How to install series: Remote control your UNO Q with XRDP

Arduino® UNO™ Q 4GB

Arduino® UNO™ Q 2GB

Arduino App Lab

<html><body>Remote control is one of those features that sounds “nice to have” until you try it once on a board like UNO Q, and then you never want to go back. With UNO Q you’ve got a real Linux environment on the MPU, which means you can run Docker containers, web apps, dashboards, developer tools, and all the usual Linux utilities. The catch is that a headless device is only as usable as the way you access it. SSH is perfect for quick commands, but the moment you need to browse logs comfortably, edit files with a visual tool, inspect a GUI app, or guide someone during a demo, a remote desktop becomes the fastest path. That’s where XRDP comes in. XRDP is an open-source RDP server for Linux, so your UNO Q can expose a “Remote Desktop” endpoint and you can connect to it using the built-in client on Windows, Microsoft Remote Desktop on macOS, or Remmina on Linux. The big advantage is that it feels like you are sitting in front of the board, but you’re doing it from your laptop, anywhere. <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/4448fc72-5213-4ae9-ab05-533e904f0daf.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> Now the important part: RDP is a network service. If you expose it directly to the internet, you’re basically putting a “try to log in” sign on your device. The right pattern is to keep RDP private and reach it through a VPN. Tailscale is perfect for this because it creates an encrypted, private network between your devices without messing with router port forwarding, static IPs, or complex firewall rules. Once Tailscale is enabled, your UNO Q gets a stable private IP (typically in the 100.x.y.z range) and only your trusted devices inside that Tailscale network can connect. I'll cover the installation of Tailscale in another Project hub tutorial. So the combo is simple and powerful: XRDP gives you the full desktop, and Tailscale gives you safe access from anywhere. Remote control with RDP is especially useful on UNO Q for things like running and monitoring containers, showing a live demo of a local web UI, configuring services, checking Wi-Fi/Bluetooth settings, reviewing logs with a viewer, or helping someone remotely reproduce a problem exactly as they see it. First, install XRDP on your Uno Q: From your desktop or laptop, with the UNO Q connected locally via usb cable: <pre>adb shell </pre><pre>sudo apt update </pre><pre>sudo apt install xrdp -y </pre>at the end of the installation you will see that the packet is correctly installed. <div id="gallery"><img id="gallery" src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/f5fb1f08-9639-4b9d-bf56-db9527af876e.png"/><figcaption></figcaption>,<img id="gallery" src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/6ff93ecd-df91-4636-92fd-8ea30ac7057b.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></div> Enable the service at boot and start it immediately: <pre>	 </pre><pre>sudo systemctl enable xrdp </pre><pre>sudo systemctl start xrdp </pre> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/3d8cc873-28ab-4cf5-a771-5be43a4bbb7f.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> Check if XRDP is active: <pre>sudo systemctl status xrdp </pre> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/c588a04f-d76a-43ec-8543-d8eb353f4432.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> At this point, the board is listening for RDP connections on port 3389. If you are on the same local network, you can already connect using the UNO Q hostname or local IP. Use RDP Client to connect: On your computer, use an RDP client: <ol><li>Windows, open “Remote Desktop Connection”. </li></ol><ol><li>macOS, use “Microsoft Remote Desktop”, now called Windows app (more info here: <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/remote-desktop-client/remote-desktop-macos">https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/remote-desktop-client/remote-desktop-macos </a>) </li></ol><ol><li>Linux, Remmina is a great choice. </li></ol> from the menu, select new connection <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/04ba5d51-e3d7-4c6b-ad23-a0aba0d6387f.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> enter the Fully qualified name board (FQBN) or the Ip address of your UNO Q<figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/bf677b01-e072-4077-8553-c8a77791b1ad.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>click continue<figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/9292909d-7dfa-41e8-9821-c4f27fe24f0c.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>after few seconds you will se the UNO Q GUI desktop<figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/08289b16-7820-4bfc-9e03-d6a99391c383.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> Why RDP on UNO Q is a big win The real value is speed and comfort. You can do “Linux desktop things” directly on the device, but remotely. If you’re iterating on a demo, you can keep UNO Q on a table powered by a USB-C adapter with no monitor attached, then connect over RDP and drive everything live in front of your audience. If you’re debugging, you can open multiple terminals, a log viewer, a browser pointing to localhost dashboards, and whatever GUI tools you like, all inside the board environment. That matters because many apps behave differently depending on whether they run locally on the device or on your laptop. If you’re supporting someone else, RDP is a productivity multiplier: instead of telling them “type this, now type that,” you can reproduce issues by running the same tools in the same environment and quickly capture screenshots or copy logs. I'm actually using this configuration (RDP + Tailscale) to manage more than 20 boards around the world to keep them updated, adjust settings, and upload new Applications on the UNO Q for Events, Fairs. Let's Make it secure <blockquote>Here’s the guiding principle: don’t expose RDP to the public internet. No router port forwarding. No “open 3389 on my firewall.” Just keep XRDP private and use Tailscale as the only way in. </blockquote> </body></html>

How to install series: Remote control your UNO Q with XRDP

Use, program and control your UNO Q using XRDP