MCP RDP problems and fixes

Keep the error, the connection ID and the last useful screenshot. Do not share passwords, private desktop content or raw audio in a support report.

The command did not reach the running server and ran with your own shell's settings. Set MCP_SERVER_URL to the server's Unix socket; the command line never uses HTTP. To share the MCP client's default connection, the server must run with --session-mode shared.

The first capture can be black before the desktop paints: wait briefly and capture again. Keep maxSize at zero when you measure coordinates. If a screen stays black, recreate the connection with graphicsMode: "rfx", or legacy as a fallback.

Look for AVC decode-to-RGBA unavailable in the server log; its bracketed reason names the cause. MCP RDP needs Cisco's OpenH264 2.6 library, which runs inside the server. With no usable copy, it downloads Cisco's binary from ciscobinary.openh264.org on first use, which needs internet access and bunzip2. Install libopenh264-cisco8 and recreate the connection. If you change SCREENCAST_LIB_OPENH264_PATH or SCREENCAST_LIB_OPENH264_DOWNLOAD instead, restart the server, then recreate the connection. The download is plain HTTP without an integrity check; to forbid it, install the library and set SCREENCAST_LIB_OPENH264_DOWNLOAD=0.

Check the target, focus and resolution before clicking again: repeated clicks can submit twice. After a timeout or reconnect, typed text can be duplicated, so reconcile it first. Ordinary text reaches the per-call limit at about 257 characters; split longer text. Always read typed text back from a fresh screenshot. Clipboard send and receive do not transfer content in this release.

After requesting saveVideo, check that recording or analysisRecording is true. Run one recording at a time and call rdp_stop_video before the next. An H.264 recording with 0 video frames means the server never sent H.264; use rfx or the windows template. A condensed recording with no events on H.264 points at the missing OpenH264 library: fix it as above, then record on a recreated connection. Condensed savings depend on the content.

Settle notifications are off unless requested, and HTTP never delivers them; use bounded waits and screenshots. Resource reads need the owning session, and later captures can overwrite earlier files. Sessions end after 30 idle minutes by default, and recording does not count as activity. Export evidence before the next recording or the end of the session.

A capture can start before the first remote audio arrives, so cause a sound and inspect the file; if the channel never becomes active, the server is not redirecting audio. Microphone playback needs 16-bit PCM WAV, or raw input matching the negotiated format, from a file on the server host. A non-zero bytesDropped means audio was produced faster than the connection carried it.

A graphics channel error means the server closed the channel painting the screen: drop and recreate the connection. A logged server disconnect is the server ending the session, often by policy; take a repeated one to the server owner. A failed redirection names its reason; fix the server or broker configuration, or connect directly to the per-user endpoint, then recreate the connection.