Windows and Linux desktops inside Tabby.
Connect through SSH, directly over RDP, or through an RD Gateway.
Sharper: the same demo as an MP4 (downloads)
tabby-rdp adds remote desktops to the Tabby terminal. Switch an SSH pane between its shell and desktop, or open an RDP profile in a tab of its own. Split tabs to work with several machines side by side.
Windows, Xfce, KDE Plasma, MATE, Cinnamon and GNOME can be reached through their RDP servers. GNOME also supports automatic headless setup over SSH. Server requirements and tested coverage are below.
Install · Get started · Connection options · User guides · Troubleshooting
In Tabby, open Settings › Plugins, search for tabby-rdp, install, and restart Tabby. Requires Tabby 1.0.236 or newer on macOS, Windows or Linux.
For a terminal installation, run npm install tabby-rdp in Tabby's plugin folder:
| This computer | Plugin folder |
|---|---|
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/tabby/plugins |
| Linux | ~/.config/tabby/plugins |
| Windows | %APPDATA%\tabby\plugins |
Choose stable or preview updates in Settings › Remote Desktop › Updates. Installation is always your choice; restart Tabby afterward. See versions and recovery.
- Open an SSH tab to a machine with a supported desktop server.
- Press ⌘⇧G on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+G on Windows/Linux, or click Desktop in the SSH tab's toolbar.
- Press the shortcut again to return to the console. The desktop keeps running until you disconnect or close it.
For GNOME, the first connection prepares a headless session without root or a monitor. With xrdp or Windows, the plugin uses the existing RDP server and asks for your account. A host with both GNOME and xrdp offers the xrdp desktop separately after its GNOME desktop has been opened.
| Remote OS / desktop | RDP server | Setup and coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10/11 Pro and Windows Server | Windows Remote Desktop | Enable Remote Desktop; connect directly or through SSH / RD Gateway. Windows 11 has visual QA coverage; the FreeRDP preview was also tested against Server 2025. |
| Linux: Xfce, KDE Plasma, MATE, Cinnamon and others | xrdp | Uses the desktop configured for xrdp sessions. Rocky Linux 9 with Xfce is tested; other desktop combinations need their own qualification. |
| Linux: GNOME | GNOME Remote Desktop 46+ | Automatic headless setup for the SSH user. Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora have visual QA coverage. |
| Linux: KDE Plasma through KRDP | KRDP | Experimental: the tested Fedora stack needs server patches; stock KRDP and live monitor resize remain unqualified. |
The client runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. These are separate from the OS of the remote desktop. See requirements, exact test environments and limitations for server versions, optional channels and pending coverage. The FreeRDP client preview has a narrower platform and feature set than IronRDP.
| Connect to | Remote OS | Setup | What opens |
|---|---|---|---|
| The SSH host's own desktop | Linux or Windows | Open SSH, then Desktop. Windows hosts need OpenSSH Server and Remote Desktop. | Desktop in that SSH pane; switch back to its console |
| A desktop behind an SSH host | Windows or Linux | Desktops › Add a desktop behind <host>…; enter the address as the SSH host sees it | Desktop through the existing SSH connection |
| A machine on the LAN or VPN | Windows or Linux | Settings › Profiles & connections › New profile › Remote desktop (RDP) | A dedicated desktop tab |
| A machine reached through an RD Gateway | Windows or Linux | Set the profile's RD Gateway and the desktop address as the gateway sees it | RDP tunneled over HTTPS |
| A Hyper-V VM console | Any guest OS; Windows host | Select the VM in the Windows SSH host's Desktops menu | VM console; no guest RDP server required; IronRDP only |
Behind-host desktops can be edited or removed from the menu. RDP profiles also support SSH routing, quick connect
with user@host:port, and Import an .rdp file…. See the connection guide for setup, import
behavior, VM discovery and waking desktops. The edit/removal table
explains what happens to saved passwords and certificates.
