configuration.md

Configuration Reference

rustguac reads a TOML configuration file. All settings have sensible defaults and are optional.

rustguac --config /opt/rustguac/config.toml serve

See config.example.toml for a fully commented reference.

Server settings

Key	Default	Description
listen_addr	127.0.0.1:8089	Address and port to listen on
guacd_addr	127.0.0.1:4822	guacd TCP address
recording_path	./recordings	Session recording directory
static_path	./static	Static web files directory
db_path	./rustguac.db	SQLite database path
site_title	rustguac	Browser tab and page header title

Session timeouts

Key	Default	Description
session_pending_timeout_secs	60	Seconds before pending sessions expire
session_max_duration_secs	28800 (8h)	Maximum active session duration
auth_session_ttl_secs	86400 (24h)	OIDC auth session cookie TTL

Browser session settings

Key	Default	Description
xvnc_path	Xvnc	Path to Xvnc binary
chromium_path	chromium	Path to Chromium binary
display_range_start	100	First X display number
display_range_end	199	Last X display number
cdp_port_range_start	9200	First Chrome DevTools Protocol port (for login scripts)
cdp_port_range_end	9299	Last CDP port
login_scripts_dir	/opt/rustguac/scripts	Directory containing login scripts
login_script_timeout_secs	120	Maximum runtime for login scripts before they are killed

Connection allowlists

CIDR ranges controlling which hosts sessions can connect to. All default to localhost only.

Important: These are top-level TOML keys and must appear before any [section] header. Keys placed after a section header (e.g., [tls]) are scoped to that section and will be silently ignored.

Key	Default	Description
ssh_allowed_networks	["127.0.0.0/8", "::1/128"]	Allowed SSH targets
rdp_allowed_networks	["127.0.0.0/8", "::1/128"]	Allowed RDP targets
vnc_allowed_networks	["127.0.0.0/8", "::1/128"]	Allowed VNC targets
web_allowed_networks	["127.0.0.0/8", "::1/128"]	Allowed web session URL hosts

Trusted proxies

Key	Default	Description
trusted_proxies	[]	CIDRs of reverse proxies whose X-Forwarded-For to trust
rate_limit	false	Enable API rate limiting. Not needed when behind a rate-limiting reverse proxy.
session_history_retention_days	90	Days to keep session history in the database. 0 = keep forever.

[tls] section

Configures TLS for the web server and/or the guacd connection. There is no enabled toggle — the presence of the relevant fields controls behaviour:

• Server HTTPS: Provide both cert_path and key_path to serve HTTPS. Omit them to serve plain HTTP (useful behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy like Traefik/HAProxy).
• guacd TLS: Provide guacd_cert_path to connect to guacd over TLS. This is independent of server HTTPS.

All fields are optional. The [tls] section can contain any combination.

Key	Description
cert_path	HTTPS certificate path (PEM). Both cert_path and key_path must be set for HTTPS.
key_path	HTTPS private key path (PEM). Both cert_path and key_path must be set for HTTPS.
guacd_cert_path	Trust certificate for guacd TLS connection (independent of server HTTPS)

Examples:

HTTPS + guacd TLS (self-hosted):

[tls]
cert_path = "/opt/rustguac/tls/cert.pem"
key_path = "/opt/rustguac/tls/key.pem"
guacd_cert_path = "/opt/rustguac/tls/cert.pem"

HTTP server + guacd TLS (behind a reverse proxy):

[tls]
guacd_cert_path = "/opt/rustguac/tls/guacd-cert.pem"

HTTPS only (guacd on localhost, no TLS needed):

[tls]
cert_path = "/opt/rustguac/tls/cert.pem"
key_path = "/opt/rustguac/tls/key.pem"

[oidc] section

Enables OpenID Connect authentication. When configured, the web UI shows a login button. API key auth continues to work alongside OIDC.

Key	Default	Description
issuer_url	—	OIDC provider issuer URL (required)
client_id	—	OIDC client ID (required)
client_secret	—	OIDC client secret (or use OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET env var)
redirect_uri	—	Redirect URI: https://your-host/auth/callback (required)
default_role	operator	Role assigned to new users on first login
groups_claim	groups	JWT claim name containing group memberships
extra_scopes	[]	Additional OIDC scopes to request
ca_cert	—	Path to CA certificate (PEM) for verifying the OIDC provider
tls_skip_verify	false	Skip TLS verification (debugging only — exposes secrets to MITM)

Note: issuer_url must match the discovered issuer URI exactly, including default ports and trailing slashes. For example, https://idp.example.com/ and https://idp.example.com may be treated as different issuers. Check your provider's .well-known/openid-configuration for the canonical value.

[vault] section

Enables the Vault-backed connections. Requires VAULT_SECRET_ID environment variable.

Key	Default	Description
addr	—	Vault server address (required)
role_id	—	AppRole role ID (required)
mount	secret	KV v2 mount path
base_path	rustguac	Base path under the mount
namespace	—	Vault Enterprise / OpenBao namespace
instance_name	—	Instance name for instance-scoped entries
tls_skip_verify	false	Skip TLS certificate verification (dev only)
ca_cert	—	Path to custom CA certificate (PEM) for verifying the Vault server
client_cert	—	Path to client certificate (PEM) for mTLS
client_key	—	Path to client private key (PEM) for mTLS (required if client_cert is set)

[drive] section

Enables file transfer for RDP (drive redirection) and SSH (SFTP).

