RustDesk Server

beginner

Self-hosted remote desktop infrastructure, TeamViewer/AnyDesk alternative.

Overview

RustDesk is an open-source remote desktop solution that provides a self-hosted alternative to proprietary services like TeamViewer and AnyDesk. Originally developed as a cross-platform remote desktop client, RustDesk includes server components that enable organizations to maintain complete control over their remote access infrastructure, eliminating reliance on third-party services and ensuring sensitive data never leaves their network perimeter. The server implementation consists of two primary components: hbbs (ID/rendezvous server) and hbbr (relay server), which work in tandem to facilitate secure peer-to-peer connections. The hbbs component functions as the central coordination hub, managing client registration, authentication, and initial connection brokering between remote desktop sessions. Meanwhile, hbbr serves as the relay server that handles NAT traversal and maintains connections when direct peer-to-peer communication isn't possible due to network configurations or firewall restrictions. This dual-server architecture ensures reliable connectivity across diverse network topologies while maintaining the performance benefits of direct connections whenever feasible. This stack is particularly valuable for organizations requiring compliance with data residency regulations, companies with stringent security policies that prohibit external remote access services, and technical teams seeking customizable remote desktop solutions. System administrators managing distributed teams, MSPs providing remote support services, and privacy-conscious users who prefer self-hosted alternatives will find this configuration essential for maintaining secure, auditable remote access capabilities without subscription costs or external dependencies.

Key Features

Ed25519 cryptographic key-based authentication for tamper-resistant client verification
Mandatory encryption enforcement preventing unencrypted remote desktop sessions
Automatic NAT traversal through dedicated relay server for complex network topologies
Cross-platform client support including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
Direct peer-to-peer connections bypassing relay when network conditions permit
Centralized connection logging and session management through hbbs coordination
Custom server configuration allowing white-label deployment for service providers
UDP and TCP dual-protocol support optimizing performance based on network conditions

Common Use Cases

1Enterprise IT departments replacing TeamViewer subscriptions with self-hosted remote support
2Managed service providers offering branded remote desktop access to clients
3Educational institutions providing secure remote lab access to students and faculty
4Healthcare organizations ensuring HIPAA-compliant remote workstation access
5Financial services maintaining SOX compliance while enabling remote work capabilities
6Government agencies requiring air-gapped remote desktop infrastructure
7Software development teams accessing development servers and testing environments securely

Prerequisites

Docker Engine 20.10+ and Docker Compose V2 for container orchestration support
Minimum 512MB RAM allocation for both hbbs and hbbr server processes
Available ports 21115-21119 for client connections and inter-service communication
Static IP address or dynamic DNS configuration for client endpoint discovery
Firewall rules permitting inbound UDP/TCP traffic on designated RustDesk ports
SSL certificate management strategy for production deployments with custom domains

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  hbbs: 
3    image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest
4    container_name: rustdesk-hbbs
5    command: hbbs
6    environment: 
7      - ENCRYPTED_ONLY=1
8    volumes: 
9      - rustdesk-data:/root
10    ports: 
11      - "21115:21115"
12      - "21116:21116"
13      - "21116:21116/udp"
14      - "21118:21118"
15    networks: 
16      - rustdesk-network
17    restart: unless-stopped
18
19  hbbr: 
20    image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest
21    container_name: rustdesk-hbbr
22    command: hbbr
23    volumes: 
24      - rustdesk-data:/root
25    ports: 
26      - "21117:21117"
27      - "21119:21119"
28    networks: 
29      - rustdesk-network
30    restart: unless-stopped
31
32volumes: 
33  rustdesk-data: 
34
35networks: 
36  rustdesk-network: 
37    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1# RustDesk Server
2# Public key will be generated in rustdesk-data volume
3# Configure clients with your server IP and public key

Usage Notes

1ID server (hbbs) handles connections
2Relay server (hbbr) for NAT traversal
3Get public key from data/id_ed25519.pub
4Configure clients with server IP + key
5Encrypted connections only

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

hbbs

hbbs:
  image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest
  container_name: rustdesk-hbbs
  command: hbbs
  environment:
    - ENCRYPTED_ONLY=1
  volumes:
    - rustdesk-data:/root
  ports:
    - "21115:21115"
    - "21116:21116"
    - 21116:21116/udp
    - "21118:21118"
  networks:
    - rustdesk-network
  restart: unless-stopped

hbbr

hbbr:
  image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest
  container_name: rustdesk-hbbr
  command: hbbr
  volumes:
    - rustdesk-data:/root
  ports:
    - "21117:21117"
    - "21119:21119"
  networks:
    - rustdesk-network
  restart: unless-stopped

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  hbbs:
5    image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest
6    container_name: rustdesk-hbbs
7    command: hbbs
8    environment:
9      - ENCRYPTED_ONLY=1
10    volumes:
11      - rustdesk-data:/root
12    ports:
13      - "21115:21115"
14      - "21116:21116"
15      - "21116:21116/udp"
16      - "21118:21118"
17    networks:
18      - rustdesk-network
19    restart: unless-stopped
20
21  hbbr:
22    image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest
23    container_name: rustdesk-hbbr
24    command: hbbr
25    volumes:
26      - rustdesk-data:/root
27    ports:
28      - "21117:21117"
29      - "21119:21119"
30    networks:
31      - rustdesk-network
32    restart: unless-stopped
33
34volumes:
35  rustdesk-data:
36
37networks:
38  rustdesk-network:
39    driver: bridge
40EOF
41
42# 2. Create the .env file
43cat > .env << 'EOF'
44# RustDesk Server
45# Public key will be generated in rustdesk-data volume
46# Configure clients with your server IP and public key
47EOF
48
49# 3. Start the services
50docker compose up -d
51
52# 4. View logs
53docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/rustdesk-server/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Clients cannot discover server: Verify ports 21115-21116 are accessible and DNS resolution points to correct server IP address
Connection established but screen sharing fails: Check that port 21117 (relay server) is properly forwarded and hbbr container is running
Authentication failures with correct key: Ensure ENCRYPTED_ONLY=1 is set and clients are using the public key from id_ed25519.pub file
High CPU usage on relay server: Monitor concurrent connections and consider scaling hbbr instances for environments exceeding 50 simultaneous sessions
Intermittent disconnections during sessions: Verify UDP port 21116 is not blocked by ISP or corporate firewall policies
Unable to retrieve public key for client configuration: Check that rustdesk-data volume is properly mounted and containers have write access to /root directory

Community Notes

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Components

rustdesk-serverrustdesk-relay

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