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What CortenDesk Is

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Marc Pope edited this page Jul 26, 2026 · 4 revisions

What CortenDesk is

A self-hosted web console for open-source RustDesk servers, written in PHP/Laravel, plus a native in-browser RustDesk client.

What it does

It gives you a management layer over a RustDesk deployment you already run:

  • a live view of every device, with presence, platform and client version
  • device groups, ownership, and access scoping so people see only their machines
  • shared address books
  • device policies pushed to clients over the heartbeat
  • audit logs for connections, file transfers, sign-ins and security alarms
  • console accounts with roles, two-factor and optional single sign-on
  • a REST API for automation, and support for unattended deployment
  • an in-browser client with video, audio, clipboard and file transfer
CortenDesk Overview dashboard showing fleet statistics, a connections chart and a device platform breakdown

What it is not

It is not a RustDesk server. hbbs and hbbr do the actual connection brokering and relaying. CortenDesk runs alongside them and never replaces them. If you do not have a RustDesk server yet, start with RustDesk server in Docker.

It does not require a patched client. It implements the HTTP API that stock RustDesk clients already speak — login and tokens, heartbeat and sysinfo presence, address books, the group tab, audit ingestion. You point a normal client at CortenDesk as its API Server and it works.

How the pieces fit

RustDesk client ──── ID / relay ────► hbbs + hbbr      (connections)
       │
       └─────────── API Server ─────► CortenDesk        (management)
                                          │
                                      database

Two independent paths. Sessions run peer-to-peer through the RustDesk server and never pass through CortenDesk — which is why the console reports on sessions and can ask a device to close one, but cannot itself see or intercept their contents.

What you need

  • A running open-source RustDesk server (hbbs/hbbr) reachable by your devices
  • PHP 8.4+, or just use the Docker image
  • MySQL or MariaDB (SQLite is fine for evaluation)
  • TLS, if you want the in-browser client — it cannot run over plain HTTP

Licence

AGPL-3.0.

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