Launch Mac Microsoft RDP with url

Jeremy Whiting 1 Reputation point
2021-03-15T19:37:55.35+00:00

I'm trying to launch the macos Microsoft Remote Desktop app with a rdp url but it always says the URL is invalid. I've tried these schemes, the first says url is invalid, the second says it can't find the file.

  1. rdp://username@servername (also tried rdp://servername rdp://servername:port etc. None of these are valid somehow)
  2. rdp://address=s:servername (also tried rdp://address=s:servername:3389 rdp://address=s:servername&username=foo, mac's open command wants to open these as a file, not passing the url to the app at all.)

#2 fails even with open -a /Applications/Microsoft\ Remote\ Desktop.app <url> with or without " around the url it always reports:

The file /Users/jeremy/rdp://address=s:192.168.1.21:3389&username=s:jeremy does not exist.

Is there a way to launch the macos Microsoft Remote Desktop app with a url and have it load the url and connect to the given server with username if possible, without would be adequate for now.

Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop
A Microsoft app that connects remotely to computers and to virtual apps and desktops.
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  1. Grace HE 1,241 Reputation points
    2021-03-22T03:23:20.947+00:00

    Hi,
    Thank you for your reply. Here are some official documents you may need.
    Registering an Application to a URI Scheme
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/internet-explorer/ie-developer/platform-apis/aa767914(v=vs.85)?redirectedfrom=MSDN
    Remote desktop URI scheme
    https://learn.microsoft.com/de-de/windows-server/remote/remote-desktop-services/clients/remote-desktop-uri
    Remote Desktop Client URI Scheme Support
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/dn690096(v=ws.11)

    Best Regards,
    Grace

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  2. Grace HE 1,241 Reputation points
    2021-03-23T08:24:03.203+00:00

    Hi,
    Thank you for your quick reply. There is a key element you need to check first. That is whether you have Configure the GPO for RemoteApp Programs in Group Policy?
    You can check refer to this link.
    https://rdr-it.com/en/gpo-deploy-remoteapp-programs/

    Best Regards,
    Grace

    ---If the suggestions above are helpful, please ACCEPT ANSWER. Really appreciate. This will also help others with similar issue to find this post quickly. ---

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  3. M Stev 1 Reputation point
    2021-09-16T14:31:41.647+00:00

    I would like to also +1 this and provide some more data. This appears to be a regression in the Mac version of the Remote Desktop App under Big Sur. When you are dealing with windows instances in the cloud, especially of the ephemeral sort, the rdp mechanism provides an invaluable mechanism around scripting access to these instances.

    This has become a really big pain point and if the uri handling could be fixed under big sur or some mechanism for passing command line parameters, it would be very much appreciated!

    I also get that I'm asking for a feature on a free product :)

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  4. Jeremy Whiting 1 Reputation point
    2021-09-16T15:25:53.423+00:00

    Hello,

    None of these answers address the problem at all. I'd like to use a link/url to launch Microsoft RDP app on macos to connect to a given device. I have the device's ip address, username, etc. I do not have a server rdp config file or whatever you are talking about as far as setting remote connection policy, etc. etc.

    I have a windows 10 device on my lan at ip 192.168.1.45 for example, and a user on it called Jeremy. How do I launch Microsoft RDP to launch and try to connect to that?

    The device at that ip is listening for incoming rdp connections. Connecting to it from windows to windows or linux to windows works fine by specifying the ip and username. I don't see any way to do that with the MacOS Microsoft RDP application. without clicking many options in the gui. I'd like a link and/or command-line option to launch the app and directly connect to a given machine.