mRemoteNG Setup: Manage RDP, SSH, and VNC in One Tabbed Console

mRemoteNG is an open-source, tabbed remote connection manager that consolidates RDP, VNC, SSH, Telnet, HTTP/HTTPS, rlogin, raw sockets, and PowerShell Remoting into a single interface. It eliminates the need to cycle between multiple standalone clients, providing a unified workspace for all remote administrative tasks.

Installing mRemoteNG

Supported Operating Systems mRemoteNG runs on Windows 11, 10, and 8.1, as well as Windows Server editions 2022, 2019, 2016, and 2012 R2.

Source Code The raw source code is included in the package for users who prefer to compile the application themselves using Visual Studio.

Minimum Requirements

• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (Visual Studio 2015–2022)
• Microsoft .NET 6.0 Desktop Runtime
• Microsoft Terminal Services Client 6.0 or later (required for RDP). Ensure that mstscax.dll or msrdp.ocx is properly registered on your system.

Installation Methods On Windows 11, the simplest installation method is via winget: winget install -e --id mRemoteNG.mRemoteNG

Command Line (MSI) You can run the installer silently and configure options via the command line: msiexec /i [/qn] C:\Path\To\mRemoteNG-Installer.exe [INSTALLDIR=value] [IGNOREPREREQUISITES=value] [/lv* <log path>]

Manual Uninstall If you are using the portable version, simply delete the folder. For MSI installations, follow these steps:

1. Delete the installation directory (typically %PROGRAMFILES%\mRemoteNG). For versions older than 1.77 on 64-bit systems, check %programfiles(x86)%\mRemoteNG.
2. Remove the corresponding entry from the Uninstall registry key. Search for "mRemoteNG" under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\. On 64-bit systems with older builds, check HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\...\Uninstall.
3. Delete the HKLM\SOFTWARE\mRemoteNG key (or the WOW6432Node path for legacy installs).
4. (Optional) Clear user data by deleting %LOCALAPPDATA%\mRemoteNG.
5. (Optional) Remove connection configurations at %APPDATA%\mRemoteNG.
6. (Optional) Uninstall the "Microsoft Windows Desktop Runtime" if it is not required by other applications.

Main Window Layout

Upon the first launch, you will see the default layout: the Menu bar, Quick Connect bar, Sidebar (containing Connections and Config panels), the central Workspace for remote tabs, and the Notification footer.

Customization Users can modify themes and keyboard shortcuts via Tools > Options. Note that themes require an application restart to take effect. Also, keep in mind that keyboard shortcuts only function when mRemoteNG has focus; during an active RDP session, the remote machine will capture input first.

Working with Panels

Panels allow you to organize tabbed connections into logical groups, effectively serving as separate workstations within the app.

• Test vs. Production: Isolate development servers from live systems.
• Data Centers: Group connections by geography (e.g., NYC vs. London).
• Home and Work: Keep personal VMs separate from corporate infrastructure.

Creating a Panel While panels usually appear automatically when a connection is opened, you can create one manually via View > Add Connection Panel. To assign a connection to a specific panel, right-click the connection, select Connect (with options) > Choose panel before connecting, and select your target workspace.

You can right-click any panel tab to rename it or undock the entire panel to move it to a different monitor.

Connection Management

The Connections dialog acts as your central inventory for all remote assets.

Tree Actions

• New Connection (Red icon): Use this to create or duplicate entries. Duplicating an entry preserves inheritance settings. Note: In SSH sessions, Ctrl+Right-Click opens the PuTTY context menu.
• New Folder (Green icon): Use folders to organize connections. Properties set at the folder level are inherited by the items within them, reducing manual configuration.
• View (Blue icon): Use this to quickly expand or collapse the entire folder tree.
• Ascending Sort (Yellow icon): This sorts items from A to Z. Currently, descending sort is not supported.

Configuration Details

• Sorting: You can toggle between a Category-based view or an Alphabetical list.
• Inheritance: The interface clearly indicates which settings are inherited from parent folders.
• Icon: You can customize the visual icon for each connection.
• Host Status (ICMP): A green indicator shows the host is reachable via ping; red indicates it is offline. This requires ICMP traffic to be allowed through the Windows Firewall on the target machine.

Creating & Opening Connections To start, right-click the root "Connections" folder (the blue globe) and select New Connection. Provide a name and fill in the required fields: Hostname/IP, Username, Password, and Protocol. Double-click the entry to initiate the session. If a connection fails, a notification will provide details such as port errors or timeouts.

Closing Connections

• Log off: Logging off within the remote OS terminates the session on the server.
• Close the tab/panel: Closing the tab in mRemoteNG hides the view, but the session remains active on the server, allowing you to reconnect later if the server configuration permits.
• Double-click the tab header: This serves as a shortcut to close the tab without ending the remote session.

External Tools

You can launch third-party helper applications directly from mRemoteNG using variables to pass connection data.

Example: FileZilla (SFTP)

1. Navigate to Tools > External Tools and add a new entry.
   • Display Name: FileZilla
   • Filename: C:\Program Files\FileZilla FTP Client\filezilla.exe
2. Set the Arguments to utilize variables: sftp://%USERNAME%:%PASSWORD%@%HOSTNAME%:22
3. Right-click any saved connection in your tree and select External Tools > FileZilla. FileZilla will launch and automatically log into the server.

Example: Traceroute (CMD)

1. Add a new entry.
   • Display Name: Traceroute
   • Filename: cmd
   • Arguments: /K tracert %HOSTNAME%
2. When executed, a command prompt will open, run the trace to the specified host, and remain open for your review. For a similar setup in PowerShell, use powershell.exe with the argument -NoExit tracert %HOSTNAME%.