{"slug": "remote-desktop-protocol", "name": "Remote Desktop Protocol", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 14, "warners": 8, "score": -2.932, "rising": 1.35, "first": "2025-11-29", "latest": "2026-10-10", "why": "the Windows Remote Desktop over Tailscale is great", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 8}, "spark": [1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "the Windows Remote Desktop over Tailscale is great", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Windows Remote Desktop", "RDP", "Remote Desktop", "Windows RDP"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 794793906, "item_id": 49674619, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49674619", "by": "x3haloed", "date": "2026-09-12", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Windows RDP-like user experience", "excerpt": "Now that NoMachine 10 has no free option, I\u2019ve decided that I should try to burn some tokens on making a good, performant remote desktop system. I\u2019m targeting moonlight-like performance with Windows RDP-like user experience. Cross-platform. https://github.com/x3haloed/ascry I don\u2019t need my particular repo to be the one where this gets solved, but now that coding agents are really good, we shouldn\u2019t have to put up wit", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I refuse to let SPICE die"}, {"id": 790464433, "item_id": 49404027, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49404027", "by": "okanat", "date": "2026-08-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The connection is responsive enough to survive their home-to-office VPN connection.", "excerpt": "No. When the communication side is actually done thoughtfully, GUIs deliver superior experiences even in remote environments. VSCode SSH extension is one of the most widely developer-used proof against this. Windows' RDP is the other one where many engineers and POS personnel have experince using them. Many electrical and mechanical engineers still use Windows RDP at my work to run simulations. The connection is resp", "context": "engineer who sets up simulation software on an HPC cluster", "use_case": "remote desktop for simulations", "switched_from": "", "story": "Stop Making TUIs"}, {"id": 761553122, "item_id": 47597070, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47597070", "by": "raihansaputra", "date": "2026-03-31", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the Windows Remote Desktop over Tailscale is great", "excerpt": "my experience with RustDesk + Tailscale is really good. when i only needed windows remote devices, the Windows Remote Desktop over Tailscale is great. I used RustDesk for access to macOS and Android devices (all over Tailscale) and works great too. No complaints really. Much less hassle to setup than Parsec (latency isn't as good though), and way snappier than AnyDesk through their network. Great tool enabled by Tail", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I traced my traffic through a home Tailscale exit node"}, {"id": 737391984, "item_id": 46086999, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46086999", "by": "InMice", "date": "2025-11-29", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Windows rdp server almost never goes down", "excerpt": "It's definitely the way to go. Been using this setup for years now. Windows rdp server almost never goes down. The occasional \"please wait\" error when starting a session can be fixed remotely by logging into a 2nd backup user account to unstuck the main account. Gives you windows on mac and linux, lets you choose whatever type hardware for your remote host. Connection outside LAN always wrapped in a tunnel or tailsca", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "WinApps: Run Windows apps as if they were a part of the native Linux OS"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 800491425, "item_id": 50030714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50030714", "by": "SyzygyRhythm", "date": "2026-10-10", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "The Windows Remote Desktop client has two bugs that have been driving me crazy for the better part of a decade.", "excerpt": "I'll have to take a look at this, but I've found that the top models do quite well at this work without any extra work. The Windows Remote Desktop client has two bugs that have been driving me crazy for the better part of a decade. One day I got fed up and fed the binary to Claude, asking it to fix the two bugs. And it just did it. Patched one with some NOPs and adjusted a stack offset for the other. Produced a credi", "context": "", "use_case": "remote desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "REA Reverse \u2013 Engineer Anything"}, {"id": 786880912, "item_id": 49180057, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49180057", "by": "tudelo", "date": "2026-08-05", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "latency was not good and reliability was not good", "excerpt": "I have been in RDP land but I would never go back unless required (windows). While it could just be personal experience/failures, latency was not good and reliability was not good. Things are probably better as of late though I hesitate to assume software has improved... It is just much simpler to live in the terminal for dev work, especially with agents. That being said, I use MacOS and Windows daily for non-dev wor", "context": "", "use_case": "remote Windows access", "switched_from": "", "story": "Mitchellh starts a new company: Superlogical"}, {"id": 773535296, "item_id": 48345956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48345956", "by": "rolph", "date": "2026-05-31", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "this stuff is unnerving to have open to the net, but win ships with it active and waiting for a trigger.", "excerpt": "a couple other Re: to supplement. https://powershellcookbook.com/recipe/oBbS/work-with-the-registry-of-a-remote-computer https://powershellcommands.com/powershell-remote-registry this stuff is unnerving to have open to the net, but win ships with it active and waiting for a trigger. i personally make it one of the first services to shut down.