How to backup Remote Desktop app settings on Windows 10

You can now backup and restore your Remote Desktop connections and settings, and here's how to do it.

Remote Desktop app backup and restore connections and settings

On Windows 10, you can now use the Remote Desktop app available through the Microsoft Store to connect to remote computers and servers.

Although the app is convenient and easy to use, if you’re a network administrator who connects to a lot of devices in the regular basis, it can be a chore having to manually sync connections and settings between your devices, or rebuild the list of connections after reinstalling the app or Windows 10 on your main system.

Luckily, the Remote Desktop (preview) app includes a backup feature that makes it easy to export and import all your connections and settings.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to backup and restore your connections and settings using the Remote Desktop app for Windows 10.

How to backup Remote Desktop app settings

Use these steps to backup Remote Desktop app connections and settings:

  1. Open Remote Desktop on Windows 10.

  2. Click the menu (three-dotted) button in the top-right.

  3. Select the Backup option.

    Remote Desktop app, Backup option
    Remote Desktop app, Backup option
  4. Click the Browse button.

    Export connections and settings option
    Export connections and settings option
  5. Save the RemoteDesktopWorkspace.rdb file to the location you want to export the settings, such as OneDrive or USB flash drive.

    RemoteDesktopWorkspace.rdb file
    RemoteDesktopWorkspace.rdb file

Once you complete the steps, you can keep the file in a save place until you need to restore the settings on the same computer or to copy the settings to another device.

How to restore Remote Desktop app settings

Use the steps to restore connections and settings using the Remote Desktop app on Windows 10:

  1. Open Remote Desktop.

  2. Click the menu (three-dotted) button in the top-right.

  3. Select the Restore option.

    Remote Desktop app, Restore option
    Remote Desktop app, Restore option
  4. Click the Browse button.

    Import connections and settings option
    Import connections and settings option
  5. Select the RemoteDesktopWorkspace.rdb file to restore.

    Restore RemoteDesktopWorkspace.rdb file
    Restore RemoteDesktopWorkspace.rdb file
  6. Click the Open button.

After you complete the steps, the remote connections to other devices and servers will be restored in the app, but you may still need to re-enter the password to establish a connection.

We’re focusing this guide in the preview version of Remote Desktop, but this feature will eventually be available in the stable version of the app.