RustDesk Self-Hosted: Client Fails to Connect Despite Open Ports

[electriquo]

Summary of the Issue

• HBBS and HBBR Containers start correctly
• Ports are open and reachable
• Client can connect to the server socket
• However, the client never becomes "ready"
• Connections are immediately dropped by the server

Request

Any guidance on why the client cannot complete the connection (despite successful TCP connectivity) would be appreciated.

---

Environment

• OS: macOS 26.4.1
• Container runtime: Rancher Desktop 1.22.0

Docker Compose Setup

I created the following compose.yaml, inspired by:

• Docker Compose example
• Configuration refactor proposal

services:
  hbbs:
    container_name: hbbs
    image: docker.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15
    command: hbbs
    volumes:
      - ./data:/root
    depends_on:
      - hbbr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - RUST_LOG=debug
      - ALWAYS_USE_RELAY=Y
      - RELAY-SERVERS=localhost
      - RENDEZVOUS-SERVERS=localhost
    network_mode: host

  hbbr:
    container_name: hbbr
    image: docker.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15
    command: hbbr
    volumes:
      - ./data:/root
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - RUST_LOG=debug
    network_mode: host

Firewall Check

Verified that the macOS firewall is disabled

$ /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --getglobalstate
Firewall is disabled. (State = 0)

Running the Services

Started the Server and Relay containers

$ docker compose run --rm --service-ports --pull always hbbs
[+] create 0/1
[+]  2/2t 2/22r.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15 Pulling   3.7s
 ✔ Image docker.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15 Pulled    3.7s
 ✔ Container hbbr                                  Started   0.1s
Image docker.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15 Pulling
Image docker.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15 Pulling
Image docker.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15 Pulled
Image docker.io/rustdesk/rustdesk-server:1.1.15 Pulled
WARN[0004] No services to build
Container rustdesk-hbbs-run-bd37cde62bf0 Creating
Container rustdesk-hbbs-run-bd37cde62bf0 Created
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.336174 +00:00] INFO [libs/hbb_common/src/config.rs:895] Generated new keypair for id:
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.340149 +00:00] INFO [src/common.rs:147] Private/public key written to id_ed25519/id_ed25519.pub
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.340162 +00:00] DEBUG [src/common.rs:148] Public key: wUrf0XQ0jTpxorpiLZWXBPRwD0R5y4ngMKgN7kaP4Ag=
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.340556 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1251] Key: wUrf0XQ0jTpxorpiLZWXBPRwD0R5y4ngMKgN7kaP4Ag=
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.340566 +00:00] INFO [src/peer.rs:84] DB_URL=./db_v2.sqlite3
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.342270 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/client/connect/dns.rs:122] resolving host="api.rustdesk.com"
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.342284 +00:00] DEBUG [src/database.rs:58] MAX_DATABASE_CONNECTIONS=1
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.347730 +00:00] DEBUG [<unnamed>:0] PRAGMA page_size = 4096; …; rows affected: 0, rows returned: 2, elapsed: 4.763ms

PRAGMA page_size = 4096;
PRAGMA locking_mode = NORMAL;
PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL;
PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;
PRAGMA synchronous = FULL;
PRAGMA auto_vacuum = NONE;

[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359522 +00:00] DEBUG [<unnamed>:0] create table if not …; rows affected: 0, rows returned: 0, elapsed: 11.491ms

create table if not exists peer (
  guid blob primary key not null,
  id varchar(100) not null,
  uuid blob not null,
  pk blob not null,
  created_at datetime not null default(current_timestamp),
  user blob,
  status tinyint,
  note varchar(300),
  info text not null
) without rowid;
create unique index if not exists index_peer_id on peer (id);
create index if not exists index_peer_user on peer (user);
create index if not exists index_peer_created_at on peer (created_at);
create index if not exists index_peer_status on peer (status);

