Linux remote desktop · Ubuntu / Fedora / Debian / Arch

Linux remote desktop — Scry on every distro

A signed, native Linux desktop app that reaches your Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, or Arch machine from any Mac, PC, or browser. Download and install, then sign in. X11 and Wayland, both shipping today.

Download for Linux (.deb)See pricing

Ubuntu · Fedora · Debian · Arch · signed releases · auto-update

Mint / Ubuntu: double-click the download and choose Install. Scry then shows up in your application menu and keeps itself up to date.

Other distros: grab the portable Scry.AppImage. Right-click it and open Properties → Permissions, tick Allow executing file as program, then double-click to run (or chmod +x in a terminal).

Sign in to your Bravely account after install, and Scry detects whether you're on X11 or Wayland and picks the right capture backend on first run.

If you searched linux remote desktop, ubuntu remote desktop, or fedora remote desktop, here's the honest version of what Scry does on Linux today and where the gaps still are.

What runs on Linux today

  • Native desktop app on Linux x64 — Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora 39+, Debian 12+, Arch (current). A self-contained AppImage you run as a normal user.
  • X11 screen capture via ffmpeg with the x11grab input. H.264 encode through the standard libx264 the distro package ships.
  • Keyboard and mouse injection through xdotool on X11.
  • End-to-end encrypted WebRTC session to a Mac, Windows, or browser viewer — the same transport every other Scry client uses.
  • One binary, both jobs — the same app reaches your other machines and lets them reach this Linux box, exactly like the Mac and Windows builds.
  • Sign in once — launch the app, sign in to your Bravely account in your system browser, and this machine joins your devices list.

Wayland: both X11 and Wayland, shipping today

The host auto-detects your session at start. On X11 it uses x11grab + xdotool; on Wayland it switches to xdg-desktop-portal ScreenCast (PipeWire) for capture and libei for input injection. No compositor-specific shims, no fallback into Xorg. If your distro defaults to Wayland (Fedora Workstation, Ubuntu 24.04 desktop, GNOME 46+, KDE Plasma 6+), you're on the portal-native path automatically.

Two real use cases the Linux app is built for

  • 1. Your Linux desktop or workstation

    A home machine, a lab box, a Linux dev workstation behind your router. No port forwarding, no VPN, no SSH-X. Run the AppImage, sign in, and reach it from any Mac, PC, or browser tab. Wayland and X11 sessions both work — see the Wayland page for the portal-native details.

  • 2. Reach your Mac and Windows machines

    The same Scry account and the same single app. Sit at your Linux laptop and connect to the Macs and PCs you own — the Linux build is a full client too, not just a host.

Distro coverage today

Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04

Primary test target. Both Xorg and Wayland sessions work — X11 path on 22.04 default; portal path on 24.04 Wayland default.

Fedora 39 / 40+

Tested on Fedora Workstation. Default Wayland session uses the portal-native path; Xorg session falls back to x11grab.

Debian 12 (Bookworm)

Stable target. The AppImage runs without pulling extra packages on a standard desktop install.

Arch + derivatives

Works on current Arch with the packaged ffmpeg + xdotool. Manjaro and EndeavourOS users have reported clean installs.

Pop!_OS, Linux Mint

Ubuntu-based; the same Ubuntu install path applies.

openSUSE Tumbleweed

Reported clean via the multi-distro installer (zypper path). Not yet in formal CI; works in the wild.

Honest caveats

  • Younger than Mac and Windows. The Linux app is the newest of the three desktop builds. The window chrome and tray polish are still catching up to the Mac and Windows apps.
  • Single-monitor today. Multi-monitor lands on Linux after the X11 and Wayland backends prove out in the wild. Mac and Windows have multi-monitor today.
  • Pre-login screen access is out of scope. The host can't reach the GDM/SDDM/LightDM login screen. Pair it after a normal user session is alive.
  • End-to-end encrypted (DTLS-SRTP), peer-to-peer. Scry's WebRTC connection negotiates keys directly between your two devices; the relay only forwards already-encrypted packets it cannot read.

Reach your Linux box from anywhere.

One install on Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, or Arch. X11 and Wayland, portal-native, over an end-to-end encrypted (DTLS-SRTP) WebRTC connection.

Download Scry for Linux (.deb)

Related

Wayland remote desktop

PipeWire ScreenCast + libei input. Portal-native today.

No port forwarding

No router config, no VPN, no SSH-X.

Browser viewer — no install

Reach your Linux box from any modern browser.

VNC alternative

Encrypted by default, no per-server SSH tunnel.