RDP

People type RDP when they want another desktop in a window. The letters come from a protocol Microsoft shipped. This URL keeps that search and tells the truth: we point at a GitHub project. We will not write a how-to for the built-in Windows connection app. The connection phrase, the product name people type next, sits on Remote desktop connection. A brand comparison sits on Remote desktop vs AnyDesk.

This is RustDesk. AGPL-3.0. We did not make it. Official files live on GitHub Releases. The repo is rustdesk/rustdesk. This site does not host the installer. Skip Softonic, CNET, and unofficial wrappers. Skip Chrome Remote Desktop. There is no winget command. The package was removed from winget.

The button on this page goes to Releases on the home page. Home is Remote desktop. Trust notes sit on Remote desktop download safe.

Get the RDP file from GitHub

Copy this filename, then take it from the latest GitHub release:

rustdesk-1.4.9-x86_64.exe

An msi sits on the same release if you want an installer. Live tag observed: 1.4.9. If the box on home shows a newer name later, copy that one. File list sits on Remote desktop releases. LICENSE sits on Remote desktop GitHub.

How to use RDP with this GitHub program

1. Open the latest GitHub release for rustdesk/rustdesk.
2. Take rustdesk-1.4.9-x86_64.exe, or the msi on that release.
3. Run the file on this PC. You should get a window with an ID, not a browser tab.
4. Run the same current file on the other PC. That machine also shows an ID.
5. On this PC, type the ID from the other PC and connect. You should see their desktop. If the window stays blank, the other app is not running or the ID is wrong.

That list is the RDP path we document. You are not opening Microsoft's built-in connection box. You are not typing a computer name into mstsc. Two copies of this GitHub program, one ID.

What the letters usually mean, and what we ship

RDP in a search box is often "I need to see the other PC." Offices say RDP the way they say VPN. The built-in Windows tool is a real product. Microsoft documents it. We skip that how-to. This page is the GitHub file on a site whose home is already Remote desktop.

If your office already handed you a computer name and told you to use the built-in app, use what they handed you. We will not fight that. If you landed here because you typed RDP and you wanted a GitHub Windows program with source, stay.

An ID is not a computer name on a domain. Do not paste the ID into a chat you do not trust. Anyone with the ID and a way in can sit at that desktop. Treat it like a door code. Close the app when you are done if the other PC should not stay reachable.

Both machines have to be awake

RDP fails in boring ways. The other PC slept. The lid closed. Wi-Fi dropped. The exe is running on only one side. Check those before you blame the file. Plug in power. Set the remote PC not to sleep for the hour you need it.

A first connect should be a short test. Open Notepad on the other desk, move the mouse, disconnect. Then do the real work. A twenty-minute install of something else on top of a first session is how people lose the window and think RDP is broken.

Firewall prompts may appear the first time. Allow the app on private networks if that is your LAN. We will not invent a port number. If the two PCs cannot see each other, the project's own docs cover relays. We will not turn that into a second page.

What this RDP page will not do

It will not teach Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection. It will not list Windows Settings, System, Remote Desktop. It will not tell you to enable the built-in server. It will not mention Chrome Remote Desktop as a second vs. Home already is Remote desktop. This URL is RDP, the letters, with steps for the GitHub program we point at.

It will not mint /download. It will not invent a winget id. The package was removed. GitHub Releases is the fetch.

It will not claim we made RustDesk. The RustDesk team publishes it under AGPL-3.0. Official files live on GitHub Releases.

File names and a second PC

Use the same current release on both machines when you can. Mixing a year-old exe with 1.4.9 is a way to get a connect error that looks like a network problem. Copy the name from the box. Take it twice, once per PC, or copy the file over on a stick.

Arm64 and other builds may sit on the same GitHub release. Most current Windows PCs want the x86_64 exe. If you are on ARM Windows, pick the ARM file they published. Do not run a random "rdp.exe" from a search ad.

A short test before real work

Move the pointer. Type a word in Notepad on the other PC. Disconnect. If that works, the RDP session is real. Then open the files you actually needed. A first session that starts inside a huge copy job is how people think the program froze when the disk was just slow.

If the keyboard layout is wrong, the other PC still has its own layout. Type as if you sat there. Caps lock on the remote machine is a classic trap. Look at the remote taskbar, not yours.

Print and USB sharing, if the app offers them, are extras. A working picture of the other desktop is the job. Turn extras on later. We will not list every checkbox. The GitHub README is the place for those knobs.

A display that looks stretched usually means the remote resolution does not match this window. Resize the window or set the remote PC to a resolution you can read. Do not keep working in a tiny font and blame RDP for typos.

When you are done, disconnect from this side. Then, if you can, glance at the other desk. An open RDP session on a shared PC is a logged-in person who is not in the room.

How do I use RDP here?

Take rustdesk-1.4.9-x86_64.exe from GitHub Releases. Run it on both PCs. Type the ID from the other PC and connect. The file pointer is Releases on the home page. There is no winget command.

Is this RDP the Microsoft app?

No. This page documents a GitHub program. Microsoft's built-in connection app is a different product. We do not write those steps.

Why did my RDP window stay blank?

The other copy is not running, the PC slept, or the ID is wrong. Wake the other machine, confirm the ID in its window, try once more.

Did you make this RDP program?

No. The RustDesk team publishes RustDesk under AGPL-3.0. Official files live on GitHub Releases. This site only points at that page. We do not host the installer.