Today's Deep-Dive: RustDesk
Ep. 209

Today's Deep-Dive: RustDesk

Episode description

The Deep Dive explores digital independence and introduces REST Desk, an open-source remote desktop app that offers self-hosting capabilities. REST Desk provides data sovereignty, enhanced security, better performance, and flexibility compared to traditional SaaS platforms. It is designed for easy deployment, with over 90 configuration options for advanced users, and supports various platforms including Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Android. The tool is widely used for IT support, administration, remote work, and industrial settings, with over 3 million active devices. REST Desk’s open-source nature fosters community collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement, making it a strong alternative to commercial remote desktop software.

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Download transcript (.srt)
0:00

Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're getting into something really

0:04

interesting,

0:04

digital independence, basically taking control of your own tools. But first, a

0:09

massive thank you to

0:10

our sponsor, Safeserver.de. They handle software hosting and are great at

0:15

supporting digital

0:16

transformation. If you're thinking about taking charge of your digital stuff, check

0:20

them out at

0:21

www.safeserver.de. They help make these deep dives happen. So have you ever had

0:27

that feeling, you

0:28

know, where you're using digital tools maybe for remote work and you're just not

0:31

sure where your

0:31

data is or if the connection is going to hold up? Or maybe you just want something

0:34

more secure,

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more flexible, perhaps even just helping out family with their computer without all

0:38

the

0:39

usual headaches. Well, if that sounds familiar, you're in the right place. Today we're

0:43

diving

0:43

into REST Desk. So REST Desk, it's an open source remote desktop app. Think of it

0:49

as a real alternative

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to the big names, you know, TeamViewer, AnyDesk, Splashtop, and our mission today.

0:54

Simple. We want

0:55

to unpack what REST Desk is, why its self-hosting thing is, well, a bit of a game

0:59

changer, and how

1:00

it gives people and companies back control over their data, better security, and a

1:04

ton of flexibility.

1:06

We're aiming to make this super clear, a really easy entry point for anyone curious

1:10

about this tool.

1:11

So yeah, let's jump right in. Okay, let's unpack this. REST Desk gets called yet

1:16

another remote

1:16

desktop software, but the interesting part is that it's open source and it's

1:21

written in REST,

1:22

and they claim it works out of the box, no configuration required. That sounds,

1:28

well,

1:28

almost too easy. Yeah, yeah. For someone maybe not super technical with servers,

1:33

how easy is it to get started? Is it really click and go, or are there still some

1:38

things

1:38

you need to understand? That's a really good question because, you know, it hits on

1:42

a real

1:42

pain point people have with standard software as a service, SaaS platforms. Think

1:47

about those

1:47

subscription services. Sometimes the performance is shaky, right? You don't really

1:51

know what's going

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on behind the curtain. And there's always that nagging worry about data security.

1:56

Russdesk kind

1:57

of flips that by focusing on self-hosting. And yeah, they've worked hard to make it

2:01

surprisingly

2:01

simple for the power it gives you. If you step back, self-hosting has some major

2:05

perks. First up,

2:06

data sovereignty. Okay, data sovereignty. Yeah, sounds important. It really is. It's

2:11

not just

2:11

jargon. It's about control and meeting regulations. Let's say you run a small

2:16

business, maybe

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accounting. With a typical tool, your client's financial data might end up on

2:22

servers. Who knows

2:23

where? Different country, maybe. That could be a regulatory nightmare. Self-hosting.

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Your data stays

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on your servers, under your roof, basically. Makes audits easier, removes that

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uncertainty.

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Okay, so you physically control where the sensitive stuff lives. Makes sense.

2:40

Exactly. And

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that leads right into point two. Enhanced security. When you deploy Russdesk on-premise

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on your own

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computers or servers, your data isn't passing through some third-party company

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system. Right.

