, 2026 · 2 revisions

Web client

A RustDesk client that runs in the browser. Connect to a device from the console without installing anything locally.

It is a from-scratch TypeScript implementation of the RustDesk wire protocol — rendezvous, relay, NaCl handshake, login — not a WASM port of the desktop client.

Requirements

HTTPS is recommended, not required. Over HTTPS the client uses WebCodecs and can decode VP8, VP9, H.264, H.265 and AV1 with hardware acceleration. WebCodecs is restricted to secure contexts, so over plain http:// the client falls back to H.264 through Media Source Extensions, which is not. The fallback is automatic; it is limited to H.264 and reports no per-frame statistics.

http://localhost counts as a secure context, so local evaluation gets the full path. See Web client and HTTPS.

You also need the wss:// bridge to your RustDesk server's WebSocket ports reachable from the browser. See Reverse proxy and TLS.

Browser: best in Chrome or Edge. The desktop stream requires WebCodecs.

What it does

  • Screen — hardware-accelerated video via WebCodecs (VP8, VP9, H.264, H.265 and AV1 as the browser supports them)
  • Audio
  • Keyboard and mouse, including Ctrl+Alt+Del
  • Clipboard both directions
  • Multi-monitor switching
  • Session statistics
  • File transfer — a dual-pane manager inside the session: browse the remote filesystem, send and receive files and folders with progress, resume-aware digests, conflict prompts and drag-and-drop. Uses the File System Access API on Chromium; falls back to a picker and the Downloads folder elsewhere.

Saved passwords

A device's password can be saved for auto-login on subsequent connections. Saved passwords are hashed, never stored in plaintext.

Turning it off

Set CORTENDESK_NATIVE_WEBCLIENT=false to hide the web client. It is enabled by default.

Policies still apply

Permissions pushed by a strategy — file transfer, clipboard, audio and the rest — are enforced by the device, not by the client. Disabling file transfer in a strategy disables it for the web client exactly as it does for the desktop client.

Related

Clone this wiki locally