--- title: "Build Your Own TeamViewer with Open-Source and Free RustDesk" description: "An introduction to using the open-source and free RustDesk with Docker to self-host a relay server, creating a secure and stable remote desktop tool to replace TeamViewer." canonical_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer" author: "Mark Ku" author_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku" site: "Mark Ku's Tech Notes" date_published: "2023-08-27 01:01:35 +0800" category: "Infra" tags: ["rustdesk", "remote desktop", "teamviewer", "docker", "self-hosted", "infra"] language: "en" license: "CC BY 4.0" license_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" attribution: "when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original" --- # Build Your Own TeamViewer with Open-Source and Free RustDesk ## Introduction You've probably all heard of or used the well-known remote desktop tool, TeamViewer. But when it started charging, we began a constant search for free alternatives. I've tried options like AnyDesk and AweSun, but they often suffered from unexplained lag or disconnections. Finally, I found RustDesk—an open-source, free, and easy-to-use remote connection tool that we can self-host with Docker. ## Advantages of RustDesk * **Efficient and Secure:** RustDesk is written in Rust, a highly efficient and secure programming language. * **Multi-Platform Support:** It works seamlessly on Windows, Linux, macOS, and even iOS and Android. * **Simple and Easy to Use:** The user experience is as intuitive as TeamViewer, and it uses NAT traversal to ensure stable connections. * **Private and Flexible:** RustDesk allows you to host your own relay server, giving you greater control over your privacy. * **Stable Connections:** RustDesk maintains a stable connection even on unreliable networks. * **Open and Free:** You can use RustDesk completely for free, and its open-source code allows you to inspect or modify it at any time. Come and experience your very own RustDesk remote desktop tool! ## Prerequisites * An Ubuntu server to install the RustDesk Server on. * A dedicated IP address configured for your Ubuntu server. * [Docker installed](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/) on the Ubuntu server. ## First, Install the RustDesk Server ### On your Ubuntu server with Docker installed, create a `docker-compose.yaml` file. ``` vim docker-compose.yml ``` ### ``` version: '3' networks: rustdesk-net: external: false services: hbbs: container_name: hbbs ports: - 21115:21115 - 21116:21116 - 21116:21116/udp - 21118:21118 image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest # yourIP 換成你的外部網路 IP command: hbbs -r {yourIP}:21117 volumes: - ./data:/root networks: - rustdesk-net depends_on: - hbbr restart: unless-stopped hbbr: container_name: hbbr ports: - 21117:21117 - 21119:21119 image: rustdesk/rustdesk-server:latest command: hbbr volumes: - ./data:/root networks: - rustdesk-net restart: unless-stopped ``` ### Start the Service ``` sudo docker compose up -d ``` ### Disable the Firewall ``` sudo ufw allow 21115:21119/tcp sudo ufw allow 8000/tcp sudo ufw allow 21116/udp sudo ufw enable ``` ### Test (PowerShell) ``` test-netconnection domain.com -p 21115 ``` ``` docker logs containerID ``` ## Configure the Client ### First, [download and install the RustDesk client](https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk/releases/tag/1.2.2). ### Next, let's set a permanent password for this client. Go to Settings > Unlock Security Settings > Set permanent password. ![RustDesk security settings with permanent password option highlighted](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer/images/1.png) ### Then, configure it to use the RustDesk Server you set up earlier. Unlock Network Settings > Relay Server > {YourPublicIP}:21116 P.S. The latest versions now require you to [enter a key](https://www.google.com/search?q=hbbs+key+%E7%9B%AE%E9%8C%84&rlz=1C1ONGR_zh-TWTW1121TW1121&oq=hbbs+key+%E7%9B%AE%E9%8C%84&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigAdIBCDM5NDBqMGoxqAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), so you'll need to enter the `hbbs` container to find out what the key is. ![RustDesk network settings showing relay server IP and key](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer/images/2.png) ### Check the status bar at the bottom. If it shows 'Ready', the connection is successful. ![RustDesk application showing Ready status and remote desktop interface](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer/images/3.png) ### Connection Screen ![RustDesk password prompt for remote desktop connection](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer/images/4.png) ### In Use - Desktop Version ![Desktop screenshot with futuristic gun wallpaper and application icons](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer/images/5.png) ### In Use - Mobile Version ![Windows desktop with RustDesk icon and remote access controls](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer/images/6.png) ### [Enable/Disable Wayland on Ubuntu 20.04 Desktop](https://blog.csdn.net/qq_35097289/article/details/131806855) --- ## About this article and its author Originally published on [Mark Ku's Tech Notes](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/custom-your-remote-tool-like-team-viewer) License: [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original ### About the author **[Mark Ku](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku)** — Software Solution Provider - 10+ years senior software engineer, now an AI Builder - Focused on large-platform architecture — North-American e-commerce, AI SaaS subscription billing - Combining AI Agents and automation to build evolvable product foundations ### Free tools built by the author All of these are free to use: - [Free PDF Sign Tool](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/pdf-sign): Online PDF sign tool — draw, type, or upload a signature, then drag, resize, and download. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. - [VS Code Refactory](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/refactory): Refactory is a VS Code refactoring extension: 34 actions plus a 37-rule code-smell inspection layer with a Code Health dashboard, across 18 languages, backed by 534 tests. It learns your repo's conventions: where interfaces live, where DI is registered, whether 'use client' belongs. It ranks files by git churn × complexity so you know what to fix first, and hands any smell to the Claude Code already on your machine. Free to use, and your source never leaves your computer. - [DB-Kit Database Manager](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/db-kit): DB-Kit is a lightweight, cross-platform database manager built with Tauri + Rust + React. Manage MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, SQLite, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, Elasticsearch and RabbitMQ from one consistent interface: passwords encrypted in the OS keychain, SSH tunnels, full CRUD, a visual query builder, stacked multi-statement result sets, cross-connection data transfer and compare/sync, Excel / CSV import & export, visualized execution plans, ER diagrams, scheduled backups, SQL stress testing with p50–p99 latency percentiles, a 15-rule SQL review engine, Kafka message browsing with monitoring & alerts, a bilingual UI (Traditional Chinese / English), a built-in AI assistant (natural-language SQL, AI review and tuning advice) and the dbk CLI. Free and open source (MIT), with installers for Windows, macOS and Linux. - [VS Code Super Mermaid](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/super-mermaid): Super Mermaid is a VS Code extension for beautiful Mermaid diagrams out of the box: auto-colored live preview, mouse pan & zoom, high-res PNG / SVG export, 21 templates and multiple themes. Free and open source (MIT). - [React Super Mermaid](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/react-super-mermaid): react-super-mermaid is an open-source React component library: render beautiful Mermaid diagrams with a single , with built-in colorful / sketch themes, pan & zoom, in-diagram search, and high-res SVG / PNG export. Lightweight, SSR-safe, fully typed. 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No sign-up, nothing uploaded to a server, and mermaid.live share links work as-is. - [React Intl Phone Number](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/react-intl-phone-number): react-intl-phone-number is an open-source React component: framework-agnostic and antd-free, with E.164 in/out, a searchable flag / country-code dropdown, configurable validation levels (strict / mobile-strict / loose), themeable CSS, and i18n — phone logic powered by google-libphonenumber. Lightweight and fully typed. Free and open source (MIT). - [Uptime Kuma Cluster](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/uptime-kuma-cluster): Turn single-node Uptime Kuma into a highly available cluster: OpenResty + Lua smart load balancing, shared MariaDB state, health checks and automatic failover, plus cluster-management REST APIs. One Docker Compose command to start. 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