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Cuts out the middleman. Precisely. It reduces the attack surface, strengthens your

2:55

security,

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because you control the whole path. Then there's performance and reliability. When

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you own the

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hardware, you manage the resources. You're not sharing bandwidth or server power

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with thousands

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of other users, like on a big commercial service. So better uptime, smoother

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performance, less of

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that frustrating lag or unexpected downtime. You're in control. That direct control

3:14

seems key.

3:15

Absolutely. And it also means incredible flexibility and customization. Self-hosting

3:20

lets you tweak

3:20

Rust Desk for exactly what you need. They even have this custom client feature. Oh,

3:25

what's that?

3:26

It lets you brand the client app, put your own company name, logo, icon on it. That's

3:31

a level of

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personalization you just don't get from off-the-shelf tools. And while the basic

3:35

setup is simple, if you

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want to dive deeper, there are like over 90 configuration options. Wow. Okay. So

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simple start,

3:42

but deep customization if needed. Exactly. You can fine-tune access controls,

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optimize bandwidth

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for video, all sorts of things. Real granular control. And yes, back to your

3:52

original question,

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it really is designed for ease of deployment. It sounds complex, maybe, setting up

3:58

a server,

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but Rust Desk has built-in features to help with network configuration and server

4:02

setup. For anyone

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comfortable with a command line, the Docker setup is honestly super straightforward.

4:07

It's basically

4:07

three quick commands, install Docker, download a file, run Docker, compose up. Boom,

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your server's

4:12

running. Okay, three commands. That does sound accessible. So, data sovereignty,

4:17

security,

4:19

performance. It sounds really appealing, especially if you felt kind of trapped by

4:24

cloud services.

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But what about the flip side? What's the learning curve moving from a simple SaaS

4:30

tool to

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self-hosting? Is it really just those Docker commands, or do you need to think

4:34

about server

4:35

updates and maintenance that the cloud provider usually handles? That is a crucial

4:39

point. Getting

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started is easy, yes. But self-hosting does mean taking on responsibility. You gain

4:46

control,

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but you also need to maintain that server environment updates, security patches,

4:50

that sort

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of thing. Right, it's not just set and forget forever. Not entirely, no. But the

4:54

Rust Desk

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community is really active, and the documentation is pretty good. They try to make

4:57

that transition

4:58

smooth. And this actually brings up an important point that developers make. Like

5:02

any powerful

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tool, you need to use it responsibly. They're very clear. They don't support or

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condone any

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unethical or illegal use. Things like unauthorized access, spying, anything like

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that. It's strictly

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against their guidelines. The tool is meant for legitimate, secure, controlled

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remote access.

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Good to know. They state that clearly. Okay, so we've talked tech benefits, but who's

5:23

actually

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using this day-to-day? Who benefits most from this level of control? We saw some

5:29

survey data.

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Over a thousand cell posters responded, and it shows a really diverse range of uses.

5:34

About 37%

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use it for IT support, which makes sense, right? If you're fixing someone's

5:40

computer remotely,

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you need a rock-solid, secure connection. No drops, no data leaks. Rust Desk

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provides that direct

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link. Yeah, critical for support roles. And 25% are using it for IT administration,

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managing systems.

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Another 29% for remote work, which is huge for everyone now. And then about 9% are

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in industrial

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settings or other specialized areas. So it's quite versatile. Maybe you listening

6:02

fit into one of

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those, or maybe it sparks an idea for a problem you could solve with this. And the

6:06

tech underneath

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is definitely built for that kind of broad use. First off, multi-platform support

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is key. It runs

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smoothly on Windows, MacOs, Linux, even Android. Oh, Android too. Nice. Yeah, so

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you can connect

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from pretty much any device to any other device. Essential these days with everyone

6:23

using different

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things. And something really cool is the web client. A web client. So access from a

6:28

browser.

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Exactly. You can host it yourself on your own server using your own domain name.