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "[H2] Enable RDP and Remote Registry on Win 10 or 11 \u2013 Risks and Considerations"}, {"id": 757891456, "item_id": 47368216, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47368216", "by": "efreak", "date": "2026-03-13", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "my issue is that there's no way to make it resize the desktop like vmconnect does", "excerpt": "This is how I mostly use my Windows PC: remote access from my Android tablet via ssh and rdp. My gripe is entirely different: Microsoft has turned to crap. RDP: Every time a native notification pops up, I get disconnected (usually the notification is about something I've been doing, such as starting a self-hosted server or running winget via unigetui). It randomly disconnects when I've been using it for more than a f", "context": "", "use_case": "Remote access to Windows", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"This Is Not the Computer for You\""}]}], "who": [{"by": "okanat", "context": "engineer who sets up simulation software on an HPC cluster", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49404027", "date": "2026-08-22"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["remote desktop", "remote desktop for simulations", "remote windows access", "remote desktop to another pc", "remote access to windows", "accessing computer remotely"], "compared": [{"slug": "tailscale", "name": "Tailscale", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "moonlight", "name": "Moonlight", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "macos", "name": "macOS", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "openvpn", "name": "OpenVPN", "co": 1, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "microsoft-windows", "name": "Microsoft Windows", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "xpra", "name": "xpra", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "parsec", "name": "Parsec", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "vnc", "name": "VNC", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46045207", "title": "WinApps: Run Windows apps as if they were a part of the native Linux OS", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50028275", "title": "REA Reverse \u2013 Engineer Anything", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49672641", "title": "I refuse to let SPICE die", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49384210", "title": "Stop Making TUIs", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49098965", "title": "Mitchellh starts a new company: Superlogical", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48345868", "title": "[H2] Enable RDP and Remote Registry on Win 10 or 11 \u2013 Risks and Considerations", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1}, "2025-12": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {"warn": 1}, "2026-02": {"warn": 1}, "2026-03": {"warn": 2, "neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"warn": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"warn": 1}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 800491425, "item_id": 50030714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50030714", "by": "SyzygyRhythm", "date": "2026-10-10", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "The Windows Remote Desktop client has two bugs that have been driving me crazy for the better part of a decade.", "excerpt": "I'll have to take a look at this, but I've found that the top models do quite well at this work without any extra work. The Windows Remote Desktop client has two bugs that have been driving me crazy for the better part of a decade. One day I got fed up and fed the binary to Claude, asking it to fix the two bugs. And it just did it. Patched one with some NOPs and adjusted a stack offset for the other. Produced a credi", "context": "", "use_case": "remote desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "REA Reverse \u2013 Engineer Anything"}, {"id": 794793906, "item_id": 49674619, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49674619", "by": "x3haloed", "date": "2026-09-12", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Windows RDP-like user experience", "excerpt": "Now that NoMachine 10 has no free option, I\u2019ve decided that I should try to burn some tokens on making a good, performant remote desktop system. I\u2019m targeting moonlight-like performance with Windows RDP-like user experience. Cross-platform. https://github.com/x3haloed/ascry I don\u2019t need my particular repo to be the one where this gets solved, but now that coding agents are really good, we shouldn\u2019t have to put up wit", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I refuse to let SPICE die"}, {"id": 790464433, "item_id": 49404027, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49404027", "by": "okanat", "date": "2026-08-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The connection is responsive enough to survive their home-to-office VPN connection.", "excerpt": "No. When the communication side is actually done thoughtfully, GUIs deliver superior experiences even in remote environments. VSCode SSH extension is one of the most widely developer-used proof against this. Windows' RDP is the other one where many engineers and POS personnel have experince using them. Many electrical and mechanical engineers still use Windows RDP at my work to run simulations. The connection is resp", "context": "engineer who sets up simulation software on an HPC cluster", "use_case": "remote desktop for simulations", "switched_from": "", "story": "Stop Making TUIs"}, {"id": 786880912, "item_id": 49180057, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49180057", "by": "tudelo", "date": "2026-08-05", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "latency was not good and reliability was not good", "excerpt": "I have been in RDP land but I would never go back unless required (windows). While it could just be personal experience/failures, latency was not good and reliability was not good. Things are probably better as of late though I hesitate to assume software has improved... It is just much simpler to live in the terminal for dev work, especially with agents. That being said, I use MacOS and Windows daily for non-dev wor", "context": "", "use_case": "remote Windows access", "switched_from": "", "story": "Mitchellh starts a new company: Superlogical"}, {"id": 773535296, "item_id": 48345956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48345956", "by": "rolph", "date": "2026-05-31", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "this stuff is unnerving to have open to the net, but win ships with it active and waiting for a trigger.", "excerpt": "a couple other Re: to supplement. https://powershellcookbook.com/recipe/oBbS/work-with-the-registry-of-a-remote-computer https://powershellcommands.com/powershell-remote-registry this stuff is unnerving to have open to the net, but win ships with it active and waiting for a trigger. i personally make it one of the first services to shut down.