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Obsidian Remote: all chapters

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Getting started

Obsidian Remote lets you see and control another Windows PC, move files to and from it, and help the person sitting at it, from anywhere. This chapter explains the parts, gets the app onto your PC and connects it to your server.

How it fits together

Obsidian Remote has three parts:

  • The Windows app. It does two jobs at once. It lets other people reach this PC (it shows this PC's ID and password, and asks you when someone wants in), and it connects out to other PCs.
  • Your Obsidian Remote server. Your organization runs it on a Linux machine. It gives every PC a 9-digit ID, introduces PCs to each other, and passes the session along when two PCs can't reach each other directly. It also carries the admin console and the web viewer. Its administrator gives you its address.
  • The web viewer. A page on your server that connects to a PC from Chrome, Edge or Safari, with nothing installed. See Connecting from a browser.

Everything between the two PCs is end-to-end encrypted: the server can introduce them and pass the traffic along, but it can't see the screen, your keystrokes or your files. See How your sessions are protected.

What you need

  • Windows 10 (version 1809 or later), Windows 11, or Windows Server 2019 or later, 64-bit.
  • The address of your Obsidian Remote server, from your administrator: a line like host=remote.example.com:21114;key=.... Without a server, the app still works between PCs on the same network (see Local network and Wake-on-LAN).

A few features need a little more:

  • Privacy mode (blacking out the remote screen) needs Windows 10 version 2004 or later on the remote PC.
  • The terminal window needs the Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime on your PC. It is built into Windows 11; on Windows 10 you may need to install it.

Installed or portable

You can install the app, or run it from a folder without installing it. The difference matters for the PCs you want to reach:

WhatInstalled (MSI)Portable (zip)
Runs asa Windows service, so it starts with Windowsyour Windows account, while you are signed in
Reachable at the sign-in screen, the lock screen and administrator promptsyesno
Reachable when nobody is signed in (unattended)yes, with a permanent passwordno
Send Ctrl+Alt+Del to ityesno
Needs administrator rights to set upyesno
Updates itselfyesno: download the new zip

Install it on PCs you support or want to reach unattended. The portable copy is handy for a one-off support session, or for a technician who only connects out.

Install the app

Your administrator gives you the installer, or ask us. There are two files:

FileUse it when
ObsidianRemote-0.1.0-windows-x64.msiYou install it on a PC. Needs administrator rights. IT can install it silently on many PCs at once (see Rolling out to PCs).
ObsidianRemote-0.1.0-windows-x64-portable.zipYou run it without installing.

To install:

  1. Open the .msi file.
  2. Click through Welcome and Ready. Windows asks for administrator approval.
  3. On the last page, leave Start Obsidian Remote ticked and click Finish.

If Microsoft Defender SmartScreen says it doesn't recognize the app, choose More info, then Run anyway. Our code-signing certificate is still being issued, so the files are not signed yet. Updates the app installs itself are always checked against our signature (see Updates).

The installer adds the app to the Start menu, starts the Obsidian Remote service, and adds Windows Firewall rules so PCs on the same network can connect directly (private and domain networks only; see Ports and firewalls).

To run it portable instead:

  1. Unzip the .zip file into a folder.
  2. Run ObsidianRemote.exe.
  3. To let others reach this PC, click Start portable host in the main window. You need to do this each time you start the portable app.

Connect the app to your server

If your IT department installed the app for you, it is probably connected already: the main window says Ready - connected to and the server's name. If it says No server set - reachable on the LAN only:

  1. Click the gear button at the top right to open Settings.
  2. Go to Network.
  3. Under This PC's server, paste the line your administrator gave you, for example host=remote.example.com:21114;key=.... The line under the box says what it understood.
  4. Click OK.

Within a few seconds the main window shows your 9-digit ID and Ready - connected to remote.example.com:21114.

Server for connecting, on the same page, is the server used to reach other PCs by ID. Leave it empty to use the same server.

A quick tour

The main window has two halves:

  • This desktop on the left: this PC's ID and one-time password, which you give to someone who will connect to you.
  • Control a remote desktop on the right: type another PC's ID, click Connect, and pick it from your lists of recent and favourite devices.

The main window explains each part. To connect somewhere straight away, see Connecting to a computer.

Closing the main window doesn't stop the app: it keeps running in the notification area (the tray), so people can still reach you. Right-click the tray icon and choose Quit to close the app. On an installed PC, the service keeps the PC reachable even when the app isn't running.

Uninstalling

Uninstall the app in Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps. The service and the firewall rules are removed.

This PC's ID and key stay in %ProgramData%\ObsidianRemote, so if you install the app again later, the PC keeps the same ID. To remove them too, IT can uninstall with REMOVE_DATA=1 (see Rolling out to PCs).

The portable app leaves its settings in %LocalAppData%\ObsidianRemote. Delete that folder to make it forget everything.

Next steps