Linux: Connect to Your Cloud Desktop with Remmina or FreeRDP

A woman with short silver hair at a developer desk in the evening, keyboard lit from one side

Short answer: Install Remmina (or FreeRDP directly), add a connection using the RDP protocol, enter the address of your desktop and your Windows username and password, and connect. Clipboard, drives, printers and sound all redirect — Linux clients support the full set.

Applies to: Linux desktops · Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Mint and others · Infosaic cloud desktops

Linux is a first-class client for a Windows cloud desktop. The open-source FreeRDP project implements the protocol thoroughly, and the graphical front end most distributions ship — Remmina — exposes nearly everything the Windows client does.

In practice this is one of the most common reasons people buy a cloud desktop: a Linux machine they like, and two or three Windows applications they cannot avoid.

Which client should I use on Linux?

A person checking connection details before setting up a remote desktop client

Remmina is the practical choice. It is in every major distribution’s repositories, it stores connections, and it uses FreeRDP underneath.

Make sure the RDP plugin is installed alongside it — on Debian and Ubuntu that is remmina-plugin-rdp, and without it Remmina will offer only VNC and SSH.

xfreerdp is the command-line tool from the same project. It is worth knowing about because it gives you the clearest error messages when something will not connect, and it is easy to script.

How to add your cloud desktop in Remmina

Install Remmina and its RDP plugin from your distribution’s package manager.
Open Remmina and create a new connection profile.
Set Protocol to RDP. This is the step people miss — the default is often VNC, which will never connect.
In Server, enter the address of your cloud desktop exactly as shown in your control panel.
Enter your Windows username and password — the desktop credentials, not the control panel ones.
Set Colour depth and Resolution to suit your screen and connection.
Save, then connect. Accept the certificate the first time.

From a terminal, the equivalent one-liner is xfreerdp /v:your-desktop-address /u:yourusername +clipboard, and it will tell you plainly what went wrong if it fails.

Sharing folders, printers and sound

A man connecting a portable drive to a laptop, illustrating shared local storage

Folders. In the profile, set a shared folder to a directory on your Linux machine. It appears inside Windows under This PC as a redirected drive. On the command line that is /drive:home,/home/you.
Clipboard. On by default in Remmina; add +clipboard with xfreerdp. Ordinary Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V then work in both directions.
Sound. Enable audio redirection in the profile, or add /sound:sys:pulse on the command line.
Printers. Enable printer sharing and your CUPS printers are offered inside Windows.
Multiple monitors. Supported — /multimon with xfreerdp, or the equivalent option in the profile.

If Remmina fails without explaining why, run the same connection with xfreerdp in a terminal. The command-line tool prints the actual error — certificate, authentication, protocol negotiation — where the graphical client often shows only a generic failure.

If it does not connect

Check the protocol really is RDP and not VNC. This is the most common mistake by a wide margin.
Check the RDP plugin is installed. Without it the protocol will not appear in the list at all.
Update FreeRDP. Very old versions predate current security negotiation and fail in confusing ways.
Try browser access. If that works, the desktop is fine and the issue is local — see RDP will not connect.
Check your username. Windows and control panel accounts are separate.

Questions and answers

Can I connect to a Windows cloud desktop from Linux?

Yes. Use Remmina with the RDP plugin, or xfreerdp from a terminal. Both implement the protocol fully.

Which Linux RDP client is best?

Remmina for everyday use because it stores connection profiles, and xfreerdp when you need clear error messages or want to script it.

Why does Remmina not offer RDP?

The RDP plugin is not installed. On Debian and Ubuntu install remmina-plugin-rdp, then restart Remmina.

Does copy and paste work from Linux?

Yes. Clipboard redirection is on by default in Remmina, and adding the clipboard option to xfreerdp enables it there.

Can I share a Linux folder with the cloud desktop?

Yes. Set a shared folder in the profile and it appears inside Windows under This PC as a redirected drive.

Does sound work?

Yes, with audio redirection enabled in the profile or the PulseAudio sound option on the command line.

Can I use two monitors from Linux?

Yes. FreeRDP supports multiple monitors, through the multimon option or its equivalent in Remmina.

What does the certificate warning mean?

It is normal for a desktop using a self-signed certificate. Accept it once and choose to remember the decision.

Still stuck?

Open a support request from your control panel — that is the fastest route, because it reaches the team who can already see your account and your desktop. Include the xfreerdp output if you have it. You can also email [email protected].