The First AI-Native Remote Desktop
Built-in MCP Server · AI Agents Control Any Remote Computer · Open-Source & Free
English | 中文
--- QuickDesk is the **first AI-native remote desktop** — an open-source, free application with a **built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server** that lets any AI agent see and control remote computers. While other remote desktop tools only serve human users, QuickDesk extends **AI Computer Use** from "local machine only" to **"any remote machine in the world"**. Connect Claude, GPT, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI to QuickDesk, and it can screenshot, click, type, drag, and automate across remote desktops — just like a human operator, but faster and 24/7. Built on Google Chromium Remoting technology (the engine behind Chrome Remote Desktop), QuickDesk delivers industrial-grade performance, stability, and security refined over 10+ years by Google. Main Interface  Remote Desktop  AI Config  ## Why QuickDesk? ### AI-First: The Only Remote Desktop with MCP Support [ → MCP Integration Guide](docs/mcp-integration.md) - **Built-in MCP Server**: AI agents connect via standard MCP protocol — no plugins, no hacks, zero configuration - **Dual Transport**: stdio mode (AI client spawns process) or HTTP/SSE mode (QuickDesk hosts MCP server for multi-client access) - **Full Computer Use Toolkit**: 20+ MCP tools — screenshot, click, type, drag, scroll, hotkeys, clipboard, and more - **Real-Time Visibility**: AI operations are displayed in the QuickDesk GUI in real time — the user sees every mouse move and keystroke, and can intervene at any time - **Multi-Device AI Orchestration**: AI can connect to and control multiple remote machines simultaneously — batch automation, cross-device workflows, fleet management - **Guided Prompts**: 9 built-in MCP prompt templates covering remote operation, server health check, batch automation, system diagnosis, screen analysis, multi-device orchestration, and SOP documentation ### High-Performance Foundation - **Open-Source & Free**: MIT License, no feature restrictions, no connection limits, commercial use welcome - **Self-Hosted**: Deploy your own signaling and TURN relay servers, keep full control of your data - **Commercial-Grade Foundation**: Built on Chromium Remoting — the same technology powering Chrome Remote Desktop, refined by Google for 10+ years and proven by billions of users - **Pure C++ Ultimate Performance**: Full C++ stack from protocol core to GUI — no GC pauses, no runtime overhead, minimal memory and CPU footprint - **Modern Codecs**: H.264, VP8, VP9, AV1 — flexibly switch based on network and hardware conditions - **WebRTC P2P Direct Connection**: Prioritizes peer-to-peer connections for lowest latency; automatically falls back to TURN relay when traversal fails - **Cross-Platform**: Windows and macOS supported (Linux planned) - **Modern UI**: Fluent Design interface built with Qt 6 + QML, with light and dark themes ## Comparison | Feature | QuickDesk | RustDesk | BildDesk | ToDesk | TeamViewer | |---------|:---------:|:--------:|:--------:|:------:|:----------:| | **AI Agent Support (MCP)** | ✅ Built-in | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Open Source** | ✅ MIT | ✅ AGPL-3.0 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Free for Commercial Use** | ✅ | ❌ License required | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Core Language** | C++ | Rust + Dart | — | — | — | | **Remote Protocol** | Chromium Remoting (WebRTC) | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom | | **Protocol Maturity** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google 10yr+ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | **P2P Direct** | ✅ WebRTC ICE | ✅ TCP Hole Punching | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | **Video Codecs** | H.264/VP8/VP9/AV1 | VP8/VP9/AV1/H.264/H.265 | — | — | — | | **Self-Hosted** | ✅ Full solution | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **GUI