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Install Remote Commander on Windows

Everything you need to download, install, and run Remote Commander on Windows 10/11 (64-bit), on one page. No developer tools required.

1. Download

Download from the official Releases page and grab the file named Remote Commander-<version>-setup.exe:

👉 https://github.com/RonBulaon/remoteCommander/releases/latest

Or download the latest installer straight from PowerShell (no need to know the version):

$a = (Invoke-RestMethod https://api.github.com/repos/RonBulaon/remoteCommander/releases/latest).assets |
     Where-Object { $_.name -like '*setup.exe' } | Select-Object -First 1
Invoke-WebRequest $a.browser_download_url -OutFile $a.name
"Downloaded $($a.name)"

2. Install

Double-click Remote Commander-<version>-setup.exe and follow the prompts. It installs per-user (no administrator rights needed).

Prefer the command line? Silent install:

Start-Process ".\Remote Commander-"*"-setup.exe" -ArgumentList "/S" -Wait

3. First launch — clear the SmartScreen warning

The installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC." Click More info → Run anyway. This happens once.

4. ✅ You're ready

These work immediately, with nothing else to install:

  • SSH terminal · SFTP file transfer · Remote file editor
  • Web console (built-in browser) · VNC (the remote host must run a VNC server)
  • Local terminal

To launch later: Start menu → Remote Commander.

5. (Optional) Enable in-app RDP and VPN

Only do this if you'll use remote desktop (RDP) or VPN inside the app. Run commands in a terminal, then open a new terminal so PATH updates. (Commands use winget, built into Windows 10/11.)

RDP — remote desktop in a tab (recommended path: Docker + guacd)

winget install Docker.DockerDesktop          # then launch Docker Desktop once
docker run -d --name guacd -p 4822:4822 guacamole/guacd

Docker must be running while you use RDP. Start it again later with docker start guacd.

RDP — fallback window (FreeRDP, optional)

If Docker/guacd isn't available, the app can open an external FreeRDP window; it needs wfreerdp.exe on PATH. Easiest source is MSYS2 (pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-freerdp, then add C:\msys64\mingw64\bin to PATH) or choco install freerdp. You only need one RDP path.

VPN — OpenVPN

winget install OpenVPNTechnologies.OpenVPN

…or get it from https://openvpn.net/community-downloads/. Make sure openvpn.exe is on PATH (default C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin). Run Remote Commander as Administrator when connecting an OpenVPN profile — OpenVPN needs admin to create its network adapter.

VPN — WireGuard (not available on Windows via the app)

The app drives WireGuard through wg-quick, which doesn't exist on Windows. For WireGuard on Windows, use the official WireGuard app directly, and use OpenVPN inside Remote Commander.

Check what's installed

where openvpn ; where wfreerdp.exe ; docker --version ; docker ps

Updating

There's no in-app auto-update yet, so update manually: download the newer Remote Commander-<version>-setup.exe (the same step 1 above) and run it. The one-click installer replaces the existing version in place — no need to uninstall first (close the app before running it). Silent: Start-Process ".\Remote Commander-"*"-setup.exe" -ArgumentList "/S" -Wait.

Your profiles, credentials, and workspaces in %APPDATA%\remotecommander\ are preserved across updates.

Uninstall

Settings → Apps → Installed apps → Remote Commander → Uninstall (or run the uninstaller from the Start menu). Your saved profiles live in %APPDATA%\remotecommander\ — delete that folder to remove them too.

Other platforms: macOS · Linux