Remote device access for the GDS estate: connect from any enrolled device to another over SSH, with remote desktop sessions — transport is QUIC via iroh, so peers are Ed25519 keys, direct paths are hole-punched, and a self-hosted relay covers egress-only networks. See docs/architecture.md for the research and protocol decisions.
Current readiness: the 2026-09-24 audit identifies authorization, discovery, sync and owned-transport blockers. The remediation plan defines their fixes and the remaining SSH broker/reattachment, interactive desktop and platform work.
The 0.1.0 engineering preview packages native SSH,
agent, relay and directory binaries for Linux x86_64 and macOS arm64. Desktop
features are excluded from those binaries. Read the verification, compatibility
and remaining-qualification notes before evaluating the release.
crates/
├── rds-core wire protocol: ALPN rds/0, postcard frames, service types
├── rds-net endpoint lifecycle, keys, tickets — backends::iroh
│ (shipping) + backends::noq (owned transport, §9)
├── rds-discovery signed endpoint records + stores for GDS discovery
├── rds-relay relay server lib+bin; proto = owned relay protocol
├── rds-server GDS services host: relay + discovery + registry
├── rds-agent daemon on a controlled device (ssh forward, desktop)
├── rds-cli `rds` operator CLI
├── rds-client shared client operations and local session manager/IPC
├── rds-ssh native SSH engine adapter over managed/direct streams
├── rds-observe bounded process logs and privacy-preserving telemetry
├── rds-bench development measurement/qualification harness
├── rds-desktop capture/codec/input/render traits + platform backends
├── rds-audio Opus audio pipeline (scaffold)
└── rds-sync FastCDC+BLAKE3 content-addressed sync
Docs: architecture · deep research · platforms · conventions · roadmap.
The agent's local session manager is enabled by default.
Connectivity commands and rds session reuse its identity and endpoint. Start
an agent on the operator device as well; an empty inbound allowlist is suitable
for an outgoing-only operator. Missing manager access fails without binding
another endpoint. Custom control paths use --control-dir on both binaries.
# On the controlled device (key under ~/.config/remote-device-sync/endpoint.key):
rds-agent --allow <peer-endpoint-id> --ssh 127.0.0.1:22
# On the operator device, start its own local agent in another terminal/service:
rds-agent
# Then use the controlled device's ticket:
rds id # your bare endpoint id (hex) for --allow lists
rds ticket # running local agent's current endpoint ticket
rds ping <ticket> # RTT probes through a retained managed session
rds ssh <ticket> --user <account> --host-key /private/device-host.pub --identity /private/operator-key
rds forward <ticket> -L 127.0.0.1:8080 --remote 127.0.0.1:3000
rds session list
rds session use <session-id> # switch defaults; existing streams stay pinned
rds session ssh --user <account> --host-key /private/device-host.pub --identity /private/operator-key
# Sync/desktop still need explicit direct mode and a separately authorized key:
rds --direct --key-file /private/path/client.key send <ticket> <file>
rds --direct --key-file /private/path/client.key recv <ticket> <name>
rds --direct --key-file /private/path/client.key desktop <ticket>
# desktop is currently headless decode/stats; build both ends with --features desktop
# Self-hosted relay instead of the public n0 relays:
rds-relay --addr 0.0.0.0:3340
rds-agent --relay http://relay.host:3340 ...
# Configure relay settings on the operator agent too.
# rds-server composes relay + signed discovery directory on one host
# (see docs/deployment.md for the systemd units and firewall rules):
rds-server --relay-addr 0.0.0.0:3340 --http-addr 0.0.0.0:3341 \
--directory /var/lib/rds/directory --allow <endpoint-id> \
--directory-allow <base32-device-key>
# Name lookup requires a registry key provisioned through GDS/configuration:
rds-agent --directory https://directory.example.com:3341 --registry-key <base32-verifying-key>
rds ping device-aSSH now uses an embedded Rust client and standard remote PTY requests. The
controlled device still needs an SSH server. Provision its host public key
through a trusted channel; see SSH trust, usage and limits.
The former ssh -L command is now forward ... --remote 127.0.0.1:22.
For JSON SSH telemetry, use --log-file <new-absolute-private-path>; remote
stderr must stay separate from the collector's input.
Both relay binaries also support --relay-backend noq when built with
owned-relay. This mode requires a separate persistent --relay-key-file and
an explicit peer allowlist; an open test relay requires
--development-open-relay. Client and agent use --backend noq --owned-relay
with the relay's pinned public identity and address. See the
relay runtime contract and build examples.
The iroh backend remains the default while owned connectivity qualification
is in progress.
The directory requires configured publishers (--directory-allow,
repeat per device). An empty list denies record publish/fetch/delete. A signed
reachability record or name binding does not enroll a device.
Remote-session traffic is end-to-end encrypted between the endpoints; the
relay sees ciphertext. Directory HTTPS runs in-process with certificate and
hostname verification; use --directory-ca for a private CA. Signed name proofs
remain required independently of TLS. Explicit HTTP/IP:port remains available
for local deployments; HTTPS never falls back to it. The agent rejects any peer not on its --allow list before
a service stream opens, and can additionally require estate-signed capability
grants (--issuer, scope-checked per stream). Managed grant mode requires
--directory and --revocations-key; stale policy closes access. Directory,
agent and name CLI persist their policy revisions and freshness state. See
policy configuration and migration before upgrading
the issuer or deploying managed access. Grant v2 and renewable leases
bind access to the controlled endpoint. rds session renew --session <id> --grant-file <path> extends a live same-scope connection; automatic GDS issuance
is still pending. Old grants must be reissued, and CLI/agent IPC v4 upgraded together.
Endpoint publication also persists its revision counter and exact retry bytes
(rds-agent --record-state, default beside the identity key). Records and
deletes use a versioned signature contract; old directories require the explicit
offline migration and a coordinated issuer cutover. Legacy deployment cutover
and platform qualification remain open. See
record state and migration limits before deployment.
Observability: all binaries share bounded stderr logging. Set
RDS_LOG_FORMAT=json for the allowlisted export consumed by the supplied
Vector/OpenObserve pipeline; local text diagnostics can contain private data.
Process/session correlation, observed operation latency, loss counters and
alert definitions have a disposable integration fixture. See the
contract, checks and remaining rollout plan.
rds-net separately exposes observed path counters and coverage flags, with
Prometheus rendering behind metrics. Daemons can expose aggregate source
metrics through a separate authenticated loopback listener, using paired
--admin-addr/--admin-token-file flags. Create a credential with
rds admin-token --file PATH. The public /v1/metrics route is removed;
source coverage and unknown values are explicit.
Requires a stable Rust toolchain (edition 2024).
cargo build --workspace
cargo test --workspace
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo fmt --all -- --checkThe desktop feature (rds-agent, rds-cli) and x11 feature
(rds-desktop) enable capture/input/codec code; they build on any Linux
host but need a live X11 display to function. Wayland portal/PipeWire,
DXGI and ScreenCaptureKit backends are roadmap items — see the milestones
in the architecture doc.
v0.1 foundation: SSH/TCP forwarding, a single-file transfer engine, a feature-gated X11 capture/H.264/headless-decode pipeline, discovery and grant primitives, and transport metrics. The desktop viewer and native macOS/Wayland backends remain incomplete. Known correctness and security blockers are tracked in the audit above; this is not a production-readiness claim. Public API and wire protocol are not stable.
AGPL-3.0-only. See LICENSE.