There is growing interest in Apache Guacamole, either because of its impact on society or because of its relevance in the scientific field. For decades, Apache Guacamole has captured the attention of academics, professionals and the general public due to its importance in various aspects of daily life. In this article we will explore different facets of Apache Guacamole, from its origin and evolution to its influence today. We will analyze how Apache Guacamole has shaped the world we live in and what perspectives open up around this topic. In addition, we will examine the ethical and moral implications that Apache Guacamole can raise, without neglecting the advances that have been achieved in this field.
| Apache Guacamole | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apache Software Foundation |
| Initial release | March 17, 2010 |
| Stable release | 1.6.0
/ June 22, 2025[1] |
| Repository | |
| Written in | C and Java (server), JavaScript (client) |
| Operating system | |
| Type | Remote Desktop Gateway |
| License | Apache License 2.0 |
| Website | Official Website |
Apache Guacamole is a clientless remote desktop gateway allowing users to control remote computers or virtual machines via a web browser, and allows administrators to dictate how and whether users can connect using an extensible authentication and authorization system. Destination machines can be kept isolated behind Guacamole and need not be reachable over the internet. It is published under the Apache License 2.0, available for multiple platforms and maintained by the Apache Software Foundation.
Remote access is performed via the guacd component, which uses the RDP, VNC or SSH remote protocols to access resources. Guacamole is clientless and doesn't require an agent to be installed on the resources being accessed. The fact that the client runs on web browsers allows users to connect to their remote desktops without installing a remote desktop client.[2]

Guacamole is made up of multiple components: a web application that is served to users, and a backend service ("guacd") that dynamically translates and optimizes[3] native protocols into the Guacamole protocol. The part of Guacamole that a user interacts with is the web application.[4]
The web application provides the user interface, authentication, and authorization system. It does not implement any remote desktop protocol, but instead relies on guacd to translate remote desktop protocols into the Guacamole protocol. The server side of the web application is written in Java and runs beneath a servlet container like Apache Tomcat or Jetty. The client side of the web application is written in JavaScript and runs within the web browser.
guacd services requests to connect to remote desktops from the web application. It dynamically loads support for remote desktop protocols so that neither guacd nor the web application need to understand the specifics of any one remote desktop protocol. guacd and all client plugins use a shared library, libguac, to abstract away the Guacamole protocol and communication with the web application.
Guacamole was created in 2010 by Michael Jumper[5] as an HTML5 VNC client leveraging components of a browser-based telnet client called "RealMint".[6] The company Glyptodon LLC formed to support and develop the project,[7] and donated the project to the Apache Software Foundation in 2016 where it entered incubation. In 2017, Guacamole completed incubation and became the Apache Guacamole top-level project.[8]
As an Apache Software Foundation project, Guacamole is licensed under the Apache License and is developed by a community of contributors.[9][10] Development discussions and support take place on the project's mailing lists,[11] and contributions are made through opening pull requests against the project's GitHub repositories. The project follows responsible disclosure practices and provides a private list for reporting and addressing issues with security implications.[12]
| Version[13] | Release date |
|---|---|
| 1.6.0 | 2025-06-22 |
| 1.5.5 | 2024-04-05 |
| 1.5.4 | 2023-12-07 |
| 1.5.3 | 2023-07-31 |
| 1.5.2 | 2023-05-25 |
| 1.5.1 | 2023-04-13 |
| 1.5.0 | 2023-02-18 |
| 1.4.0 | 2022-01-01 |
| 1.3.0 | 2021-01-01 |
| 1.2.0 | 2020-06-28 |
| 1.1.0 | 2020-01-29 |
| 1.0.0 | 2019-01-08 |
| 0.9.14 | 2018-01-18 |
| 0.9.13-incubating | 2017-07-30 |
| 0.9.12-incubating | 2017-04-01 |
| 0.9.11-incubating | 2017-02-02 |
| 0.9.10-incubating | 2016-12-29 |
| 0.9.9 | 2015-12-18 |
| 0.9.8 | 2015-09-09 |
| 0.9.7 | 2015-06-10 |
| 0.9.6 | 2015-03-30 |
| 0.9.5 | 2015-02-16 |
| 0.9.4 | 2015-01-06 |
| 0.9.3 | 2014-09-30 |
| 0.9.2 | 2014-07-21 |
| 0.9.1 | 2014-05-23 |
| 0.8.4 | 2014-05-23 |
| 0.9.0 | 2014-03-28 |
| 0.8.3 | 2013-08-28 |
| 0.8.2 | 2013-07-15 |
Legend: Unsupported Supported Latest version | |
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