RustDesk Remote Access

Athena includes an optional integration with RustDesk — an open-source remote desktop tool — for unattended remote support. Install it on managed agents, set and rotate the per-machine connection password centrally, and push a consistent security profile to the whole fleet.

RustDesk is one of two remote-desktop paths in Athena. The built-in WebRTC technician screen-share needs no third-party software and supports session recording; the RustDesk integration documented here is a separate, optional path that manages a standalone RustDesk client on each agent. It is disabled by default and only becomes usable once you turn it on and install the client on target machines.

Enabling the integration#

RustDesk is off until you enable it. Turn it on under Settings → Agent → Remotes, where the RustDesk connection, security, and general options live alongside the WebRTC screen-share settings. Enablement corresponds to the Agent:RustDeskEnabled configuration key (default false).

In the connection settings you can optionally point agents at a self-hosted RustDesk server (its address and public key) instead of the public RustDesk relays, and set a fleet default password and generated-password length:

Installing RustDesk on an agent#

Open an agent from the fleet and go to its RustDesk section on the agent detail page. If the integration is enabled but the client is not yet present, Athena offers a one-click Install when the agent is online and Chocolatey is reachable. The install is dispatched to the agent as a Chocolatey package operation (install rustdesk) that runs as SYSTEM; if Chocolatey is not already present the agent installs it first (see Remote commands).

Once installed, the section shows the RustDesk ID, client version, service status, and install path, and lets you manage the connection password. You can also trigger the install over the API:

# Dispatch a RustDesk install to an online agent
POST api/agents/{agentId}/rustdesk/install

The agent must be connected for the install to dispatch; an offline agent returns an error and nothing is queued.

Connection passwords#

Athena manages the RustDesk permanent connection password for each agent centrally — you never have to touch the client on the machine. When you set a password, the server pushes it to the agent and stores an encrypted copy so it can be displayed to authorized operators later.

• Set a password — supply your own value, or leave it blank to have the server generate a strong random one. Setting a password requires the agent to be connected.
• Rotate a password — generate and push a brand-new random password on demand, keeping the agent's existing rotation schedule.
• Apply to all — an Admin can push a password to every agent that has RustDesk installed in one action, using the configured fleet default password (or generating one per agent when no default is set).

Password endpoints:

Automatic password rotation#

You can have Athena change RustDesk passwords on a schedule so a machine's connection secret does not stay static. Rotation works at two levels:

• Per-agent schedule — enable rotation for a single agent and set the interval in days. Athena records the next rotation time and rolls the password when it comes due.
• Fleet rotation job — when a fleet rotation interval is configured (Agent:RustDeskRotationDays greater than 0), Athena maintains a recurring scheduled job that runs daily and rotates every agent whose password is due. Setting the interval back to 0 removes that job.

A due agent is only rotated while it is online; agents that are offline when a rotation runs are picked up on a later run once they reconnect. Update a single agent's schedule with:

# Enable or disable per-agent rotation
PUT api/agents/{agentId}/rustdesk/rotation-schedule

Security & connection profile#

Under Settings → Agent → Remotes you also control the RustDesk security and behavior profile that Athena pushes to managed clients. These settings let you lock down what an incoming connection is allowed to do. Notable options and their defaults:

Changes to the security and general profile can be pushed to all agents that have RustDesk installed from the same settings screen, so the whole fleet stays on one consistent policy.

PowerShell#

The Athena PowerShell module exposes the per-agent RustDesk operations for scripting and bulk work:

# Set a generated password with 30-day auto-rotation on one agent
Set-AthenaRustDeskPassword -AgentId $agentId -EnableRotation -RotationDays 30

# Rotate the RustDesk password on every agent
Get-AthenaAgent | ForEach-Object { Update-AthenaRustDeskPassword -AgentId $_.Id }

The rotation interval accepts 1–365 days. Set-password and rotation require the Operator or Admin role; listing all credentials fleet-wide requires Admin.