The Linux Swif Remote Desktop Policy turns on Swif Remote Desktop on your Linux devices, so admins can see and control a device's screen from the Swif console, for remote support and troubleshooting.
For how to connect, and how sessions work, see Introduction to Remote Desktop.
This policy manages only Swif Remote Desktop. It doesn't set up VNC, RDP, or other Linux remote desktop tools.
Requirements
Item | Details |
Devices | Linux desktops with a graphical interface, such as Ubuntu and Pop!_OS, on x86_64 or arm64 |
Signed-in user | A user must be signed in to the desktop. Swif Remote Desktop can't connect at the login screen. |
Swif agent | 1.427.0 or later |
Ownership | Company-owned and BYOD |
Settings
Setting | Default | What it does |
Enable Swif Remote Desktop | On | On: Swif installs Swif Remote Desktop on the device, keeps it up to date, and sets its access password, so admins can connect remotely. |
Turning it off doesn't remove the app yet. If you turn off Enable Swif Remote Desktop, or unassign the policy, Swif Remote Desktop stays on the device for now. A fix is in progress. To stop remote access now, turn off Remote Desktop for your organization. See How to Disable Location Tracking, Live Terminal, and Remote Desktop in Swif.
Create the policy
In Swif, go to Device Management > Policies, then select Create new policy > Configure a Policy.
Select Linux Swif Remote Desktop Policy.
Keep Enable Swif Remote Desktop on, and save.
Assign the policy to your Linux devices, or device groups.
Wayland and X11
Linux desktops run one of two display systems: X11 (also called Xorg) or Wayland. Wayland is the default on most current distributions, including Ubuntu, Fedora, and Debian with GNOME. It changes what Swif Remote Desktop can do:
X11 (Xorg) | Wayland | |
Connect while a user is signed in | Yes | Yes, but the user must approve each session on the device, in a screen-sharing prompt |
Connect when the signed-in user is away | Yes | No |
Connect at the login screen, for example after a restart | No | No |
Multiple monitors | Yes | Yes |
Check which one a device uses
On the device, run:
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
It returns x11 or wayland.
Need to connect when the user is away, on a Wayland device?
Switch the device to an X11 session:
Just for one sign-in: on the login screen, select the user, click the gear icon, and choose an option such as Ubuntu on Xorg, then sign in.
For every user, on Ubuntu and other GNOME desktops: edit
/etc/gdm3/custom.confas root, setWaylandEnable=falseunder[daemon], and restart the device.
Switching to X11 changes the desktop for everyone who signs in to the device. Test it on a few devices first, since some apps and features, such as display scaling, can behave differently.
Moving from RustDesk
This policy replaces the earlier Linux Remote Desktop (RustDesk) Policy. When you assign it, the Swif agent removes RustDesk from the device, and installs Swif Remote Desktop.
Assign the Linux Swif Remote Desktop Policy to the devices.
Check that Remote Desktop on each device shows Swif Remote Desktop as Configured.
Unassign the old RustDesk policy.
Troubleshooting
Swif Remote Desktop shows Not Configured
Check that the device is assigned this policy, with Enable Swif Remote Desktop on.
Check that the device's Swif agent is 1.427.0 or later.
You can't connect at the login screen, or after a restart
This is expected. A user must be signed in to the desktop. Ask them to sign in, then connect.
A user has to approve every session
The device uses Wayland. On Wayland, the signed-in user must approve each session. To connect without approval, switch the device to X11. See Wayland and X11.
No Connection ID or Password appears
Click Retry. If it still doesn't appear, check that the device is online, has a graphical desktop, and has a user signed in.
Related resources