How to Install RudyDesk on Windows, macOS, Linux and Your Phone

14 April 2026
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The computer you will connect to gets the app. From a phone or another computer you connect right in the browser — nothing has to be installed there.

Download page: files for Windows, macOS and other systems
Download page: files for Windows, macOS and other systems

Windows

  1. Open rudydesk.com/download
  2. Click "Download for Windows (installer)" and run the file
  3. The app settles into the tray and starts together with the system

Until the installer is signed by Microsoft, Windows may show "Windows protected your PC" — click "More info" and "Run anyway". The portable RudyDesk-Portable.exe is for one-off help: it leaves nothing behind and does not start by itself.

macOS

Download RudyDesk-arm64.dmg for Macs with M1–M4 chips or RudyDesk-x64.dmg for Intel Macs — check the Apple menu, "About This Mac", the "Chip" line.

On first launch the Mac asks for two permissions: "Screen Recording" and "Accessibility". Without the second, the screen is visible but the cursor will not move.

Linux

RudyDesk-x86_64.AppImage runs almost everywhere; make it executable: chmod +x RudyDesk-x86_64.AppImage. For Ubuntu and Debian there is RudyDesk-amd64.deb.

Control works in an X11 session: pick "Xorg" when you log in. Wayland itself forbids input — the screen is visible, the mouse does not move.

Phone

Open rudydesk.com/app in the browser. On Android you can accept adding the app to the home screen; on iPhone, in Safari tap "Share", then "Add to Home Screen". If the browser does not offer to install, the download page has RudyDesk.apk for Android — that one has to be updated by hand. In RudyDesk a phone is a remote: you connect from it to a computer. It cannot share its own screen — that is how mobile browsers work.

Updates

The app offers new versions by itself. Every update is signed with the RudyDesk key: the signature and SHA-256 fingerprint are checked before installing, so a tampered file will not install.

First connection

  1. Start RudyDesk on the computer — its nine-digit number and password are at the top
  2. On the second device enter the number and password and tap "Connect" — or send it an invite link, then nothing has to be typed
  3. Confirm the request on the computer
Main screen: this device's number, password and the connect field
Main screen: this device's number, password and the connect field

What to set up right away

  • A permanent password — without it nobody can connect while you are away (connecting without confirmation works with the Pro plan or above)
  • Two-factor sign-in
  • A whitelist of numbers allowed to connect
  • A clear device name, so machines are not mixed up in the list