Framework** | Qt 6 (C++) | Flutter (Dart) | — | — | — | | **Memory Usage** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Low | ⭐⭐⭐ Medium | — | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | | **CPU Usage** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Low | ⭐⭐⭐ Medium | — | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | | **Windows** | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | **macOS** | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | **Linux** | 🔜 | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | | **iOS/Android** | 🔜 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ### Why Best-in-Class Performance? 1. **Pure C++ Full Stack**: The entire stack — from low-level protocol to GUI — is implemented in C++. No garbage collection pauses, no VM/runtime overhead. Compared to RustDesk's Dart/Flutter GUI layer or ToDesk's Electron-based approach, CPU and memory usage are significantly lower. 2. **Chromium-Level Optimization**: Core paths for video encoding/decoding, network transmission, and screen capture directly reuse Chromium's highly optimized C++ code, including SIMD instruction optimization and zero-copy rendering pipelines. 3. **Shared Memory Video Transfer**: QuickDesk uses shared memory to pass video frames (YUV I420) between processes, eliminating the serialization/deserialization and data copying overhead of traditional IPC. 4. **GPU-Accelerated Rendering**: YUV data is fed directly into the GPU rendering pipeline via Qt 6's `QVideoSink`, achieving zero-CPU-copy video rendering. ## Features ### AI Integration (MCP Server) - Built-in MCP Server — AI agents connect via standard protocol, works with Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and any MCP client - Dual transport: stdio (AI client launches process) or HTTP/SSE (QuickDesk manages MCP server, multiple AI clients connect) - 20+ remote control tools: screenshot, mouse click/drag/scroll, keyboard type/hotkey, key press/release, clipboard read/write, screen size query - MCP Resources: real-time device status, connection info, host details - 9 MCP Prompts: operation guide, server health check, batch automation, system diagnosis, screen analysis, multi-device orchestration, SOP documentation - Real-time event streaming: connection state changes, clipboard updates, performance stats - Event-driven tools: wait_for_event, wait_for_connection_state, wait_for_clipboard_change for reactive automation - Background automation mode: `show_window=false` for headless batch operations - Screenshot scaling: adjustable resolution for faster AI processing ### Remote Control - High-definition, low-latency remote desktop display - Full keyboard and mouse mapping - Real-time remote cursor synchronization - Bidirectional clipboard sync - Adaptive frame rate and bitrate - Frame rate boost mode (Office / Gaming) ### Connection Management - 9-digit Device ID + temporary access code mechanism - Auto-refresh access code (configurable: 30 min to 24 hours, or never) - Multi-tab simultaneous connections to multiple remote devices - Connection history with quick reconnect - Real-time connection status monitoring ### Performance Monitoring - Detailed latency breakdown panel (Capture → Encode → Network → Decode → Render) - Real-time frame rate, bitrate, and bandwidth statistics - Input round-trip time (RTT) monitoring - Encoding resolution and quality information ### Personalization - Fluent Design style interface - Light and dark theme switching - i18n support (Chinese / English) - Video codec preference (H.264 / VP8 / VP9 / AV1) ### Self-Hosted Deployment - Custom signaling server address - Custom STUN/TURN servers - Complete server deployment solution (Go signaling server + PostgreSQL + Redis + coturn) ## Architecture QuickDesk uses a modular multi-process architecture: ```mermaid graph TD subgraph AI["AI Agent (Claude / GPT / Cursor)"] A1["MCP Protocol"] end subgraph MCP["quickdesk-mcp (Rust Bridge)"] M1["MCP