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Yandex Cloud Desktop
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In this article:

  • Get connection credentials
  • Connect to the desktop
  1. Step-by-step tutorials
  2. Desktops
  3. Connecting to a desktop

Connecting to a desktop

Written by
Yandex Cloud
Updated at May 13, 2025
  • Get connection credentials
  • Connect to the desktop

To connect to a desktop, use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

Get connection credentialsGet connection credentials

Management console
User desktop showcase
Yandex Cloud CLI
API
  1. In the management console, select the folder with your desktop.
  2. In the list of services, select Cloud Desktop.
  3. In the left-hand panel, select Desktops.
  4. Select the desktop you want to connect to.
  5. Under Desktop user, next to the user account, click and select Reset password.
  6. Confirm the password reset.
  7. Save the new password from the pop-up window that appears and close the window.
  8. At the top right, click Download RDP file.
  1. Open the User desktop showcase.

  2. Sign in with your Yandex ID or using Single Sign-On (SSO).

  3. If the desktop you want to connect to has the Stopped status, run it by clicking and then confirming the action.

    Wait for the desktop status to change to Active.

  4. Click and confirm the password reset.

  5. Save the new password from the pop-up window that appears and close the window.

  6. Click Download RDP file.

If you do not have the Yandex Cloud (CLI) command line interface yet, install and initialize it.

The folder specified when creating the CLI profile is used by default. To change the default folder, use the yc config set folder-id <folder_ID> command. You can specify a different folder using the --folder-name or --folder-id parameter.

  1. See the description of the CLI command for getting RDP file data:

    yc desktops desktop get-rdp-file --help
    
  2. Get a list of desktops in the default folder:

    yc desktops desktop list
    

    Result:

    +----------------------+------------------+--------+----------------------+---------------------+
    |          ID          |       NAME       | STATUS |   DESKTOP GROUP ID   |   CREATED (UTC-0)   |
    +----------------------+------------------+--------+----------------------+---------------------+
    | e3vmvhgbgac4******** | my-cloud-desktop | ACTIVE | e3v1rbln45tl******** | 2024-10-09 22:42:28 |
    | e3vio1bc5ppz******** | reserved-desktop | ACTIVE | e3v1rbln45tl******** | 2024-10-09 21:35:17 |
    +----------------------+------------------+--------+----------------------+---------------------+
    
  3. Select the ID or NAME of the desktop you need, e.g., my-cloud-desktop.

  4. Reset the desktop user password.

  5. Request the data:

    yc desktops desktop get-rdp-file --name <desktop_name>
    

    Result:

    full address:s:my-cloud-desktop
    gatewayhostname:s:rdg.vdi.cloud.yandex.net:3839
    gatewaycredentialssource:i:5
    gatewayusagemethod:i:1
    gatewayprofileusagemethod:i:1
    gatewayaccesstoken:s:ver=1;desktopUserToken=0174a9f2-...V6DQ
    networkautodetect:i:0
    bandwidthautodetect:i:1
    connection type:i:6
    username:s:.\alice-little
    domain:s:
    bitmapcachesize:i:32000
    smart sizing:i:1
    audiocapturemode:i:1
    audiomode:i:0
    authentication level:i:0
    
  6. Save the received data to an .rdp file.

Use the getRdpFile REST API method for the Desktop resource or the DesktopService/GetRdpFile gRPC API call.

To reset the password, use the resetPassword REST API method for the Desktop resource or the DesktopService/ResetPassword gRPC API call.

Connect to the desktopConnect to the desktop

Windows
macOS
Linux
  1. Right-click the downloaded RDP file and select Edit (in Windows 11, select Show more options → Edit).
  2. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, open the General tab, select Allow me to save credentials, and click Connect.
  3. In the security window that opens, select Don't ask me again for connections to this computer and click Yes.
  4. Enter the password you saved previously, select Remember me, and click OK.

To reconnect to the desktop, run the RDP file you saved.

  1. Install and run Microsoft Remote Desktop, the official free RDP client for macOS.
  2. Open the Connections menu amd click Import from RDP file.
  3. In the window that opens, select the downloaded RDP file and click Import.
  4. In the Microsoft Remote Desktop menu, select Settings.
  5. In the window that opens, navigate to the User Accounts tab.
  6. Select the account you want to connect to from the list on the left, and paste the previously saved password into the Password field.
  7. Close the settings window.
  8. In the PCs tab, run the desktop you added.
  9. In the security window that opens, click Continue.

To reconnect to the desktop, run it from the PCs tab in the Microsoft Remote Desktop client. In the security window that opens, click Continue.

See alsoSee also

  • Getting started with a remote desktop in macOS
  1. Install Remmina, a free RDP client for Linux, by running the following commands in the terminal:

    sudo apt-add-repository ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install remmina remmina-plugin-rdp
    
  2. Start Remmina.

  3. In the top menu, click and select Import. Select the downloaded RDP file and click Import.

  4. Right-click the added desktop and select Edit.

  5. In the Remote Connection Profile window, set up the connection:

    • In the Username field, remove the first two characters: .\.
    • In the Password field, enter the previously saved password.
  6. Click Save and Connect.

To reconnect to the desktop, run it in the Remmina client.

See alsoSee also

  • Installing Remmina on non-Ubuntu Linux distributions

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