How to set up a basic remote session on Mac using Microsoft remote Desktop App

Microsoft Remote Desktop on the Mac is just a client, not a server. You would have to install some other RDS server.

If you are connecting from a Mac to another Mac, the easiest solution is the built-in Screen sharing app.

Ok, then the following articles should prove helpful ... and, which you deploy, will depend on your requirements:

• Apple Remote Desktop User Guide for Mac - Apple Support << Most full-featured. Somewhat similar to Microsoft's Remote Desktop
• File Sharing: Set up file sharing on Mac - Apple Support
• Screen Sharing: Share the screen of another Mac - Apple Support

Apple's Screen Sharing is what I use locally between my M2 Mac Mini Pro running macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 and several other Intel or Apple Silicon Macs with various operating systems. The following image is a Windows 11 Pro guest running in Parallels Desktop 19.3.1 on a Core i7 iMac (Monterey 12.7.4). This is shared over a WiFi 6 network via the Apple Screen Sharing app that I keep in my Dock to the M2 Mac Mini Pro connected to a 32-in LG display:

Just to be sure, by "remote" are you referring to another Mac on the local network, on another local network VLAN, or over the Internet?

Regardless of where, what is your goal: screen sharing, remote control, etc.?

Finder -> Go (menu) -> Connect to server -> vnc://other.macs.address

You can also browse the list of visible other Macs from "Connect to server"

The other Mac MUST have System Settings -> General -> Sharing -> Screen Sharing [X] enabled

If this other Mac is NOT on the local network (such as a family member in another location), then it is still possible, but getting there and navigating home NAT routers, firewalls, etc... can make it a challenge. Better to start with Messsages and initiate screen sharing from there with the cooperation of the remote user. Or have the other user run Chrome browser and have it share the screen with you.

NOTE: Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection uses the RDC protocol. macOS uses a modified VNC protocol (VNC is a somewhat industry standard screen sharing protocol)

JCtech2025 wrote:

As far as the protocol I didn't know that about vnc.

Let me save you some time them. VNC is trash - absolute trash. It's trash on every operating system. You can certainly try all 17 different VNC implementations if you want. It's your time to burn.

But if you're busy, you have two options for remote control.

1) If you want to connect to a Windows or Linux computer, use Microsoft Remote Desktop. The standard open source implementations work well on Linux.

2) If you want to connect to a Mac, use Apple Screen Sharing. Apple has a paid version. I've used that on remote Macs in data centres and it works well.

If you did want to play around, I would recommend trying an unofficial Microsoft Remote Desktop implementation on the Mac. I've never tried one of those so I would be interested to see how well it worked. I've already wasted enough hours of my life with VNC.

For personal Mac to Mac connections, use the built-in Screen Sharing as I've outlined in previous post in this thread.

The Apple paid remote management software does not get you anything special, except the ability to control a classroom or lab full of Macs, but it is using the same screen sharing tech, with some extra for managing a lot of Macs at once.

But on the hood, macOS is using VNC protocols in Screen Sharing, but as with most things Apple, they have wrapped it in nice technology that allows for secure login, secure connections, drag and drop file transfer, seamless copy and paste, etc... All of this is built-in to every Mac shipped and does not cost you anything.

At work many of the developers in my group (and outside my group) use VNC when connecting to Linux hosted development systems from their Windows or Mac laptops. We are taking thousands of software developers in the Fortune 100 company I work for). Work has standardized on TigerVNC, which on the Mac seems to have a working copy & paste between Linux and macOS. And Microsoft Remote Desktop for Windows Server virtual machines in development data centers. I've used both. But personally, for Linux I like an ssh/tmux combination 😁

From follow up replies, JCtech2025 just needs built-in macOS Screen Sharing for Mac to Mac connection on the same local area network.