Fixing ToDesk Flickering and Crashes on Arch Linux with KDE Wayland and AMD Graphics published: false

description: How I fixed ToDesk crashes, repeated local connection errors, and an incorrect Intel VA-API
configuration on an AMD system.
tags: linux, archlinux, kde, troubleshooting

---

# Fixing ToDesk Flickering and Crashes on Arch Linux with KDE Wayland and AMD Graphics

## Environment

• Arch Linux x86_64
• KDE Plasma running on Wayland
• AMD Radeon graphics using the amdgpu kernel driver
• ToDesk 4.8.6.2 installed from the AUR package todesk-bin

## Symptoms

ToDesk would flicker, close unexpectedly, or repeatedly reconnect to its local service.

The logs repeatedly contained messages such as:

text
  Local Conn Error
  X11 session not found

  Several crash dumps were also created under:

  ~/.local/share/todesk/*.dmp

  Checking the ToDesk service showed that it was not running:

  systemctl is-active todeskd
  systemctl is-enabled todeskd

  Output:

  inactive
  disabled

  ## Root Causes

  There were three separate problems.

  ### 1. The ToDesk background service was not running

  The ToDesk GUI communicates with the privileged todeskd service. When the service is stopped, the client
  repeatedly attempts to reconnect and logs Local Conn Error.

  ### 2. ToDesk was forcing an Intel video driver on an AMD GPU

  The installed launcher and systemd unit contained these variables:

  LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=iHD
  LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/opt/todesk/bin

  iHD is Intel’s VA-API media driver. However, this machine uses AMD Radeon graphics.

  On Arch Linux, the appropriate Mesa VA-API driver for AMD is normally:

  /usr/lib/dri/radeonsi_drv_video.so

  Forcing the Intel driver on an AMD system can cause hardware video decoding or encoding failures,
  flickering, and crashes.

  ### 3. ToDesk has limited Wayland support

  The ToDesk interface can run through XWayland, but screen capture and remote input may still fail when the
  Linux machine is used as the controlled host.

  ToDesk’s own documentation recommends switching the controlled Linux machine to an X11 session:

  ToDesk documentation: using an X11 desktop on Linux (https://www.todesk.com/helpcenter/questions-416.html)

  In this case, I first fixed the service and AMD driver configuration without replacing the current Wayland
  session.

  > This guide is specifically for AMD Radeon GPUs using Mesa. Intel and NVIDIA users should not copy the
  > radeonsi configuration.

  ## Step 1: Override the ToDesk Service Configuration

  Create a systemd drop-in:

  sudo systemctl edit todeskd.service

  Add:

  [Service]
  Environment="LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=radeonsi"
  Environment="LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/dri"

  Save the file, then reload systemd and start the service:

  sudo systemctl daemon-reload
  sudo systemctl enable --now todeskd.service

  If you do not want ToDesk to start automatically at boot, use this instead:

  sudo systemctl start todeskd.service

  Verify the effective configuration:

  systemctl show todeskd \
    --property=ActiveState,SubState,UnitFileState,Environment

  Expected output:

  ActiveState=active
  SubState=running
  UnitFileState=enabled
  Environment=LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=radeonsi LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/dri

  ## Step 2: Override the Application Launcher

  Do not edit the package-managed desktop file directly. Copy it into the user application directory:

  install -Dm644 \
    /usr/share/applications/todesk.desktop \
    ~/.local/share/applications/todesk.desktop

  Open the copied file:

  nano ~/.local/share/applications/todesk.desktop

  Replace its Exec= line with:

  Exec=env LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=radeonsi LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/dri GDK_BACKEND=x11 /opt/todesk/bin/ToDesk

  This makes the ToDesk interface use the AMD Mesa driver while continuing to run through XWayland.

  Refresh the desktop application database:

  update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications
  kbuildsycoca6

  ## Step 3: Fix the Autostart Entry

  If ToDesk starts automatically when you log in, edit:

  nano ~/.config/autostart/todesk.desktop

  Change its Exec= line to:

  Exec=env LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=radeonsi LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/dri GDK_BACKEND=x11 /opt/todesk/bin/ToDesk

  Otherwise, the autostart entry may continue launching ToDesk with the incorrect Intel driver.

  ## Optional: Fix the Terminal Command

  The package’s /usr/bin/todesk wrapper may also export the Intel driver variables.

  Create a user-level wrapper:

  mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
  nano ~/.local/bin/todesk

  Add:

  #!/bin/bash

  export LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=radeonsi
  export LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/dri
  export GDK_BACKEND=x11

  exec /opt/todesk/bin/ToDesk "$@"

  Make it executable:

  chmod +x ~/.local/bin/todesk

  Ensure that ~/.local/bin appears before /usr/bin in your PATH:

  command -v todesk

  Expected output:

  /home/your-user/.local/bin/todesk

  ## Step 4: Restart ToDesk

  Completely exit ToDesk from the system tray and reopen it from the application menu.

  Alternatively:

  pkill -INT -x ToDesk

  Then launch ToDesk again.

  Do not run this command during an active remote session.

  ## Verification

  Find the ToDesk process:

  pid="$(pgrep -n -x ToDesk)"

  Inspect the relevant environment variables:

  tr '\0' '\n' < "/proc/$pid/environ" |
    grep -E '^(LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME|LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH|GDK_BACKEND)='

  Expected output:

  LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=radeonsi
  LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/dri
  GDK_BACKEND=x11

  Also confirm that both processes are running:

  ps -C ToDesk,ToDesk_Service -o pid,comm,stat,etime

  ## Result

  After applying these changes:

  - ToDesk remained running normally
  - The repeated local service connection errors stopped
  - todeskd started correctly
  - Both the client and service used the AMD radeonsi driver
  - No ToDesk downgrade was required
  - No system-wide graphics settings were changed
  - Installing a Plasma X11 session was not immediately necessary

  ## Wayland Limitation

  This fix makes the ToDesk interface usable under KDE Wayland through XWayland. It does not provide full
  native Wayland support.

  If other devices cannot properly control this Linux machine, or the remote session still shows a black,
  corrupted, or flickering screen, switching the login session to Plasma X11 may still be necessary.

  Installing an older ToDesk version is unlikely to solve that limitation and may introduce security or
  server compatibility problems.

  ## Security Note

  todeskd runs as root. Enabling it at boot means a privileged remote-access service will always be
  available.

  Use a strong unattended-access password, enable additional verification where possible, and stop the
  service when it is not needed:

  sudo systemctl disable --now todeskd.service

  Also avoid publishing raw ToDesk logs. They may contain device IDs, account information, IP addresses,
  phone numbers, or authentication tokens.

  ## Rollback

  Remove the systemd override:

  sudo rm /etc/systemd/system/todeskd.service.d/override.conf
  sudo systemctl daemon-reload
  sudo systemctl restart todeskd.service

  Remove the user application override:

  rm ~/.local/share/applications/todesk.desktop

  Finally, restore or remove the modified autostart entry and refresh KDE’s application cache:

  kbuildsycoca6