Install XRDP on Ubuntu 16 & 18 x64 Server with XFCE4 Desktop
In this tutorial, I will show you how to install RDP functionality on a Ubuntu Server VPS . Ubuntu Server usually comes with a console usually accessible directly via the screen or, in the case of a VPS or remote PC/server, via SSH connection.
- Make sure the system is up to date with the latest stable software:
apt-get update && apt-get -y dist-upgrade Notice the -y argument in the command. This is a preset answer to the question provided by the installer.
- Install the software providing RDP support which is XRDP, a wonderful little tool designed for bringing linux remote desktops closer to users:
apt-get -y install xrdp
- As mentioned earlier, Ubuntu Server does not come with a desktop thus XRDP will not work as intended. Today’s choice is XFCE , a light desktop software with minimalistic and nice design:
apt-get -y install xfce4 xfce4-terminal tango-icon-theme firefox The extra software is required for terminal access and an alternative icon pack.
- Now that everything required is installed, the default desktop has to be defined in the xrdp configuration:
sed -i.bak '/fi/a #xrdp multiple users configuration \n xfce4-session \n' /etc/xrdp/startwm.sh
- The last step is restarting XRDP in order for the new configuration to be loaded:
service xrdp restart
- Try it out using RDP. At first login , select “Use default config” for the default desktop setup.
That’s it! Enjoy using your own nifty remote desktop 🙂
In case you feel the desktop is lacking in terms of basic software, you can install all the goodies using this simple console command:
apt-get -y install xfce4-goodies