WebRDP

Web-based RDP client proxy using Express, Socket.io, and HTML5 Canvas.

Proxies a WebSocket/Socket.io connection from the browser to an RDP server via Node.js. Renders the remote desktop in an HTML5 Canvas element with keyboard and mouse input forwarding.

Requirements

• Node.js >= 20
• Or Docker

Quick Start

Node.js

git clone https://github.com/Mikej81/WebRDP.git
cd WebRDP
cp .env.example .env    # edit as needed
npm install
npm run build
node app.js

Docker

docker compose up -d

Then open http://localhost:4200/rdp/host/<RDP_HOST_IP> in your browser.

You'll be prompted for HTTP Basic Auth credentials — these are forwarded as the RDP username/password. Use DOMAIN\username format for domain-joined hosts.

Configuration

All settings are configured via environment variables (or a .env file). See .env.example for the full list:

Variable	Default	Description
LISTEN_IP	127.0.0.1	Bind address
LISTEN_PORT	4200	Listen port
SESSION_SECRET	(random)	Express session secret
RDP_DEFAULT_PORT	3389	Default RDP port
LOG_SCREEN_ON_MOUSECLICKS	false	Save screenshots on click
HEADER_TEXT	(none)	Header bar text
HEADER_BACKGROUND	green	Header bar color
TLS_KEY_PATH	(none)	Path to TLS private key (enables HTTPS)
TLS_CERT_PATH	(none)	Path to TLS certificate

Usage

URL Parameters

http://localhost:4200/rdp/host/<host>?port=3389&header=MySession&headerBackground=blue

• host — IP, FQDN, or hostname of the RDP target
• port — RDP port (default: 3389)
• header — Custom header text
• headerBackground — Header bar CSS color

Authentication

HTTP Basic Auth credentials are passed through to the RDP connection:

• Username: DOMAIN\user or just user
• Password: your RDP password

Development

npm install
npm run build        # esbuild: bundles client JS
npm run dev          # starts server with --watch
npm run lint         # eslint
npm test             # vitest

(new) Architecture

Browser (Canvas + Socket.io client)
    ↕ WebSocket
Node.js (Express + Socket.io server)
    ↕ RDP protocol
Windows RDP Server

• Server: Express handles auth and routing; Socket.io proxies input/output events between the browser and the RDP library (@electerm/rdpjs)
• Client: Canvas renders bitmap updates; keyboard/mouse events are captured and forwarded over Socket.io
• RLE Decompression: An Emscripten/WASM module (rle.js) handles client-side bitmap decompression

License

Copyright (c) 2017 Mikej81 Licensed under the GPL license.