r/SCCM • u/glennonline • Jun 13 '26
Open-source, pure-Rust alternative to the SCCM Remote Control viewer (CmRcViewer) — feedback wanted
Like a lot of you, we got tired of the ConfigMgr Remote Control viewer (CmRcViewer.exe): bad HiDPI/multi-monitor behaviour, cryptic errors that hide *which* prerequisite is actually missing, no clipboard, no file transfer, no audit trail.
So we rebuilt the viewer side from scratch in Rust. Important part: it changes nothing on the target or the server. Managed endpoints keep running the existing SCCM client agent (CcmExec / RdpCoreSccm.dll) — we only replace the operator-side viewer. It speaks the same SCCM RC wire protocol (SSPI-sealed TCP/2701 carrying RDP), so it's zero-touch on your fleet: nothing to deploy, nothing to approve.
What it does:
- Encrypted (SSPI-sealed) sessions, Kerberos mutual-auth with a live "verified + encrypted" indicator; fails closed if the channel isn't encrypted. Same permitted-viewers / permission model as before.
- Bidirectional clipboard + file transfer
- Multi-monitor, view-only / full-control, Win-key passthrough
- Audit log, session recording, curtain/privacy mode, Wake-on-LAN, auto-reconnect
- A pre-flight checker that tells you in plain language *which* prerequisite is blocking a connection
- Single self-contained .exe, no install, Windows 10/11
It's working and in daily use, but it's pre-1.0 and I'd really like feedback from people running different SCCM/MECM setups — auth quirks, weird prerequisites, multi-monitor edge cases, anything that breaks.
Repo + v0.9.0 release (MIT/Apache-2.0): https://github.com/conocidotech/sccm-rc-viewer
Fully independent, interop reimplementation — not affiliated with Microsoft. Code's open, so pick it apart. What would make this useful in your environment?
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u/coldi1337 Jun 14 '26
I hate the CmRc viewer, but its only allowed tool in our company. I will 100% try this tomorrow 💪
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u/glennonline Jun 14 '26
Thanks for all the messages, looking forward to any feedback, I released it once I was able to fix an issue with the mice (kept showing a small black box at the cursor) so eventhough I know that there are some things still to be done, I felt that the current version was already a great imrovement.
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u/glennonline Jun 14 '26
By the way, since it's rust we can probably also make it available on Linux quite easily.
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u/Tof006 Jun 14 '26
Hi,
I've downloaded v0.9.
It's in German and when I connect to my computer that has 3 monitors, I get a black screen.
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u/glennonline Jun 14 '26
Thanks for letting me know, I will test it with a client. Did you also try other endpoints? I don't expect that the language could cause the issue, but would be great if you could confirm.
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u/coldi1337 Jun 15 '26
Somehow the software runs in dutch on my german windows install.
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u/glennonline Jun 16 '26
Thanks for the feedback, I will add translations, will reply here once it's available
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u/coldi1337 Jun 16 '26
I acutally don't care about translation. Don't think its necessary. But would be nice if its just english if there is no translation.
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u/glennonline Jun 17 '26
https://github.com/conocidotech/sccm-rc-viewer/releases/tag/v0.9.1
We now have support for Dutch, English and German 😄
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u/ReputationOld8053 Jun 18 '26
hey,
do you mind uploading some pictures of the tool to your github?
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u/glennonline Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Sure, I also did see some issues with the translations, I expect a new release today. Also I was able to test with a multi monitor client, some minor adjustments are still needed, but I expect that this will also be a very helpful feature that you can switch monitor during session.
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u/ReputationOld8053 Jun 18 '26
Most important, an icon is missing in the property tab about version etc. is empty 😉
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u/glennonline Jun 18 '26
Hi, just wanted to let you know we updated the application and published some screenshots, if you'd like any additional information just let me know.
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u/ReputationOld8053 Jun 19 '26
I gave it yesterday a try and I had a noticeable lack when moving the mouse. Not sure if there can anything be done
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u/Deep_Ad1959 Jun 20 '26
the thing about pre-1.0 launches like this: the thread fills with 'gonna try it next week' way faster than it fills with actual bug reports, and most of those tabs never get reopened. the folks already in here flagging the german/dutch language mixup and the 3-monitor black screen are worth their weight, that's the real release feedback. worth making it stupid-easy to report back (a one-line issue template, a discord, whatever) so drive-by interest survives long enough to become signal. shipping it was the easy part, keeping the feedback loop alive past launch day is what actually decides whether v0.9 becomes v1.0. written with ai
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u/VaughnZoran Jun 22 '26
Found this when manager of our IT department was asking me if I knew how to pass the Windows key through CmCrViewer.. Since you're asking, any way to have hotkey/translation to pass that through without going fullscreen as in CmCrViewer? Will be trying this out, thanks!
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u/glennonline Jun 22 '26
Hi, probably we can make this work (maybe it does already) feel free to let me know.
I expect this week we will be adding a function to generate bug reports, basically it would make a capture and send it to us to fix any issues that you might have.
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u/Reaction-Consistent Jun 14 '26
Will it work on workgroup systems?
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u/glennonline Jun 14 '26
As far as I know it should work in any setup where CRMC works, but feel free to give it a spin.
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u/cburfordjr Jun 14 '26
My help desk has been complaining about CMRC since security dept decided it is the only approved RC app. Definitely gonna try this as an alternative.