Linux Desktop Support for Remote Desktop Client

AVD Feed + Connect — an unofficial native Linux client for Azure Virtual Desktop / Windows 365

If you're on Linux and tired of hand-crafting .rdp files per host pool, I built a small open-source client that does what the Windows App does: sign in with Entra ID, list the workspaces and remote apps you're entitled to, double-click to connect.

How it works:

Interactive Entra ID sign-in (auth-code + PKCE in an embedded WebKit view) — same flow as the official clients, so Conditional Access policies that block device-code flow are honored.

Feed discovery against the AVD ARM feed endpoint, with the required user-agent header.

Workspace grid with per-resource icons.

Connect via a bundled FreeRDP (/gateway:type:arm /sec:aad), with silent token refresh.

The bundled FreeRDP includes fixes stock upstream lacks: the PulseAudio hot-unplug / rdpsnd busy-loop fix (so plugging in headphones mid-Teams-call no longer freezes the session), plus camera redirection, mic, and multi-monitor.

Install (Flatpak, one command; auto-updates via flatpak update):

Code

Repo: https://github.com/shakeelosmani/avd_feed_connect (MIT)

Status: early but working — sign-in, feed discovery, workspace grid, and connect all function. Flathub listing is planned. Bug reports and contributions welcome, especially from tenants with unusual Conditional Access setups.

Not affiliated with Microsoft.

Just wanted to add my 2c worth here as well; While the web client works for connecting, its performance is noticeably worse than the Windows App.

When running Teams on the virtual device or cloud PC it cannot be optimized since the web client on Linux lacks the WebRTC Redirector/Teams media-optimization pipeline that Windows/macOS/iOS/Android get. Audio and video is laggy because the encoding/decoding cannot be offloaded directly to the local hardware

Really need a native linux client to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop. "Windows App" for linux. Connecting through a web browser is a terrible experience - the low refresh rate is like watching a slide show. In fact, running android in a container on top of linux and using the android "Windows App" is far more performant than just connecting through a web browser. (Allthough that is not a great solution). If you've already got an Android app (which works amazing on my phone), a Mac app, and even an app for VR, then surely it's not a stretch to release a linux app.

I was previously using a virtual machine via Citrix - which does have a linux app - and it worked great. Unfortunately work has moved over to connecting via the Windows App now.

Hey BANNEDUSERNAME, any time now? No new for 3 years, what's the point of collecting feedback then?

Any news in this topic BANNEDUSERNAME?

This is a much needed item. With Windows 10 being forcibly retired, many people are switching older hardware to Linux.

Yes, and please support smart card / PIV authentication in this client, just like in MacOS/Windows.

Linux support will be a life saver for AVD. I'm sick of rebooting into Windows every time I have to connect.

Please provide Linux support. This is one of the top 3 feedback items when measured by upvotes.