The important change is not that Wayland suddenly permits every application to read the desktop. RustDesk adds a capture path through its privileged service, with a separate preview package to evaluate.
A specific preview, not every Linux build
RustDesk's August 14 announcement offers an x86-64 Debian/Ubuntu preview and describes unattended access, login-screen operation and multiple displays. Fedora and Arch packaging, and inclusion in ordinary releases, are future steps in that announcement. These are publisher claims, not our hands-on test results.
The general Linux documentation still describes limitations around Wayland login access. Read it alongside the preview notice: installing an arbitrary regular package does not establish that the experimental backend is present or enabled.
Where the capture authority comes from
The merged implementation, pull request 15420, explains direct DRM/KMS scanout capture inside the existing root service. Frames pass through an authorized IPC channel to an unprivileged server for encoding. That differs from asking a desktop portal for an interactive screen-sharing session.
Our diagram follows that boundary. Root-service capture explains how operation can begin before an ordinary desktop session; it does not prove every compositor, graphics driver or display configuration works. Merged source also does not establish which released binary contains every subsequent fix.
Test the transitions that matter
An attended connection to an already unlocked desktop is an incomplete test of unattended access. On a machine you control, document the exact package version and configuration, then check reconnecting after a lock, logout and reboot. Confirm whether the login screen appears and whether input reaches the intended display. Keep a local recovery route during evaluation.
For multiple monitors, verify each output separately, including pointer alignment and rotation. A frame appearing remotely proves capture; it does not prove keyboard injection or session switching. Record failures with the display server and graphics details so they can be reproduced.
Before relying on the service, check its authentication configuration and exposure as well as image quality. The mechanism involves a privileged component, so the question is which service is authorized and which client can connect, not whether the portal dialog happens to appear. No claim of universal Wayland support or “first-ever” unattended Linux access follows from this preview. The useful result is a concrete implementation and a testable set of session transitions.
Distinguish preview package and ordinary Linux documentation; explain privileged DRM capture from merged PR without claiming a universal tested support matrix.