stdio ↔ WebSocket"] M2["MCP HTTP/SSE ↔ WebSocket"] end subgraph GUI["QuickDesk GUI (Qt 6)"] direction LR WS["WebSocket API Server"] QML["QML/C++"] MainWin["Main Window"] RemoteWin["Remote Desktop Window"] end subgraph Host["quickdesk-host (Chromium Remoting)"] H1["Screen Capture"] H2["Video Encoding"] H3["Input Event Handling"] H4["WebRTC Connection"] end subgraph Client["quickdesk-client (Chromium Remoting)"] C1["Video Decoding"] C2["Input Event Injection"] C3["Shared Memory Video Frames"] C4["WebRTC Connection"] end subgraph Signaling["Signaling Server (Go + Gin)"] S1["WebSocket Signaling"] S2["ICE Config Distribution"] S3["Device Registration & Auth"] S4["PostgreSQL + Redis"] end subgraph TURN["TURN Server (coturn)"] T1["Relay when P2P traversal fails"] end AI -- "stdio (JSON-RPC)" --> MCP AI -. "HTTP/SSE" .-> M2 MCP -- "WebSocket" --> WS GUI -- "Native Messaging\n(stdin/stdout JSON)" --> Host GUI -- "Native Messaging\n(stdin/stdout JSON)" --> Client Host -- "WebSocket" --> Signaling Client -- "WebSocket" --> Signaling Signaling -- "ICE Config" --> TURN Host -. "WebRTC P2P / TURN Relay" .-> Client ``` ### Tech Stack | Layer | Technology | |-------|------------| | AI Integration | MCP Server (Rust) + WebSocket API | | GUI Client | Qt 6 (QML + C++17) | | UI Style | Fluent Design Component Library (custom-built) | | Remote Protocol Core | Chromium Remoting (C++) | | Video Codecs | H.264 / VP8 / VP9 / AV1 | | Network Transport | WebRTC (ICE/STUN/TURN) | | IPC | Native Messaging (JSON) + Shared Memory | | Signaling Server | Go + Gin + GORM | | Data Storage | PostgreSQL + Redis | | TURN Relay | coturn | | Logging | spdlog | | Build System | CMake 3.19+ | | CI/CD | GitHub Actions | ## Getting Started ### Download Go to [Releases](https://github.com/barry-ran/QuickDesk/releases) to download the latest version: | Platform | Download | |----------|----------| | Windows x64 | [QuickDesk-win-x64-setup.exe](https://github.com/barry-ran/QuickDesk/releases/latest) | | macOS ARM64 | [QuickDesk-mac-arm64.dmg](https://github.com/barry-ran/QuickDesk/releases/latest) | ### Usage 1. Install and run QuickDesk on both the **host** (remote) and **client** (local) machines 2. The host will automatically generate a **Device ID** and **Access Code** 3. On the client, enter the host's Device ID and Access Code, then click **Connect** 4. You're now remotely controlling the host machine ## Build from Source ### Requirements - CMake 3.19+ - Qt 6.5+ (Multimedia and WebSockets modules required) - C++17 compiler ### Windows ```bash # Requires Visual Studio 2022 + MSVC # Set Qt path environment variable set ENV_QT_PATH=C:\Qt\6.8.3 # Build scripts\build_qd_win.bat Release # Package (requires Inno Setup) scripts\publish_qd_win.bat Release scripts\package_qd_win.bat Release ``` ### macOS ```bash # Requires Xcode Command Line Tools # Set Qt path environment variable export ENV_QT_PATH=/path/to/Qt/6.8.3 # Build bash scripts/build_qd_mac.sh Release # Package bash scripts/publish_qd_mac.sh Release bash scripts/package_qd_mac.sh Release ``` ### API Key (Optional) If you deploy your own signaling server with API Key enabled, you can inject the API Key at build time so your clients can authenticate: ```bash # Windows set ENV_QUICKDESK_API_KEY=your-secret-key scripts\build_qd_win.bat Release # macOS ENV_QUICKDESK_API_KEY=your-secret-key bash scripts/build_qd_mac.sh Release ``` Without `ENV_QUICKDESK_API_KEY`, the build produces an open-source client that can only connect to signaling servers without API Key protection. > **WebClient note:** The WebClient is a static web page running in the browser. Since API keys embedded in JavaScript are visible via DevTools, the WebClient uses **Origin whitelist** validation instead of API Key. Configure `ALLOWED_ORIGINS` on the signaling server to restrict which domains can access it. Browsers automatically send the `Origin` header and JavaScript cannot forge it, so only the WebClient served from your official domain