These features describe the default IronRDP client. The FreeRDP preview's limits are below.
| Feature | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Clipboard and files | Copy text, images, files and folders; choose both ways, remote-to-local only, or off. Drag files onto a desktop or use Send files…. |
| Shared folders | Expose local folders as read-only or writable drives on Windows and compatible xrdp servers. |
| Sound and microphone | Play remote sound locally; optionally send your microphone when a remote app records. Microphone sharing is off by default. |
| Display | Live resize, Retina sharpness, fit-to-pane or actual-size display, screenshots and optional connection statistics. |
| Keyboard | Mac shortcuts, Send keys, Unicode input and view-only mode. |
| Several desktops | Split tabs, paste or type into visible desktops together, and show each desktop's name. |
| Reconnect | Recover after sleep or a network interruption. |
| Sign-in | Save passwords in Tabby's Vault or the system keychain; reuse named accounts across desktops. |
Clipboard, shared folders and microphone settings determine what a remote desktop can access. See sharing and controls and accounts and certificate trust.
With desk enabled, typing desk in an SSH console moves the same shell, history and running jobs into a terminal
on the GNOME desktop. It is optional and off by default. How desk works.
Settings › Remote Desktop › Settings › RDP client selects IronRDP or experimental FreeRDP. Profiles and behind-host desktops can override the default. Changes apply on the next connection.
In an RDP profile tab's … menu, choose RDP client to switch that profile and optionally Reconnect to apply.
| Client | Availability | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| IronRDP (default) | macOS, Windows and Linux | The features above, subject to the server's capabilities |
| FreeRDP (experimental) | macOS ARM64; Windows and Linux ARM64/x64 native helpers | In-tab display, keyboard/mouse, scaling, resize, view only, screenshots and reconnect. Clipboard, files, audio, shared folders, Hyper-V and H.264 are pending. |
Windows Server performance has not been benchmarked. See FreeRDP builds, licensing and capability notes.
The proposed 0.6.0-rc.1 remains a PR test build until further analysis and hands-on testing are complete.
| Guide | Find out about |
|---|---|
| Connections and VMs | Direct RDP, desktops behind SSH, profiles, .rdp imports, gateways, VM discovery and wake-up |
| Accounts and trust | Saved accounts, edits/removals, certificate prompts, NLA and generated GNOME credentials |
| Sharing and controls | Clipboard, files, shared drives, microphone, keyboard and split-tab actions |
| Settings and updates | Setting names/defaults, preview versions, rollback and recovery |
| Compatibility and coverage | Server requirements, tested platforms, experimental support and limitations |
| Troubleshooting | Connection failures, installation problems, logs and recovery |
IronRDP is a Rust RDP client compiled to WebAssembly. We ship a reviewed patch series and contribute fixes upstream; see IronRDP and contributions. The optional native FreeRDP helper is built separately.
npm ci --ignore-scripts
npm run build
npm run typecheck
npm run test:unit
npm run pack:release
scripts/sandbox.sh # a separate Tabby profile on macOSRead CONTRIBUTING.md and AGENTS.md for the PR, test-build and release procedure. See the architecture, test guide, testbed and visual QA guide for implementation and qualification.
Start with Troubleshooting. Ask questions in Discussions › Q&A, or report bugs and feature requests in Issues.
Include Settings › Remote Desktop › Desktops › Open desktops › Copy log. For failures before a desktop opens, enable Settings › Diagnostics › Write a log file and retry. Logs omit passwords and protocol secrets but retain names and addresses; check those before attaching one.
MIT. IronRDP is MIT or Apache-2.0 (license); bundled FreeRDP, WinPR and OpenSSL 3 are Apache-2.0, with their license notices and WinPR's Unicode conversion notice included in each native bundle. FreeRDP licensing. Header icons are from Font Awesome Free (CC BY 4.0).
tabby-rdp is an independent project, not affiliated with Tabby, Devolutions or the GNOME Project.