I'm looking for a Linux remote desktop solution that simply works after a reboot. Sunshine and Moonlight over Tailscale perform extremely well with almost no latency, but after restarting the computer I have to log in locally before I can connect.
On Windows, Chrome Remote Desktop lets me connect as long as the computer is powered on and has internet access, even if nobody has logged in yet. I'd like something with that same reliability on Linux. I'm using CachyOS on my laptop, and dependable access to my home desktop is important. What setup or software would you recommend?
5 Answers
RustDesk is worth trying. It can provide unattended access and is fairly straightforward to set up. It may not have every feature of Chrome Remote Desktop, but it works well for many remote-support and personal-access situations.
A practical workaround is to keep both tools installed: use Chrome Remote Desktop as a fallback to reach the machine after a reboot, then start or access RustDesk for normal use. If Chrome Remote Desktop is difficult to install on your distribution, running Sunshine with automatic login is probably the closest simple alternative.
TigerVNC paired with LightDM can start before a user logs in. You can connect through SSH with port forwarding, reach the LightDM login screen, and then choose a desktop session such as GNOME or XFCE. The setup takes more work than a one-click solution, but it handles reboots without requiring an existing graphical login. Distribution documentation and community wikis usually have setup instructions.
I’ll look into that setup. Thanks for the suggestion.
There isn’t currently one universally reliable Linux solution across every distribution, desktop environment, and display server. Xorg and Wayland behave differently, and a remote console—connecting to the physical desktop shown on the monitor—is different from creating a separate remote session. VNC-style tools can provide a pre-login screen, while tools such as X2Go focus more on separate sessions. The best choice depends on whether you need the existing desktop or just a usable remote Linux session.
If you want the simplest option, configure the system to log in automatically and launch Sunshine at boot. That gives you access after a restart without needing someone at the computer, though automatic login has security implications. Another approach is configuring Sunshine to start at the login screen, but the exact steps depend on the display server and desktop environment.
I tried RustDesk, but closing the window also seemed to stop the service instead of leaving it available in the tray. I’d need to keep the application open, which makes it less convenient for unattended access.