RemoteCtl

 中文文档

Cross-platform remote desktop tool. macOS / Windows / Linux as host, browser or native App as controller.

Features

• H.264 hardware encoding — VideoToolbox on macOS, x264 on Windows/Linux
• WebRTC transport — peer-to-peer video stream; the server never touches video data
• TURN relay — automatic relay for mobile (4G/5G) / symmetric NAT environments
• E2EE input encryption — ECDH P-256 + AES-256-GCM end-to-end encrypted input events
• Low-latency mouse — local cursor overlay for instant feedback; input over P2P DataChannel
• Cross-platform clipboard — paste text (including CJK / Emoji) from controller to remote
• In-session chat — real-time text messages and file transfer between controller and host
• Session password auth — random 8-digit password generated on each start, simple and secure
• All-in-one desktop App — single App for macOS/Windows/Linux with both "Remote Control" and "Share This PC" modes
• systemd deployment — release package includes install.sh for one-command service setup, no root required for port 443

vs. Commercial Tools

RemoteCtl shares the same WebRTC technology stack as Sunflower, TeamViewer, etc. The key differences are control depth and data sovereignty:

Feature	RemoteCtl	Sunflower
Open source	✓	—
Self-hosted (no third-party server)	✓	—
Browser control (no client install)	✓	Partial
Fully custom bitrate / resolution / FPS	✓	Partial
Full mobile keyboard (modifiers + number row + F1–F12)	✓	Partial
In-session chat + P2P file transfer	✓	—
Completely free	✓	Partial

• Self-hosted: deploy one public Linux server; video travels over WebRTC P2P and the server only forwards signaling — no audio/video ever passes through it.
• Quality tuning: bitrate, scale (resolution), and fps are all independently adjustable. Max out scale:1.0 bitrate:8M on LAN; drop to scale:0.5 bitrate:1M on mobile 4G.
• Mobile keyboard: modifier keys (Ctrl / Shift / Alt / Win / ⌘) can be pressed standalone; number row, arrow keys, and F1–F12 are always visible in the toolbar — enabling combos like Ctrl+B+1 for tmux.
• In-session chat: controller and host communicate via WebRTC DataChannel directly (no server), with system notifications on the host side — great for sharing links, screenshots, and config files.

Sunflower data sourced from public materials; refer to its latest official release for accuracy.

Screenshots

Web — Landing Page & Features

Desktop App — Host Mode & Chat

Browser — Remote Control

Mobile — Connect, Keyboard & Chat

Download

Go to the Releases page to download the package for your platform.

File	Description
remotectl-app-macos-vX.Y.Z.zip	macOS App (controller + host in one)
remotectl-app-windows-amd64-vX.Y.Z.zip	Windows App (controller + host in one)
remotectl-app-linux-amd64-vX.Y.Z.tar.gz	Linux App (controller + host in one)
remotectl-agent-linux-amd64-vX.Y.Z.tar.gz	Linux headless agent (no GUI, for servers)
remotectl-server-linux-amd64-vX.Y.Z.tar.gz	Signaling server — Linux x86_64 (includes systemd scripts)
remotectl-server-linux-arm64-vX.Y.Z.tar.gz	Signaling server — Linux ARM64 (includes systemd scripts)

Quick Start

Desktop App (controller + host)

Download the remotectl-app-* package for your platform, unzip, and run. The App has two modes:

• Remote Control — enter a Device ID and session password to connect and control a remote machine
• Share This PC — share your screen with a controller

Linux Headless Agent

For Linux servers without a desktop environment, download remotectl-agent-linux-amd64-*:

tar xzf remotectl-agent-linux-amd64-vX.Y.Z.tar.gz
cd remotectl-agent-linux-amd64-vX.Y.Z
cp agent.yaml.example agent.yaml
vim agent.yaml   # fill in server address and token
./remotectl-agent --config agent.yaml

Signaling Server (self-hosted)

Download the remotectl-server-linux-* package and deploy as a systemd service:

tar xzf remotectl-server-linux-amd64-vX.Y.Z.tar.gz
cd remotectl-server-linux-amd64-vX.Y.Z

# (optional) generate a self-signed TLS cert; skip if you already have one
bash gen-cert.sh ./certs 1.2.3.4          # replace with your server's public IP
# bash gen-cert.sh ./certs 1.2.3.4 my.domain.com   # also bind a domain name

sudo bash install.sh    # installs to /opt/remotectl, adds iptables rule for port 443
sudo vim /opt/remotectl/server.yaml   # fill in tokens, TLS paths, TURN config
sudo systemctl restart remotectl-server

TURN Relay (required for mobile networks)

Needed for 4G/5G and carrier-grade NAT. Install coturn on the same server:

sudo apt install -y coturn
sudo sed -i 's/#TURNSERVER_ENABLED/TURNSERVER_ENABLED/' /etc/default/coturn

Key settings in /etc/turnserver.conf:

listening-port=3478
external-ip=<server public IP>
realm=<domain or IP>
lt-cred-mech
user=remotectl:changeme
no-multicast-peers

sudo systemctl enable --now coturn

Add TURN config to server.yaml:

turn:
  url:      "turn:1.2.3.4:3478"
  user:     "remotectl"
  password: "changeme"

OS firewall (iptables):

sudo iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport 3478 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 3478 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport 49152:65535 -j ACCEPT
sudo netfilter-persistent save

OCI Security List (console): Networking → Virtual Cloud Networks → your VCN → Security Lists → Default Security List → Add Ingress Rules:

Source CIDR	Protocol	Destination Port
0.0.0.0/0	UDP	3478
0.0.0.0/0	TCP	3478
0.0.0.0/0	UDP	49152-65535

OCI has two firewall layers (Security List + instance iptables) — both must allow the ports.

Platform Support

Platform	Controller	Host
macOS	✅ App	✅ built into App
Windows	✅ App	✅ built into App
Linux	✅ App	✅ App / standalone agent
iOS	✅ App	❌
Android	✅ App	❌
Browser	✅ Web	❌