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Quickstart: Use a remote desktop client to connect to a dev box

  • Article
  • 2 minutes to read

When you have configured the Microsoft Dev Box Preview service and created dev boxes, you can connect to them using a browser, or by using a remote desktop client.

Remote desktop apps let you use and control a dev box from almost any device. For your desktop or laptop, you can choose to download the Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop or the Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac. You can also download a Remote Desktop app for your mobile device: Microsoft Remote Desktop for iOS or Microsoft Remote Desktop for Android.

In this quickstart, you'll perform the following tasks:

  • Download the Remote Desktop client (Windows and non-Windows).
  • Use the Remote Desktop client to connect to a dev box.

Prerequisites

Configure the Microsoft Dev Box Preview service:

Create a dev box to connect to:

Use the Remote Desktop client to connect to your dev box

There are remote desktop clients available for many different operating systems (OSs) and devices. In this quickstart, you can choose to view the steps for Windows, or the steps for a non-Windows OS by selecting the appropriate tab.

Download the Remote Desktop client for Windows

To download and set up the Remote Desktop app for Windows, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to the developer portal.

  2. Select Open in RDP client for the dev box you want to connect.

    Screenshot of the Your dev box card showing the Open in RDP client option.

  3. Choose Download Windows Desktop to download the Remote Desktop client.

    Screenshot of the download windows desktop option on the connect dialog.

  4. Once install of the Windows Desktop client completes, return to the dev portal and connect to your dev box

    Screenshot of the return prompt after download and install of the RDP client is completed.

Connect to your dev box

  1. To open the RDP client, sign in to the developer portal.

  2. Select Open in RDP client for the dev box you want to connect.

    Screenshot of the Open in RDP client option.

  3. Choose Open Windows Desktop to connect to your dev box in the Remote Desktop client.

    Screenshot of the Open Windows Desktop option on the Connect dialog.

Clean up resources

Dev boxes incur costs whenever they are running. When you have finished using your dev box, shutdown or stop it to avoid incurring unnecessary costs.

You can stop a dev box from the developer portal:

  1. Sign in to the developer portal.

  2. For the dev box you want to stop, select the Actions menu, and then select Stop.

    Screenshot of the Stop option.

  3. The dev box may take a few moments to stop.

Next steps

To learn about managing Microsoft Dev Box Preview, see: