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Remote desktop for Windows

Obsidian Remote documentation

Reaching and supporting Windows PCs: connecting, sessions, files and tools, the web viewer, unattended access, and running your own server. About Obsidian Remote

Start here

Getting startedWhat Obsidian Remote is, installing the app or running it portable, and pointing it at your server.The main windowYour ID and one-time password, the device lists, signing in to your server, and the tray icon.

Connecting

Connecting to a computerConnect by ID or by address, the kinds of session, passwords, Accept and device keys.The session windowThe toolbar, choosing a display, scaling, picture quality and the status line.Keyboard, mouse and clipboardPhysical keys or characters, Windows shortcuts, the remote cursor, and copy and paste between the two PCs.

During a session

Transferring filesThe two-pane file manager: sending and receiving, conflicts and resuming.Chat, sound, recording and screenshotsTalk to the person at the remote PC, hear its sound, and keep a recording or a picture of the session.Remote actions and privacy modeCtrl+Alt+Del, lock, sign out, restart and shut down, blocking input and blacking out the remote screen.Remote terminalA PowerShell, PowerShell 7 or Command Prompt window on the remote PC.TCP tunnelsReach Remote Desktop, a web page or a database on the remote network through an encrypted tunnel.

The web viewer

Connecting from a browserControl, watch or move files from Chrome, Edge or Safari with nothing installed.

Being supported

Letting someone connectGiving out your ID, the connection manager, Accept and Deny, scam warnings and Esc Esc, and what the other person may do.Unattended accessReaching a PC nobody sits at: the installed service, a permanent password and the safeguards around it.Two-factor sign-inAsk for an authenticator code after the password, and remember trusted viewers.

Administrators

Installing the serverLinux requirements, the installer, the first administrator, server.json, certificates and nginx.The admin consoleDashboard, live sessions, the audit log, server settings and your own account.Devices, users, groups and address booksWho may see and connect to which device, and how device IDs are kept safe.PoliciesPush settings to every PC, a group or one device, and lock them so they can't be changed at the PC.Rolling out to PCsThe MSI with SERVER= for silent installs through Group Policy, Intune or an RMM tool, and checking it worked.Upgrades, backups and logsUpgrading and rolling back the server, what to back up, where the logs are, and removing it.

Security

How your sessions are protectedEnd-to-end encryption, what the server can and cannot see, the protections on each PC, and a hardening checklist.

Reference

SettingsEvery page of the app's Settings window and what its settings do.Local network and Wake-on-LANDirect connections on the same network, LAN discovery, connecting by address, and waking PCs.Ports and firewallsThe one port the server needs, the optional ports on PCs, proxies and HTTPS inspection.UpdatesHow signed updates are offered and installed, and why portable copies don't update themselves.TroubleshootingMessages you may see, what they mean and what to do, and where the log files are.