freerdp-shadow-cli(1)

📦
version 3.32.2 · 11 versions
, in fedora 43, fedora 44, nixpkgs unstable

🦋 freerdp-shadow-cli 🦋

okay bestie, welcome to freerdp-shadow-cli(1) — this is the FreeRDP manual page, and it's genuinely one of the coolest little tools out there. it's giving "share your screen but make it RDP." let's get into it 💅

✨ NAME ✨

freerdp-shadow-cli — a utility for sharing a X display via RDP. no cap, that's the whole vibe. 🖥️

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

freerdp-shadow-cli [/port:<port number>] [/ipc-socket:<ipc-socket>]
[/monitors:<0,1,2,...>] [/rect:<x,y,w,h>] [+auth] [-may-view] [-may-
interact] [/sec:<rdp|tls|nla|ext>] [-sec-rdp] [-sec-tls] [-sec-nla]
[-sec-ext] [/sam-file:<file>] [/version] [/help]

look at all those flags, she's got range 💖

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so basically freerdp-shadow-cli lets you share a running X display — like VNC does — except it does it over RDP instead. yes, RDP. iconic behavior honestly.

and it's not even all-or-nothing: you can also share only parts of the display, by specifying a rect. main character energy for real. 👑

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • /ipc-socket:<ipc-socket> — if you set this, it uses an ipc socket at the path ipc-socket instead of a TCP socket. choosing your own transport, we love a flexible queen 🌈
  • /port:<port> — sets the port to use. the default is 3389. heads up though: this option gets ignored if ipc-socket is in play. 🚫
  • /monitors:<1,2,3,...> — pick which monitor(s) you wanna share. multi-monitor besties rise 🖥️🖥️
  • /rect:<x,y,w,h> — pick a rectangle within the monitor to share. just a lil slice of screen, as a treat 🍓
  • -auth — disables authentication. when authentication is enabled, PAM is used with the X11 subsystem. running as root isn't necessary, however — if you run as a user, then only the same user that started freerdp-shadow-cli can authenticate.
⚠️ Warning: if authentication is disabled, everyone can connect. literally everyone. no cap. be careful with this one bestie 😭
  • -may-view — clients may view without a prompt. 👀
  • -may-interact — clients may interact without a prompt. hands on the keyboard, no questions asked 🎹
  • /sec:<rdp|tls|nla|ext> — force a specific protocol security. you pick, she obeys ✨
  • -sec-rdp — disable RDP security (default: on)
  • -sec-tls — disable TLS protocol security (default: on)
  • -sec-nla — disable NLA protocol security (default: on)
  • +sec-ext — use NLA extended protocol security (default: off)
  • /sam-file:<file> — NTLM SAM file for NLA authentication 🗂️
  • /version — print the version and exit. quick lil peek 👋
  • /help — print the help and exit. when you're lost, she's got you 🫶

✨ USAGE ✨

here's how the girlies actually run it:

#MANPAGE_NAME@ - start the shadow server on port 3389 with NLA security,
SAM database at /etc/winpr/SAM
freerdp-shadow-cli /sam-file:SAM.db - same as above, but a custom SAM
database provided as argument
freerdp-shadow-cli -sec-nla - start the shadow server on port 3380 with
TLS/NLA security. This allows authenticating against PAM with unix
users. Be aware that the password is transmitted plain text like with
basic HTTP auth
💀 okay that last one matters: with that setup the password is transmitted plain text, just like with basic HTTP auth. know that before you commit, fr fr.

✨ EXAMPLES ✨

freerdp-shadow-cli /port:12345

when you run this as a user inside an X session (say, from an xterm), a socket on 12345 gets opened and your current display is shared via RDP. boom. that's it. slay. 💅✨

✨ EXIT STATUS ✨

  • 0 — successful program execution. we ate and left no crumbs 🎀
  • 1 — otherwise. 😭

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

freerdp(7) wlog(7)

go read those too, iykyk 📚

✨ AUTHOR ✨

FreeRDP <team@freerdp.com> — the icons, the legends, the blueprint 💜

and that's the whole page bestie! this was FreeRDP version 3.32.2, dated 2017-01-12, and you just read the freerdp-shadow-cli(1) manual. stay secure, keep your -auth on unless you really mean it, and go share that screen responsibly. mwah 🫶💖🦋🌸

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