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Makes access

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super flexible. No need to install the app everywhere. And they're working on a new

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version,

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a V2 preview, that promises things like better video codecs, international keyboard

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support,

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clipboard sharing, even file transfer. That's getting really comprehensive for a

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web-based

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solution. Wow. File transfer directly in the browser client, self-hosted. That's

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powerful.

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It really is. And just briefly, under the hood, like we said, it's mostly written

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in Rust.

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Which is known for security and speed, right? Exactly. Rust helps prevent a lot of

7:03

common

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security bugs, which is vital for remote access software. For the interface, the

7:08

desktop apps

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use either Flutter or CIDR. And it's built in a modular way. There are separate

7:13

bits for screen

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capture, LibScrap, keyboard mouse control, LibCentigo, and the server parts, server,

7:20

handling audio, video, etc. So it's not just one big monolithic thing. Right. And

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that modularity

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helps with development speed, optimizing specific parts, and overall stability. All

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crucial for a

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tool you rely on for access. And fundamentally, it's truly open source. It uses the

7:38

AGPL 3.0 license,

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which means total transparency. You could look at every line of code, and if you

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modify it and share

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it, you have to share your changes too. Ah, so it fosters collaboration and keeps

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things open.

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Precisely. It builds a trustworthy ecosystem where the community helps ensure it

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stays secure

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and keeps getting better. That's fantastic. It really feels like, you know, you're

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getting

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something built by a community, not just a black box from a corporation. It's built

8:02

in public. You

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can see the whole process. And that community impact is huge. The numbers are

8:06

pretty staggering,

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actually. Rust Desk has over 10 million client downloads, over 1 million Docker

8:12

downloads.

8:13

That's people setting up their own servers. A million self-hosted servers. Wow.

8:18

Yeah. And

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maybe even more telling. They estimate over 3 million alive devices actively using

8:24

it. These

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aren't just downloads. People are using this daily. Shows it's reliable. And if you

8:29

look at GitHub,

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the community engagement is massive. Over 91,000 stars, 13,000 forks. Huge numbers

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for an open

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source project. Absolutely. Yeah. And 303 contributors, people actually writing

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code,

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plus over 22,000 community members active on various platforms. Yeah. It really

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highlights

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that built-in public idea. Someone posts a feature request. Maybe someone else

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across the world

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implements it. It's dynamic. That's the power of open source right there. Totally.

8:55

And its global

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reach is clear too. It supports 45 languages. That's thanks to community

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translation efforts.

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If you want to connect, they're active on Discord, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and of

9:03

course GitHub.

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Lots of places to get involved or find help. Definitely. And it's constantly

9:08

evolving.

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Just recently, the enhanced access controls and the pro server version user level

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permissions,

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device groups, more granular control. They're also focused on keeping it working

9:19

for people,

9:19

like finding workarounds to keep it running on older systems like Windows 7, even

9:24

as underlying

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tech like Flutter changes. It shows dedication to the user base. What a journey

9:29

through Rust Desk.

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We've really seen how this open source approach delivers exceptional control, solid

9:35

security,

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and real flexibility, especially with self-hosting. It's definitely a strong contender

9:41

against the

9:41

usual suspects, putting you back in the driver's seat with your data and

9:44

connections. And thinking

9:46

bigger picture for a moment, it leads to a question maybe for you to mull over. If

9:50

self-hosting can do

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this for remote access, give back data sovereignty, allow deep customization, where

9:56

else in your

9:56

digital life, or maybe your work, could you benefit from taking back control? From

10:01

exploring open

10:02

source alternatives, what are the broader possibilities when we think about

10:05

decentralization

10:06

and user empowerment in tech? Something to think about. A really great question to

10:10

end on, food for

10:11

thought, definitely. And one last massive thank you to our sponsor, safeserver.de.

10:16

They're the ones to

10:17

check out for software hosting and help with your digital transformation. Find them

10:21

at

10:21

we'll catch you

10:21

we'll catch you