DreamConnect

Make the ConnectWise ScreenConnect Linux client work under Wayland GNOME.

ScreenConnect's Linux client does all screen capture and input through Java AWT Robot, which the JRE implements over X11. On a modern Wayland GNOME desktop (no X11 session since GNOME 49) that means black screens and dead mouse/keyboard — by Wayland's security design, not a bug.

DreamConnect is a small Java agent + helper daemon that transparently reroutes those Robot calls onto Wayland's own capture/input APIs (PipeWire ScreenCast + Mutter RemoteDesktop). The ScreenConnect client is not modified — it keeps working exactly as before, including through client updates, because it's ultimately just a Java shim we intercept. You keep the whole ScreenConnect ecosystem (relay-brokered, no-VPN, unattended access); it just gets its eyes and hands back.

DreamConnect is an independent, unofficial project. "ConnectWise" and "ScreenConnect" are trademarks of their respective owners.

Scope & maturity — read this first

DreamConnect is a young project, proven end-to-end on a Fedora + GNOME/Wayland box. Today it targets exactly that:

• GNOME/Mutter only. The headless, no-consent path uses GNOME's org.gnome.Mutter.* D-Bus API. KDE/KWin and wlroots (Sway, etc.) are not supported yet.
• Fedora-tested. The installer installs dependencies via the detected package manager (apt/dnf/zypper/pacman) and assumes GDM for the autologin guidance. The agent + daemon aren't distro-specific, but only Fedora is verified end to end — other distros are best-effort (package names may need tweaks; see per-distro packages).
• The machine must be logged in. It attaches to an existing graphical session and can't drive the login greeter — so you can't log in through ScreenConnect after a reboot unless autologin is enabled. The installer can configure GDM autologin for you on explicit opt-in (DREAMCONNECT_AUTOLOGIN=1); otherwise it just warns.

Broadening to other compositors and distros is explicitly on the roadmap. See Limitations for the full list.

How it works (in one paragraph)

A javaagent injected via JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS swaps java.awt.Robot's internal peer, so every capture/input call is served from the Wayland side by a runtime daemon: capture comes from a PipeWire ScreenCast written to a shared-memory frame buffer, and input goes out through Mutter's RemoteDesktop API. Crucially, it drives the low-level org.gnome.Mutter.* D-Bus interfaces directly, so there is no per-session "Allow" consent dialog — it works fully headless/unattended. Full details in docs/design.md.

Requirements

• GNOME on Wayland (uses GNOME's Mutter D-Bus interfaces — see Scope), with a session that stays logged in — autologin for unattended/reboot survival.
• A capture source: a real monitor or an HDMI dummy plug.
• The ScreenConnect Linux client already installed and enrolled (connectwisecontrol-*.service).
• systemd, a JDK (built/tested on JDK 25), and python3 with GObject + GStreamer PipeWire.
• Tested on Fedora. The installer pulls dependencies via the detected package manager (apt/dnf/zypper/pacman) — see per-distro packages. Only Fedora is verified end to end; other distros are best-effort.

Install

One line (fetches the latest release and installs):

curl -fsSL https://github.com/ghostpsalm/DreamConnect/releases/latest/download/dreamconnect-install.sh | sudo bash

The installer auto-detects the desktop user, the ScreenConnect unit, and the capture monitor; builds the agent; deploys to /opt/dreamconnect; starts the runtime daemon; and injects the agent into the ScreenConnect service. It installs dependencies via your package manager (apt/dnf/zypper/pacman).

For unattended / reboot survival, opt into autologin — a security trade-off, since the box then boots straight into the desktop with no login prompt:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/ghostpsalm/DreamConnect/releases/latest/download/dreamconnect-install.sh | sudo DREAMCONNECT_AUTOLOGIN=1 bash

This runs code as root. Piping to sudo bash trusts GitHub + TLS with no further integrity check. If you'd rather read it first:

curl -fsSLO https://github.com/ghostpsalm/DreamConnect/releases/latest/download/dreamconnect-install.sh
less dreamconnect-install.sh          # review
sudo bash dreamconnect-install.sh

From a source checkout instead

git clone https://github.com/ghostpsalm/DreamConnect
cd DreamConnect
sudo ./install.sh

Overrides: DREAMCONNECT_USER=<name>, MONITOR=<connector>, INSTALL_DIR=<path>, DREAMCONNECT_HOST_ACCOUNT=<name> (reboot survival via a dedicated hidden account instead of DREAMCONNECT_AUTOLOGIN — see ROADMAP.md).

Use

After installing, connect to the machine from your ScreenConnect relay/portal as usual — you'll see the live Wayland desktop and can drive it with low-latency mouse and keyboard (correct scroll direction included).

Operator commands that work through the bridge:

• Screen capture + mouse/keyboard control — the real desktop, not black.
• Copy/paste (clipboard sharing) and Insert clipboard text — types the operator's clipboard on the remote, including non-US/Unicode text (via a clipboard-paste fallback).
• Wake lock — keeps the session from idle-blanking or auto-locking mid-session.
• Blank guest monitor — darkens the physical panel for local privacy while you keep seeing the desktop (via CRTC gamma, so it holds through input).
• Block guest input, screenshots, Open URL, Reboot, Run tool, and file transfer all work as usual.
• The session/display picker shows the logged-in user's name instead of :0.

Uninstall

sudo ./install.sh --uninstall     # from a source checkout

Limitations

Environment (see Scope):

• GNOME/Mutter only — no KDE/KWin or wlroots (Sway, …) support yet. Those need the generic xdg-desktop-portal path, where avoiding the per-session "Allow" consent prompt is a separate problem. (Roadmap.)
• Fedora-tested; the installer is Fedora-shaped (dnf, GDM). The core is distro-agnostic; other distros need manual dependency install + autologin setup for now. (Roadmap.)
• Must be logged in — can't drive the GDM login greeter, so no logging in through ScreenConnect after a reboot without autologin (the installer can set this up for you with DREAMCONNECT_AUTOLOGIN=1).

Features:

• Single monitor only, and the keymap assumes a US-ish physical layout.
• Some hosts need a workaround for a broken Xwayland :1 display (the installer applies it) — see Troubleshooting.

Broader compositor/distro support and further hardening are tracked in ROADMAP.md. It's early; issues and PRs (especially other compositors/distros) are welcome.

Documentation

• docs/design.md — how and why it works, architecture, internals
• docs/troubleshooting.md — offline/freeze fixes, status checks
• ROADMAP.md — releases and planned features
• Component docs: agent/, runtime/

License

MIT.