[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359547 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:107] serial=0
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359594 +00:00] INFO [src/common.rs:45] rendezvous-servers=["localhost"]
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359600 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:109] Listening on tcp/udp :21116
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359601 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:110] Listening on tcp :21115, extra port for NAT test
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359602 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:111] Listening on websocket :21118
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359609 +00:00] DEBUG [libs/hbb_common/src/udp.rs:36] Receive buf size of udp [::]:21116: Ok(212992)
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359628 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1357] listen on udp Some([::]:21116)
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359641 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:146] mask: None
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359642 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:147] local-ip: ""
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359658 +00:00] INFO [src/common.rs:45] relay-servers=["localhost"]
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359676 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1369] listen on tcp Ok([::]:21116)
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359690 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1369] listen on tcp Ok([::]:21115)
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359697 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1369] listen on tcp Ok([::]:21118)
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359698 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:161] ALWAYS_USE_RELAY=Y
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359707 +00:00] INFO [src/rendezvous_server.rs:193] Start
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.359722 +00:00] DEBUG [libs/hbb_common/src/udp.rs:36] Receive buf size of udp [::]:0: Ok(212992)
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.361504 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/client/connect/http.rs:542] connecting to 49.12.46.241:443
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.424698 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/client/connect/http.rs:545] connected to 49.12.46.241:443
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.424730 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/rustls-0.21.12/src/client/hs.rs:73] No cached session for DnsName("api.rustdesk.com")
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.424797 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/rustls-0.21.12/src/client/hs.rs:132] Not resuming any session
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.487632 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/rustls-0.21.12/src/client/hs.rs:615] Using ciphersuite TLS13_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.487652 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/rustls-0.21.12/src/client/tls13.rs:142] Not resuming
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.487760 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/rustls-0.21.12/src/client/tls13.rs:381] TLS1.3 encrypted extensions: [ServerNameAck, Protocols([ProtocolName(687474702f312e31)])]
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.487779 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/rustls-0.21.12/src/client/hs.rs:472] ALPN protocol is Some(b"http/1.1")
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.489695 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/proto/h1/io.rs:352] flushed 583 bytes
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.554802 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/proto/h1/io.rs:211] parsed 9 headers
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.554861 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/proto/h1/conn.rs:224] incoming body is content-length (73 bytes)
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.554907 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/proto/h1/conn.rs:300] incoming body completed
[2026-04-14 14:19:02.554987 +00:00] DEBUG [/cargo/registry/src/index.crates.io-1949cf8c6b5b557f/hyper-0.14.32/src/client/pool.rs:380] pooling idle connection for ("https", api.rustdesk.com)

Key Observations from Logs

• Keypair is generated successfully
• Server starts and listens on expected ports:
  • 21115 (TCP, NAT test)
  • 21116 (TCP/UDP)
  • 21118 (WebSocket)
• Relay and rendezvous servers are set to localhost
• No obvious startup errors

Port Connectivity Test

On another terminal, verify all required ports appear reachable locally:

$ nc -v -w 1 localhost 21115 
Connection to localhost port 21115 [tcp/*] succeeded!

$ nc -v -w 1 localhost 21116
Connection to localhost port 21116 [tcp/*] succeeded!

$ nc -v -w 1 -u localhost 21116
Connection to localhost port 21116 [udp/*] succeeded!

$ nc -v -w 1 localhost 21117
Connection to localhost port 21117 [tcp/*] succeeded!

$ nc -v -w 1 localhost 21118
Connection to localhost port 21118 [tcp/*] succeeded!
HJ
idjtw99rmb6*

Client Configuration

Configured the client manually using ID Server and Key

• ID Server: localhost
• Key: (public key auto-generated from server logs)

Client UI

• Initial state: "Connecting to the RustDesk network..."

  

• Final state: "Not ready. Please check your connection"

  

Server Logs During Client Attempts

Each client attempt results in a short-lived TCP connection:

[2026-04-14 14:19:18.722947 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:38376, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:19:18.723942 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:38376 closed
[2026-04-14 14:20:20.902202 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:58324, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:20:21.722775 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:58326, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:20:21.723320 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:58326 closed
[2026-04-14 14:20:21.913355 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:58324 closed
[2026-04-14 14:21:07.938607 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:48276, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:21:08.947254 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:48276 closed
[2026-04-14 14:21:22.724163 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:53340, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:21:22.724730 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:53340 closed
[2026-04-14 14:22:26.723989 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:48848, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:22:26.724796 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:48848 closed
[2026-04-14 14:23:27.724178 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:46810, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:23:27.724818 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:46810 closed
[2026-04-14 14:25:24.897200 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:58400, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:25:24.897714 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:58400 closed
[2026-04-14 14:26:25.901243 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:38400, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:26:25.901966 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:38400 closed
[2026-04-14 14:27:28.902146 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:52576, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:27:28.902845 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:52576 closed
[2026-04-14 14:28:31.902305 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:36200, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:28:31.903039 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:36200 closed
[2026-04-14 14:29:32.902085 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:53684, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:29:32.903013 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:53684 closed
[2026-04-14 14:30:33.902034 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1143] Tcp connection from [::1]:60916, ws: false
[2026-04-14 14:30:33.902629 +00:00] DEBUG [src/rendezvous_server.rs:1199] Tcp connection from [::1]:60916 closed

This repeats periodically, suggesting:

• The client can reach the server
• The connection is immediately closed

Additional Notes

• Instead of using localhost in compose.yaml and Client Configuration, I tried using the machine's local IP address.

  $ ipconfig getifaddr en0 #"$(route get 0.0.0.0/32 | grep interface: | awk '{print $2}')"

[ghost]

same here