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Oriel · Free Mac remote desktopCOMING SOON

Your Mac.
From your Windows desktop.

Connect to your Mac with the Remote Desktop app that comes with Windows. There is nothing to install on the PC.

Oriel is a free remote desktop server for macOS, with hardware-accelerated H.264 streaming on Apple silicon. Windows-style shortcuts, clipboard, sound and your PC's printers all work in the session.

Connect with

Alcedo RDP
Remote Desktop Connection
Windows App
FreeRDP

Free for your Mac

Nothing to install on the PC

macOS 14+ on Apple silicon

We built it for our own QA team first.

We developed Oriel internally for our QA team while testing Alcedo RDP. It is now in use every day, and we are making it available to everyone, free.

H.264 streaming, accelerated by Apple silicon.

Oriel encodes the Mac's screen in hardware, with low latency, and streams it over standard RDP. Remote Desktop on your PC already knows how to decode it, so there is nothing to install.

1
Capture
ScreenCaptureKit
Up to 60 frames a second from a display made just for your session.
Apple silicon2
Encode
VideoToolbox
Hardware H.264 in low-latency mode: no B-frames, no lookahead.
3
Stream
AVC420 over RDP
A frame goes out only when the client has room for it, so you always see the newest one.
4
Show
Remote Desktop
Your PC decodes the stream with the client it already has.

~7.5 Mbit/sAverage H.264 bitrate at 1080p, low enough for a typical home connection.

4096 × 2304Largest H.264 session. Above that, Oriel sends lossless frames.

LosslessYour choice in Settings, when text has to be as sharp as possible.

Built on FreeRDP 3.32 and OpenSSL 3.5, with a native Swift app on the Mac. If the low-latency encoder can't run, Oriel falls back to software H.264.

A Mac that behaves when you drive it from Windows.

Your shortcuts keep working

With the Windows-style keyboard, Ctrl acts as ⌘, so the keys you already use do what you expect. Prefer something else? Pick the layout that suits you.

Ctrl⌘

WinControl

Ctrl+C copies, Ctrl+V pastes, Ctrl+Z undoes.

ClipboardText and images, both ways

SoundFrom the Mac, on your PC

PrintersYour PC's printers, on the Mac

Clipboard, sound and printers

Copy and paste between the PC and the Mac, hear the Mac on your PC, and print from Mac apps to the printers at your desk.

Press a key or click to authenticate

A privacy curtain on the Mac

While you work, the Mac's own screens stay covered and local input is blocked. Authenticating at the Mac ends the session. Mirror and extend are there if you need them.

You choose which networks may connect

Accept connections only through the networks you tick, such as Tailscale. The others are refused before TLS starts, and a change applies at once, without dropping your session.

Reconnecting…

Reconnects by itself

If the network drops, Windows reconnects instead of ending the session, the same way it does with a Windows PC.

Keep awakeKeep the Mac awake

Start at Login

Lives in the menu bar

No Dock icon, no window in your way. Oriel starts at login and keeps the Mac from idle-sleeping while it runs.

Windows shows4F:9A:2C:71:E0:3B:…:7E

Oriel shows4F:9A:2C:71:E0:3B:…:7E

Signs in the way Windows expects

Network Level Authentication, with a password you set in Oriel. Compare the certificate thumbprint once, and Windows remembers it.

From disk image to first connection.

1
Drag Oriel to Applications
Open the disk image and drag Oriel across. It then lives in your menu bar.
2
Follow the setup checklist
Set a password and allow Screen Recording and Accessibility. A check turns green only after Oriel has seen that it works, not when you click Allow.
3
Connect from Windows
Open Remote Desktop Connection and enter the Mac's address, your macOS user name and your Oriel password.

OrielSETUP ASSISTANT

5 of 5 checks complete

Install Oriel
Set up sign-in
Screen Recording
Mouse & keyboard
Ready to connect

Permissions stay under your control in System Settings.

Ready to connect

This Mac is ready. Use the details below for your first connection.

COMPUTER192.168.1.20

Copy

Open Windows App or Remote Desktop on your other computer and use the address above. Confirm that the desktop, resizing, mouse, and keyboard work.

When the client asks about the certificate, compare its SHA-1 thumbprint:

4F:9A:2C:71:E0:3B:D8:16:5A:C4:92:0F:6B:E7:33:A1:58:0D:C2:7E

Check AgainFinish Setup

What to know before you plan on it.

What Oriel needs

System: macOS 14 or later
Hardware: A Mac with Apple silicon
On the PC: Nothing to install. Remote Desktop Connection comes with Windows
On the Mac: You are logged in with Oriel running, and it has Screen Recording and Accessibility permission
Network: Your local network. From outside, a VPN such as Tailscale

Where it stops, for now

Sessions: One at a time, like a Windows PC. A new login takes over
Monitors: One per session
Redirection: No drives, USB, smart cards or microphone
Sleep: A sleeping Mac doesn't wake for Remote Desktop
FileVault: Startup still needs a local unlock at the Mac

One email, when Oriel is ready.

Oriel will be free. Leave your address and we'll write once, when it launches.

Going the other way?

Alcedo RDP connects your Mac or Linux computer to your Windows desktops.

Meet Alcedo RDP

Support Availability – November 11th

On November 11th, 2026, our support team will be available:

10 AM to 6 PM CET: Actively supporting via phone, chat, and email.
6 PM to 10 PM CET: Available exclusively via email.

For assistance, please contact us at [email protected], and we will respond to your inquiry as soon as we can.

We built it for our own QA team first.

H.264 streaming, accelerated by Apple silicon.

Capture

Encode

Stream

Show