rustdesk

RustDesk is an open-source remote-desktop application written in Rust. The README and description present it as a self-hostable alternative to TeamViewer: you install the program on two computers, and from one you can see and control the other across the internet, just as with the commercial remote-desktop tools most people are familiar with. The README claims it works out of the box with no configuration required and emphasises that you stay in full control of your data. The connection between the two machines goes through a "rendezvous/relay" server, which helps them find each other and forwards traffic when a direct peer-to-peer link is not possible. You can use the public RustDesk servers, set up your own, or even write your own implementation — the project links to a demo server repo for that. There is also a paid offering called RustDesk Server Pro for advanced features. The desktop versions can use either Flutter or the older Sciter library for the user interface; the README's build steps focus on the Sciter path and explain how to fetch the Sciter library for Windows, Linux and macOS. Building from source involves a Rust toolchain, a C++ build environment and vcpkg to install media dependencies like libvpx, libyuv, opus and aom. Install commands are provided for Ubuntu/Debian, openSUSE, Fedora/CentOS and Arch/Manjaro, plus a Docker-based build flow. Pre-built binaries, an F-Droid build and a Flathub package are also offered. Someone would reach for RustDesk when they want a free, self-hosted way to give remote support, access their own machine from elsewhere, or replace a commercial remote-desktop subscription.