rustdesk/rustdesk-server

Project overview

RustDesk Server is the open-source server side of the RustDesk remote desktop system, aimed at users who want to run their own ID/rendezvous and relay infrastructure instead of depending on the public service. The repository builds three binaries: hbbs for ID assignment and rendezvous, hbbr for traffic relay, and rustdesk-utils for CLI tasks. It is the right starting point for operators deploying remote access for a team or organization; people building their own compatible server are pointed to the separate demo repository rustdesk-server-demo.

Quick start

You need a Rust toolchain to compile from source. Clone the repository and build in release mode:

cargo build --release

Three executables appear in target/release: hbbs, hbbr, and rustdesk-utils build instructions. Run them with --help to see flags, or configure them with command-line flags, environment variables, or an .env/config file. Common settings include the key (-k / KEY), listen port (-p / PORT, defaulting to 21116 for hbbs and 21117 for hbbr), bind address (-b / BIND), relay address override (-r / RELAY-SERVERS), and log level (RUST_LOG) configuration table. Prebuilt binaries are on the Releases page; deployment steps are in the self-host manual and the OSS installation guide.

Constraints

Both servers listen on network interfaces by default; the bind-address option requires version 1.1.17 or later. hbbs generates or loads a key by default, and that key must match the clients. ALWAYS_USE_RELAY=Y disables direct connections, forcing all traffic through hbbr. The full variable list, precedence rules, database settings, relay bandwidth tuning, and Docker image variables are documented in the environment variables reference. The project is licensed under AGPL-3.0. RustDesk Server Pro is a separate paid product with more features, and the documentation covers migrating from OSS to Pro.

HotRepo's take

On the Rust-language daily list for 2026-11-04, the project recorded 13 new stars and ranked 11th in that language list, with 10,673 stars and 2,738 forks in total. This is a single snapshot rather than a trend, so it mainly shows the repository remains active within the Rust ecosystem; the value for operators is the concrete split between hbbs and hbbr and the documented configuration surface, not the daily ranking.