Production-ready Rust libraries for VNC protocol implementation

RustVNC is an ecosystem of Rust libraries for implementing the VNC (Virtual Network Computing) protocol. Build VNC servers, clients, proxies, and recording tools with memory safety, modern async I/O, and full RFC 6143 compliance.

Traditional VNC implementations in C/C++ suffer from memory vulnerabilities and blocking I/O. Our Rust libraries provide:

• Memory Safety: Zero buffer overflows, use-after-free bugs, or data races thanks to Rust's ownership system
• Modern Architecture: Built on Tokio's async runtime for efficient concurrent connection handling
• Performance: Zero-copy framebuffer updates, SIMD-optimized encoding, and persistent compression streams
• RFC 6143 Compliance: Full protocol implementation with 11 encoding types
• Reusability: Modular design - use what you need, from encoding algorithms to complete server implementations

Pure Rust VNC server library for building custom VNC solutions.

use rustvncserver::VncServer;

let mut server = VncServer::new(1920, 1080);
server.listen("0.0.0.0:5900").await?;
server.update_framebuffer(&framebuffer_data).await?;

• Full RFC 6143 protocol support
• 11 encoding types (Raw, Tight, ZRLE, ZYWRLE, and more)
• Async/await API with Tokio
• Zero-copy architecture
• Available on crates.io

Documentation → | Technical Details →

Reusable RFB protocol encoding implementations for VNC clients, servers, and proxies.

• 10 encoding types including Tight (5 modes), ZRLE, ZYWRLE
• Persistent compression stream management
• Optional TurboJPEG hardware acceleration
• Pixel format translation (8/16/24/32-bit)
• Available on crates.io

Documentation → | Technical Details →

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   RustVNC (Android App)                 │
│   ├─ Kotlin UI                          │
│   └─ JNI Bridge                         │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────────┘
              │ uses
┌─────────────▼───────────────────────────┐
│   rustvncserver (Server Library)        │
│   ├─ Protocol Handling (RFC 6143)       │
│   ├─ Client Connection Management       │
│   └─ Async I/O (Tokio)                  │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────────┘
              │ uses
┌─────────────▼───────────────────────────┐
│   rfb-encodings (Encoding Library)      │
│   ├─ 10 Encoding Implementations        │
│   ├─ Compression Stream Management      │
│   └─ Pixel Format Translation           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Each layer is independently versioned, tested, and reusable across different VNC implementations.

For a 1920×1080 framebuffer update:

A production Android app demonstrating rustvncserver in action:

• Screen sharing with configurable scaling
• Reverse VNC and UltraVNC repeater support
• Built-in noVNC web client for browser access
• Intent-based API for automation (Tasker, MacroDroid, etc.)
• Zeroconf/Bonjour auto-discovery
• Password protection and access control

Download → | Documentation →

[dependencies]
rustvncserver = "2.0"
rfb-encodings = "0.1"

See rustvncserver documentation for API examples and usage.

We welcome contributions! Each repository has detailed contributing guidelines:

• RustVNC Contributing Guide
• rustvncserver Contributing Guide
• rfb-encodings Contributing Guide

All projects follow the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct.

Security is a top priority. We have security policies in place:

• rustvncserver Security Policy
• rfb-encodings Security Policy

To report vulnerabilities, email: dustin.mcafee@my.maryvillecollege.edu with subject "RustVNC Security"

Library enhancements:

• VNC client library implementation
• VNC proxy/load balancer library
• VNC session recording and playback utilities
• Additional encoding optimizations (SIMD for ZRLE)
• H.264/H.265 encoding support

Example implementations:

• Desktop VNC client
• Web-based VNC proxy

Core Libraries: Apache-2.0

• rustvncserver
• rfb-encodings

Example Implementations: GPL-2.0

• RustVNC Android app (inherited from droidVNC-NG)

• Issues: Report bugs in the respective repository
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions (coming soon)
• Email: dustin.mcafee@my.maryvillecollege.edu

Built with ❤️ in Rust | Website | Documentation