Updated: 12 October 2026 · Applies to: Windows VPS and Windows dedicated servers; Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) on Windows 10 and 11 and Windows App on macOS (from Microsoft documentation); FreeRDP 3 tested on Debian 13 (3.15.0) and Ubuntu 24.04 (3.32.1), packages checked on Ubuntu 26.04, AlmaLinux 9 and 10 and Fedora 44

Short answer: on Windows, press Win+R, type mstsc /v:203.0.113.10 (your server’s IP address) and press Enter, then sign in as Administrator with your server password. From Linux, run xfreerdp3 /v:203.0.113.10 /u:Administrator (xfreerdp on AlmaLinux and Fedora). From a Mac, use Microsoft’s free Windows App.

What you need

  • IP address, user name and password: the welcome email for your Ucartz Windows VPS (subject “Your Windows VPS is ready: Remote Desktop login details”) lists them; the user name is Administrator.
  • Port: Remote Desktop uses TCP port 3389. If you moved it to another port, give it after a colon in mstsc and FreeRDP, for example 203.0.113.10:50001. See how to change the RDP port.
  • Remote Desktop only works with a Windows VPS or Windows dedicated server. Shared hosting accounts cannot be reached over Remote Desktop.

Connect from Windows (Remote Desktop Connection)

  1. Type Remote Desktop Connection in the taskbar search box and open it. (You can also press Win+R, type mstsc and press Enter: mstsc is the program behind Remote Desktop Connection.)
  2. Enter the server’s IP address (with :port if you changed the port) and select Connect.
  3. Sign in with the user name Administrator and your password.
  4. The first time, Windows usually warns that the identity of the remote computer cannot be verified. A new server uses a self-signed certificate, so this is expected: check that the IP address is yours, then continue.

The steps for Remote Desktop Connection are from Microsoft’s “How to use Remote Desktop” guide; we could not run Windows in our test lab.

Start Remote Desktop from the command line (mstsc)

You can start every connection from the Run box (Win+R), Command Prompt or PowerShell. According to Microsoft’s mstsc reference, the syntax is:

mstsc.exe [<connectionfile>] [/v:<server>[:<port>]] [/g:<gateway>] [/admin] [/f[ullscreen]]
          [/w:<width> /h:<height>] [/public] [/span] [/multimon] [/l] [/restrictedAdmin]
          [/remoteGuard] [/prompt] [/shadow:<sessionID> [/control] [/noConsentPrompt]]
mstsc.exe /edit <connectionfile>

The options you will use most with a server:

mstsc /v:203.0.113.10                   connect to the server
mstsc /v:203.0.113.10:50001             connect on a custom RDP port
mstsc /v:203.0.113.10 /admin            connect to the session for administering the server
mstsc /v:203.0.113.10 /f                full screen (/fullscreen is the same)
mstsc /v:203.0.113.10 /w:1600 /h:900    fixed window size
mstsc /v:203.0.113.10 /multimon         use the same monitor layout as your PC
mstsc /v:203.0.113.10 /prompt           always ask for the user name and password
mstsc /v:203.0.113.10 /public           do not cache passwords and bitmaps (shared PCs)
mstsc myserver.rdp                      open a saved connection file
mstsc /edit myserver.rdp                edit a saved connection file
mstsc /?                                show all options

Notes from Microsoft’s reference: /span stretches the session across side-by-side monitors with the same resolution, while /multimon copies your monitor layout. /restrictedAdmin and /remoteGuard avoid sending your credentials to the remote PC, which helps if you connect to a server you do not fully trust. There is no option for the password: mstsc asks for it when you connect. Remote Desktop Connection can also keep your settings in an .rdp file (by default in your Documents folder, according to Microsoft), which you start with mstsc file.rdp.

Need to switch Remote Desktop on, rather than connect to it? That is a different command on the server itself: see how to enable Remote Desktop from the command line or PowerShell.

Connect from Linux (FreeRDP)

FreeRDP is the maintained open source RDP client. Package and command names differ by distribution:

  • Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04: sudo apt install freerdp3-x11, command xfreerdp3. (Ubuntu 24.04 still has the older freerdp2-x11 with the command xfreerdp; Debian 13 does not.)
  • AlmaLinux 9 and 10 (and other RHEL based systems), Fedora: sudo dnf install freerdp, command xfreerdp (FreeRDP 2.11 on version 9, FreeRDP 3 on version 10 and Fedora).

Connect from a terminal on your Linux desktop:

xfreerdp3 /v:203.0.113.10 /u:Administrator /from-stdin /size:1600x900 +clipboard /cert:tofu
  • /v: server, with :port if needed (or use /port:50001).
  • /u: user name. Leave out /p:, so the password does not end up in your shell history, and add /from-stdin: FreeRDP then reads the password from the terminal.
  • /size: window size, /f full screen (Ctrl+Alt+Enter toggles it), +dynamic-resolution resizes the remote desktop with the window.
  • +clipboard shares the clipboard, /drive:home,/home/you shares a local folder with the server.
  • /cert:tofu accepts the server’s certificate on the first connection and refuses it later if it changes.
  • /admin opens the admin (console) session, like mstsc /admin.

These options are from the client’s own help (xfreerdp3 /help) in our Debian 13 lab container, which reported This is FreeRDP version 3.15.0 (n/a). If you prefer a window with saved connections, Remmina (packages remmina and remmina-plugin-rdp on Debian and Ubuntu, remmina from EPEL on AlmaLinux) uses the FreeRDP libraries for RDP.

rdesktop: older guides use rdesktop -u Administrator 203.0.113.10:3389. The package (1.9.0) is still in Debian and Ubuntu, but its project page says rdesktop is no longer maintained, has reported security vulnerabilities that have not been reviewed and is known to work with Windows up to 2012 R2. Use FreeRDP instead.

Connect from macOS (Windows App)

According to Microsoft, Windows App connects to remote PCs without signing in to a Microsoft account and needs macOS 12 or later:

  1. Install Windows App from the Mac App Store and open it.
  2. On the Devices tab, select the plus (+) icon, then Add PC.
  3. For PC Name, enter the server’s IP address.
  4. Select Add, then click the server’s card on the Devices tab and enter Administrator and your password when asked.

If you cannot connect

Want a Windows server for this? Our Windows VPS plans include the Windows Server licence. For a Linux desktop that you reach over RDP, see install xrdp on Ubuntu.

Official documentation: Microsoft: mstsc command reference, Microsoft: connect with Windows App, FreeRDP.

Ucartz services for this topic

Was this answer helpful? 56694 Users Found This Useful (56732 Votes)