Key	Default	Description
enabled	false	Enable drive/file transfer
drive_path	./drives	Base directory for per-session storage
drive_name	Shared Drive	Name shown in remote RDP session
allow_download	true	Allow file download from remote
allow_upload	true	Allow file upload to remote
cleanup_on_close	true	Delete session drive directory on disconnect
retention_secs	0	Delay before cleanup (0 = immediate)
luks_device	—	LUKS container file path
luks_name	rustguac-drives	Device-mapper name
luks_key_path	—	Vault KV path for LUKS encryption key

[theme] section

Customises the UI appearance — colours, logo, and background. All fields are optional. Start from a built-in preset and override individual colours, or set everything from scratch.

Built-in presets: aurora (default), dark, light, high-contrast, terminal, nord, corporate, jaguar

Key	Description
preset	Base preset name (default: aurora)
logo_url	URL or path to a custom logo image (replaces the default rustguac logo)
primary_color	Primary action colour (buttons, links)
primary_hover	Primary hover state
accent_color	Accent/secondary colour
accent_hover	Accent hover state
bg_color	Page background
surface_color	Card/panel backgrounds
input_color	Form input backgrounds
text_color	Primary text
text_muted	Secondary/muted text
text_dim	Tertiary/dim text
text_on_primary	Text on primary-coloured backgrounds
border_color	Borders and dividers
btn_disabled	Disabled button colour
bg_pattern	CSS background pattern for the page body
status_pending	Pending session badge
status_active	Active session badge
status_completed	Completed session badge
status_error	Error session badge
status_expired	Expired session badge
type_ssh_bg / type_ssh_fg	SSH session type badge
type_rdp_bg / type_rdp_fg	RDP session type badge
type_vnc_bg / type_vnc_fg	VNC session type badge
type_web_bg / type_web_fg	Web session type badge
type_vdi_bg / type_vdi_fg	VDI session type badge
hop_bg / hop_fg	Jump host badge

All colour values are CSS colour strings (e.g. "#003366", "rgb(0,51,102)").

Users can also switch between presets from the gear menu in the UI. The admin preset is the default; users can override it locally via their browser.

Example: corporate branding with custom logo and colours:

site_title = "Acme Remote Console"

[theme]
preset = "light"
logo_url = "/acme-logo.png"
primary_color = "#003366"
accent_color = "#FF6600"

Place the logo file in the static_path directory (e.g. /opt/rustguac/static/acme-logo.png). In Docker, mount it as a volume:

-v /path/to/acme-logo.png:/opt/rustguac/static/acme-logo.png:ro

[recording] section

Controls session recording behaviour and disk management.

Key	Type	Default	Description
path	string	recording_path	Path for recording files. Overrides the top-level recording_path.
enabled	bool	true	Whether recording is enabled globally.
max_disk_percent	integer	80	Delete oldest recordings when disk usage exceeds this percent. 0 = disabled.
max_recordings	integer	0	Keep at most this many recordings globally. 0 = unlimited.
rotation_interval_secs	integer	300	How often (seconds) to run the rotation check.

[recording]
enabled = true
max_disk_percent = 80
max_recordings = 1000
rotation_interval_secs = 300

[vdi] section

Enables VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) sessions using Docker containers. Each user gets an ephemeral Linux desktop in a Docker container, accessed via xrdp through guacd.

Prerequisites: Docker must be installed on the host and the rustguac user must be in the docker group. See VDI Desktop Containers for full setup.

Key	Type	Default	Description
enabled	bool	false	Enable VDI sessions.
docker_socket	string	/var/run/docker.sock	Docker daemon socket path.
default_cpu_limit	float	0	Default CPU limit for containers (fractional cores, e.g. 2.0). 0 = no limit.
default_memory_limit	integer	0	Default memory limit in MB. 0 = no limit.
ready_timeout_secs	integer	30	Seconds to wait for xrdp to become ready in a new container.
idle_timeout_mins	integer	60	Minutes a container persists after last session disconnect. 0 = remove immediately.
allowed_images	list	[]	Allowed Docker images (exact match). Empty = allow all.
home_base	string	(none)	Base directory for persistent user home dirs. Each user gets {home_base}/{username} mounted into the container.

[vdi]
enabled = true
idle_timeout_mins = 60
home_base = "/vdi-homes"
# allowed_images = ["myregistry/desktop:latest"]

Environment variables

Variable	Description
OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET	Override OIDC client secret from config file
VAULT_SECRET_ID	Vault AppRole secret ID
RUST_LOG	Log level (e.g., info, debug, rustguac=debug)

Setting environment variables for systemd

The shipped systemd unit (rustguac.service) does not include an EnvironmentFile directive by default. To provide secrets like VAULT_SECRET_ID and OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET, create a systemd drop-in override:

1. Create the env file with your secrets:

cat > /opt/rustguac/env <<'EOF'
VAULT_SECRET_ID=your-vault-secret-id
OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET=your-oidc-client-secret
EOF
chmod 600 /opt/rustguac/env
chown rustguac:rustguac /opt/rustguac/env

2. Create a systemd override to load the env file:

sudo systemctl edit rustguac

This opens an editor. Add the following:

[Service]
EnvironmentFile=/opt/rustguac/env

Save and close. This creates a drop-in file at /etc/systemd/system/rustguac.service.d/override.conf.

3. Reload and restart:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart rustguac

The override persists across package upgrades — dpkg will not overwrite files in the .d/ directory.

Verifying the environment

To confirm the env file is loaded:

sudo systemctl show rustguac | grep EnvironmentFile

You should see:

EnvironmentFile=/opt/rustguac/env