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "[H2] Enable RDP and Remote Registry on Win 10 or 11 \u2013 Risks and Considerations"}, {"id": 761553122, "item_id": 47597070, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47597070", "by": "raihansaputra", "date": "2026-03-31", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the Windows Remote Desktop over Tailscale is great", "excerpt": "my experience with RustDesk + Tailscale is really good. when i only needed windows remote devices, the Windows Remote Desktop over Tailscale is great. I used RustDesk for access to macOS and Android devices (all over Tailscale) and works great too. No complaints really. Much less hassle to setup than Parsec (latency isn't as good though), and way snappier than AnyDesk through their network. Great tool enabled by Tail", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I traced my traffic through a home Tailscale exit node"}, {"id": 759433089, "item_id": 47464568, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47464568", "by": "ray_v", "date": "2026-03-20", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "", "excerpt": "Didn't someone film or document a in-place upgrade process from dos all the way up to a modern version of Windows? edit: oh, here it is! https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/can-upgrade-ms-dos-6-22-windows-8-really-want-stuff-watch/", "context": "", "use_case": "Remote desktop to another PC", "switched_from": "", "story": "Our Commitment to Windows Quality"}, {"id": 757891456, "item_id": 47368216, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47368216", "by": "efreak", "date": "2026-03-13", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "my issue is that there's no way to make it resize the desktop like vmconnect does", "excerpt": "This is how I mostly use my Windows PC: remote access from my Android tablet via ssh and rdp. My gripe is entirely different: Microsoft has turned to crap. RDP: Every time a native notification pops up, I get disconnected (usually the notification is about something I've been doing, such as starting a self-hosted server or running winget via unigetui). It randomly disconnects when I've been using it for more than a f", "context": "", "use_case": "Remote access to Windows", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"This Is Not the Computer for You\""}, {"id": 755574593, "item_id": 47223412, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47223412", "by": "jclardy", "date": "2026-03-02", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "minus the general issues you run into with Remote Desktop.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been experimenting with a 13\u201d iPad Pro and Mac mini, setup with Tailscale. I love it, minus the general issues you run into with Remote Desktop. That plus not being able to deploy apps unless I\u2019m on the same wifi (as an iOS developer.) A dual boot iPad would be killer. I would go out and by the maxed out M5 if it was possible. MacOS for workdays, and iPadOS for everything else. That or just finish the last mile ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple introduces the new iPad Air, powered by M4"}, {"id": 749699618, "item_id": 46856226, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46856226", "by": "sumtechguy", "date": "2026-02-02", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "How many times are you going to break remote desktop again?", "excerpt": "> The real issue was never AI in Windows It was AI with no clear user benefit. I find it handy here and there. HOWEVER... There is no clear way to get rid of the thing. MS has added tons of features and then burry them in really obtuse ways to get rid of them if you can at all. That is the core of MS's user backlash. It makes people feel like they are not in control of their hardware. When I feed the machine 32 gig o", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Microsoft is walking back Windows 11's AI overload"}, {"id": 745393857, "item_id": 46587116, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46587116", "by": "gambiting", "date": "2026-01-12", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Tens of thousands of login attempts every day, all year round.", "excerpt": "\"Back in the day\"(just few years ago) I used to expose a port for RDP on my router, on a non-standard port. Typically it would be fine and quiet for a few weeks, then I assume some automatic scanner would find it and from that point onwards I could see windows event log reporting a log in attempt every second, with random login/password combinations, clearly just looking for something that would work. I would change ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "2026 is the Year of Self-hosting"}, {"id": 739814368, "item_id": 46238398, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46238398", "by": "snowfield", "date": "2025-12-11", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Remote Desktop so everything is accessible from every device", "excerpt": "\"I use Remote Desktop so everything is accessible from every device\"", "context": "", "use_case": "Accessing computer remotely", "switched_from": "", "story": "My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file (2020)"}, {"id": 737393411, "item_id": 46087088, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46087088", "by": "yonatan8070", "date": "2025-11-29", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "NVIDIA GameStream is way faster than RDP", "excerpt": "From my personal experience (by feel, not scientific), NVIDIA GameStream is way faster than RDP. I used it with Sunshine and Moonlight.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "WinApps: Run Windows apps as if they were a part of the native Linux OS"}, {"id": 737391984, "item_id": 46086999, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46086999", "by": "InMice", "date": "2025-11-29", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Windows rdp server almost never goes down", "excerpt": "It's definitely the way to go. Been using this setup for years now. Windows rdp server almost never goes down. The occasional \"please wait\" error when starting a session can be fixed remotely by logging into a 2nd backup user account to unstuck the main account. Gives you windows on mac and linux, lets you choose whatever type hardware for your remote host. Connection outside LAN always wrapped in a tunnel or tailsca", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "WinApps: Run Windows apps as if they were a part of the native Linux OS"}]}