will be allowed. See [Signaling Server Deployment](docs/signaling-server-deployment.md) for details. ## Self-Hosted Deployment QuickDesk supports full self-hosted deployment. You can deploy all services on your own servers to ensure data security. ### Components 1. **Signaling Server** (required): Handles device registration and signaling relay → [Signaling Server Deployment Guide](docs/signaling-server-deployment.md) 2. **TURN Relay Server** (recommended): Provides relay when P2P direct connection fails → [TURN Server Deployment Guide](docs/turn-server-deployment.md) ### Client Configuration In QuickDesk **Settings → Network**: - Signaling server address: `ws://your-server.com:8000` or `wss://your-server.com:8000` - Custom STUN server: `stun:your-server.com:3478` - Custom TURN server: `turn:your-server.com:3478` (username and password required) ## Project Structure ``` QuickDesk/ ├── QuickDesk/ # Qt GUI client │ ├── main.cpp # Application entry point │ ├── src/ │ │ ├── api/ # WebSocket API server + request handlers │ │ ├── controller/ # Main controller │ │ ├── manager/ # Business managers (Host/Client/Process/TURN/...) │ │ ├── component/ # Video rendering, key mapping, cursor sync │ │ ├── core/ # Config center, user data │ │ ├── viewmodel/ # MVVM ViewModel │ │ └── language/ # i18n │ ├── qml/ │ │ ├── views/ # Main window, remote desktop window │ │ ├── pages/ # Remote control, settings, about pages │ │ ├── component/ # Fluent Design component library │ │ └── quickdeskcomponent/ # QuickDesk-specific components │ ├── base/ # Base utilities │ └── infra/ # Infrastructure (database, logging, HTTP) ├── quickdesk-mcp/ # Rust MCP Bridge (stdio ↔ WebSocket) │ └── src/ │ ├── main.rs # Entry point, CLI args, MCP server startup │ ├── server.rs # MCP tools, prompts, resources │ └── ws_client.rs # WebSocket client for Qt API ├── SignalingServer/ # Go signaling server │ ├── cmd/signaling/ # Entry point │ └── internal/ # Business logic ├── scripts/ # Build, package, publish scripts ├── docs/ # Documentation │ ├── mcp-integration.md # MCP integration guide (English) │ └── MCP接入指南.md # MCP integration guide (Chinese) ├── .github/workflows/ # CI/CD configuration └── version # Version number ``` ## Roadmap - [x] Windows support - [x] macOS support - [x] P2P direct connection + TURN relay - [x] Multi-tab multi-connection - [x] Auto-refresh access code - [x] Video performance stats overlay - [x] Fluent Design UI - [x] Light and dark themes - [x] i18n (Chinese / English) - [x] **MCP Server — AI agents can control remote desktops** - [x] **20+ MCP tools (screenshot, click, type, drag, hotkey, clipboard, etc.)** - [x] **MCP Resources & Prompts** - [ ] Linux support - [ ] File transfer - [ ] Audio streaming - [ ] iOS / Android clients - [ ] Unattended access - [ ] Address book & device groups ## Contributing Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines: 1. Fork the repository and create a feature branch 2. Keep code style consistent with the project 3. Ensure the build passes before submitting a PR 4. Each PR should contain a single feature or fix ## License QuickDesk's own code is licensed under the [MIT License](LICENSE), free for commercial use. The bundled `quickdesk-remoting` component is based on Chromium and licensed under the [BSD 3-Clause License](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/refs/heads/main/LICENSE). For complete third-party license information, see [THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES](THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES). ## Acknowledgments - [Chromium Remoting](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/refs/tags/140.0.7339.249/remoting/) — Remote desktop protocol core - [Qt](https://www.qt.io/) — Cross-platform GUI framework - [spdlog](https://github.com/gabime/spdlog) — High-performance logging library - [coturn](https://github.com/coturn/coturn) — TURN relay server ## Star History [](https://star-history.com/#barry-ran/QuickDesk&Date)