Plasma 6.8 and Plasma Login Manager

[jmscdba]

Thanks I now see that option in Neon Unstable after the last update so I tried testing it out.

Previously before that update RDP screen sharing worked fine from another machine after I locally logged into the Neon Unstable system.

After the update, I enabled that option and rebooted ( just to make sure it everything was started fresh ) and then I attempted to RDP into the Neon Unstable system from the machine I normally test from without logging in locally first to the Neon Unstable and it fails with:

[10:53:57:268] [10952:0000198c] [ERROR][com.freerdp.core] - [get_next_addrinfo]: ERRCONNECT_CONNECT_FAILED [0x00020006]
[10:53:57:268] [10952:0000198c] [ERROR][com.freerdp.core] - [freerdp_tcp_default_connect]: Couldn’t get socket ip address
[10:53:57:268] [10952:0000198c] [ERROR][com.freerdp.core.transport] - [transport_connect_layer]: ConnectLayer neonunstable:3389 [15000ms] failed
[10:53:57:268] [10952:0000198c] [ERROR][com.freerdp.core.nego] - [nego_connect]: Failed to connect
[10:53:57:272] [10952:000006fc] [ERROR][com.freerdp.client.SDL] - [handleShow]: ERRCONNECT_CONNECT_FAILED [0x00020006]
The connection failed.

You do not even get the user/pswd prompt.

If I login locally to the Neon Unstable but don’t run anything after logging in and then attempt to RDP in then the local console switches to the login screen, however, the screen does not appear like it would if the user locked the screen it appears like they are no longer logged in.

I ssh’ed into the machine as a different user to see if the original user was still logged in locally and the screen was just locked and originally locally logged in user is still logged in so it is just the login screen not appearing like they locked the screen.

The machine that is RDP’ing into Neon Unstable gets the user/pswd prompt and then sometimes the window opens but all you get is a white background with no desktop or content and other times it works and you get the desktop.

Closing the RDP session and then reattempting, results in the RDP window opening but the screen is just white with no desktop.

Repeating the RDP connection attempt sometime works and you get the desktop and other times the white background appears but no desktop.

If I go back to the Neon Unstable and log back in locally and the logoff and attempt to RDP in from the other machine then it fails with the original message at the top of this post.

I will keep testing to see if I can get additional details but so far those are the initial testing results.

[headbank]

@jmscdba

I attempted to RDP into the Neon Unstable system from the machine I normally test from without logging in locally first to the Neon Unstable and it fails with:

You would not expect this to work. KRDP is still running the same way as before – it is launched as part of the logged-in local session. No session, no KRDP server. From what David said, that functionality (which will mean the multi-user you are seeking) is barely on the horizon yet.

@jmscdba

the local console switches to the login screen, however, the screen does not appear like it would if the user locked the screen it appears like they are no longer logged in.

Aren’t these screens very similar to each other? Are there functional differences between them that matter? [I’m still using SDDM so maybe there are things I don’t appreciate here.]

@jmscdba

The machine that is RDP’ing into Neon Unstable gets the user/pswd prompt and then sometimes the window opens but all you get is a white background with no desktop or content and other times it works and you get the desktop.

Closing the RDP session and then reattempting, results in the RDP window opening but the screen is just white with no desktop.

Repeating the RDP connection attempt sometime works and you get the desktop and other times the white background appears but no desktop.

Now this is “actionable feedback” territory. Not surprising that this very new code is still rather buggy, but it sounds like it worked as intended some of the time, which is something.

When you did get the desktop showing, was it usable?

Did you try different RDP clients?

You might consider putting together a bug report at bugs.kde.org. I have never reported on pre-release versions there myself, but David did say bug reports would be welcome and I can’t see where else one would do so, so I see no harm in it.

[jmscdba]

@headbank

You would not expect this to work. KRDP is still running the same way as before – it is launched as part of the logged-in local session. No session, no KRDP server. From what David said, that functionality (which will mean the multi-user you are seeking) is barely on the horizon yet.

Yes, but David also said this in that same latest post

“Whilst I am confident that we will have a great single-user story in time for Plasma 6.8 even for truly headless setups”

And since that was in his latest post it set my expectations that single user headless would probably drop at the same time as the other stuff he mentioned.

While it might be nice that it can lock the screen I cannot imagine someone being at the office and leaving their PC logged in and go home and then remote desktop back into the work PC. Most companies would fire you for such a breach of security like leaving your desktop logged in and leaving your desk.

@headbank

Aren’t these screens very similar to each other? Are there functional differences between them that matter? [I’m still using SDDM so maybe there are things I don’t appreciate here.]

Yes they are similar but when you lock the screen if you move the mouse it shows the password prompt for the user that was logged in and locked the screen versus showing the login screen where you can login as any user. That’s why I first thought that the user was not logged anymore.

@headbank

Now this is “actionable feedback” territory. Not surprising that this very new code is still rather buggy, but it sounds like it worked as intended some of the time, which is something.

When you did get the desktop showing, was it usable?

Did you try different RDP clients?

Yeah but since this is the first drop of any of those features probably not worth the effort.

I didn’t do a lot in that test as I was trying to find a pattern in when it connected vs failed but minimal testing before this update and it worked but was a little slow at times.

I didn’t try other RDP clients in those tests but I just tried using KRDC from a linux pc.

KRDC prompts for the user/pswd and then just disconnects with no messages.
Worse when I go back to the Neon UnStable and attempt to login again I just get a black screen and no desktop.

