How to Install Remmina Remote Desktop on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Remmina is a remote desktop client written in GTK+, aiming to be useful for system administrators and travelers who need to work with many remote computers in front of either large monitors or tiny netbooks. It supports the following protocols: RDP, VNC, NX, XDMCP, and SSH. Among its features are Multi-Monitor support, Tabbed sessions, port forwarding, proxy support, and easy access to typical applications like Firefox or LibreOffice. Remmina also has a robust plugin system that can be used to extend its functionality.

For a full rundown on the features of the Remmina remote desktop client, visit the Remmina Features page on the official website.

In the following tutorial, you will learn to install the Remmina on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using three methods: apt package manager, flatpak package manager, and snapcraft package manager with some tips for maintaining or removing popular remote desktop software in the future.

Update Ubuntu

Before you begin, make sure your system is up-to-date to avoid any conflicts during the installation, and for good practice, use the terminal command as follows.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Remmina Remote Desktop – APT Method with Ubuntu Repo

The first option is to use the Ubuntu 22.04 default APT repository. This is a stable and secure version and is most recommended to install over any other package manager but can be outdated compared to Flatpaks alternative option that is usually up-to-date.

First, execute the following apt install command.

sudo apt install remmina remmina-plugin-rdp remmina-plugin-secret -y

Optionally, you can also install the dev Remmina package. Also, most users should not need this package.

sudo apt install remmina-dev -y

For users that would prefer a much more updated version package, use the APT PPA that is next.

Install Remmina Remote Desktop – APT Method with PPA

The tutorial has a few options to install Remmina. Still, users wishing to install the latest version package using LaunchPad PPAs by the “Remmina PPA Team” team can achieve this for Ubuntu users as one of the favored options among all methods.

First, you will need to import the following one of the two options present below. Ideally, importing the first option, the Remmina Next PPA, is what most users should use, with users that love using beta bleeding-edge software using the daily development build.

Please note that only one PPA version of Remmina Remote Desktop can be installed at a time, so if you import both PPAs, the daily build will be the default version installed.

Import Remmina PPA Next (Recommended)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next -y

Import Remmina PPA Daily Build

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next-daily -y

Next, run an APT update to reflect the newly imported PPA.

sudo apt-get update

Now install the applications with the following command.

sudo apt install remmina remmina-plugin-rdp remmina-plugin-secret -y

And again, similar to the original Ubuntu repository method, you can additionally install the dev package.

sudo apt install remmina-dev -y

Install Remmina Remote Desktop – Snapcraft Method

The second option is to install with Snap. The Snapcraft package manager should be installed on your Ubuntu desktop unless you have removed it previously. From my understanding Flatpak out of the Flatpak vs. Snap battle for this package is constantly updated more quickly by a few weeks each time; be aware.

For users that removed snapd, re-run the following command:

sudo apt install snapd -y

Once installed, you will need to restart your system, or else the icons may not appear; if you skip a repeat and notice any issues, reboot.

reboot

Snap installed? Skip the following few lines and proceed straight to the installation with Snap

Next, some packages come in classic, so you need to create a symlink to enable classic snap support, so it is best to run this command for the best snap compatibility.

sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

Install the core files to avoid conflicting issues.

sudo snap install core

Next, enter the following snap command to install.

sudo snap install remmina

Install Remmina Remote Desktop – Flatpak Method

The third option is to use the Flatpak package manager. This comes installed on Ubuntu unless you removed it. This is another popular option similar to Snap but is featured amongst many distributions as an alternative third-party installation package manager for the latest packages.

First, re-install Flatpak if you have removed the package manager previously.

sudo apt install flatpak -y

Next, you need to enable Flatpack using the following command in your terminal:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Ideally, you should reboot at this stage; if you skip this and notice icons not appearing, the reboot will generate the paths required for the future.

reboot

Now run the installation using the following flatpak command.

flatpak install flathub org.remmina.Remmina -y

How to Launch Remmina Remote Desktop

Now that you have the software installed, launching can be done in a few ways.

First, you can launch the application immediately by typing the following command in your terminal.

remmina

If you would like to launch Remmina and continue using the terminal, use the <application-name> & command.

remmina &

Snap users need to use the snap run <application> command.

sudo snap run remmina

Lastly, Flatpak users can run from the terminal using the following command.

flatpak run org.remmina.Remmina

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop to open it.

Activities (top-right corner) > Show Applications > Remmina

Example:

Once you open Remmina, you can automatically start using it to connect to servers by clicking the top left-hand side to add a new profile.

Example:

And that is it, and you have installed the Remmina Remote Desktop client on your desktop.

Example:

How to Update/Upgrade Remmina Remote Desktop

Updates should appear in notifications, but if these fail to show sometimes, it is recommended to check using the terminal regardless use one of the following commands to check for updates.

APT Method

sudo apt update

Flatpak Method

flatpak update

Snap Method

sudo snap refresh

How to Remove (Uninstall) Remmina Remote Desktop

Use one of the following commands to suit the original installation method for users who no longer require the application.

APT Remove Method

sudo apt autoremove remmina* --purge -y

Note that autoremove will also delete any unused packages from Remmina and any other leftovers from previous applications. Most times, this is safe to do and should be done to keep your system from being bloated.

Lastly, users who installed Remmina using one of the two listed PPAs. Remove the PPA using the following command with the –remove flag added to the original command.

Remove Remmina PPA Next

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next -y

Remove Remmina PPA Daily Build

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next-daily -y

Flatpak Remove Method

flatpak remove  --delete-data org.remmina.Remmina -y

Next, run the following command for any leftover clean-ups required, similar to the autoremove command described for the apt remove example command.

flatpak remove --unused

Snapcraft Remove Method

sudo snap remove --purge remmina

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to install the Remmina Remote desktop client on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using one of the three installation methods.

If you have not tried using a remote desktop client, we recommend giving Remmina a try. It is an open-source application that has been around for quite some time and has been updated regularly with new features and bug fixes. The developers are constantly working to improve the user experience, so if you encounter any issues, be sure to report them on the project’s GitHub page.