To recover I had to ssh in from another pc and then kill the systemd --user process for the local login to recover.

Seems to early to test much more, especially considering none of these features are what I need they are just the precursor to it.

[stlnb]

@jmscdba

While it might be nice that it can lock the screen I cannot imagine someone being at the office and leaving their PC logged in and go home and then remote desktop back into the work PC.

Actually, you only need the session to exist, not for it to be unlocked. So you need to login but then you can lock the session and it should work.

@jmscdba

Yes they are similar but when you lock the screen if you move the mouse it shows the password prompt for the user that was logged in and locked the screen versus showing the login screen where you can login as any user.

Arguably, I think it would be nice to see on the login screen (so SDDM/PLM) when you select a user, if its session is already existing.

OTOH, we need to get back to the login screen, because the lock screen is on the display session, so for the remote connection to get the seat, we need to completely boot off the active one and so go back that far.

@jmscdba

Yeah but since this is the first drop of any of those features probably not worth the effort.

It’s actually one of the best time to start sending feedback. Given this is a completely new functionality, it’s going to have (very) rough edges, and by the nature of it, we’ll hit a lot of edge cases with different hardware and software stacks.

Well, you’re probably going to hit multiple issues at the same time, so troubleshooting in this state is probably a big pain, and I understand you might not feel comfortable with the efforts it would need, even if it would be very much appreciated.

[jmscdba]

The Plasma 6.8 release is now very close but there are still unanswered questions.

Since it appears that the multi-user headless support for RDP is not going to make it into Plasma 6.8, has the new target Plasma version been determined yet ?

We have no idea if the target was moved to Plasma 6.8.1, 6.8.2, 6.9, 6.10, etc. making it very hard to plan.

In David’s 07/15/26 reply he said

We definitely can launch a session headless.
We are already multiuser.

Both of those are definitely true in the X11 world because we’ve been doing that for many years.

Based on that information, it would seem that the real missing part is in the rdp server listening for a connection request and launching a headless session ( which David says they can definitely already do ).

It seems like with the other 2 pieces already in place listening and launching the headless session would be much easier with those other 2 items already completed.

I’ve been following the progress of krdpserver in Neon Test and Neon Unstable but lately they have been very broken and pretty much unusable which seems like a step backward to where they were a month or so ago.

[ngraham]

@jmscdba

Since it appears that the multi-user headless support for RDP is not going to make it into Plasma 6.8, has the new target Plasma version been determined yet ?

Yes: Plasma 6.9. In that release we plan to have the server running independently of any session, such that you can RDP in and then use the login screen to login in as a user, and for any number of RDP connections to be used in this way, i.e. multiuser.

I’m sorry we couldn’t manage to get this into 6.8, but it is what it is.

[jmscdba]

THANKS very much Nate for giving an update, I GREATLY appreciate it !

I want to clarify what you said about 6.9…can you confirm this is correct:

I will be able to login to the server locally and at the same time multiple other users some Linux and some Windows will be able to RDP into the server from their individual computers and each user will get their own independent KDE Plasma desktop session ( so true multisession headless RDP ) just like what exists using Plasma 6.7.5, x11, and xrdp right now ?

I just looked at the release schedule for 6.9 and see that it is set for a release date of 02/23/2027 so that helps me with planning.

Any idea when we will start to see the multisession headless support appear in KDE Neon Unstable ? Or is there a better place to get a first look once it is available ?

Thanks !

[stlnb]

@jmscdba

Any idea when we will start to see the multisession headless support appear in KDE Neon Unstable ? Or is there a better place to get a first look once it is available ?

The fastest place you’ll get any new stuff regarding RDP (and pretty much every other stuff) is probably KDE Linux as of now. If something lands in development, you’ll get it there on the next day! (usually, unless images are held because CI is angry or something has regressed enough to trip on automatic QA)

[jmscdba]

So KDE Linux will see this sooner than KDE Neon Unstable ?

[stlnb]

I don’t exactly know the release cadence of new updates on Neon but I think it should be comparable. However, I recall of some delays on releases lately on the Neon side, maybe it caught back up.

[ngraham]

@jmscdba

I want to clarify what you said about 6.9…can you confirm this is correct:

I will be able to login to the server locally and at the same time multiple other users some Linux and some Windows will be able to RDP into the server from their individual computers and each user will get their own independent KDE Plasma desktop session ( so true multisession headless RDP ) just like what exists using Plasma 6.7.5, x11, and xrdp right now ?

Confirmed. You will be able to log in locally to an account of your choice, and then remote RDP users will be able to either log into their own private user accounts on the server, or a new session of a shared user account (if you configure the server this way).

Any idea when we will start to see the multisession headless support appear in KDE Neon Unstable ? Or is there a better place to get a first look once it is available ?

It’ll land in master (and neon Unstable or KDE Linux) within the next 3 months, but I don’t have a firmer ETA than that.

[jmscdba]

@ngraham

Confirmed. You will be able to log in locally to an account of your choice, and then remote RDP users will be able to either log into their own private user accounts on the server, or a new session of a shared user account (if you configure the server this way).

Great thanks very much for the clarification!

@ngraham

It’ll land in master (and neon Unstable or KDE Linux) within the next 3 months, but I don’t have a firmer ETA than that.

Ok, I update my Neon Testing and Neon unstable every few days so I’ll keep watching.

[ngraham]

It will also definitely be mentioned on This Week in Plasma - KDE Blogs.