How to use the Remote windows Game Development Tools

The Xbox PC Toolbox application is in preview. Please reach out to your Xbox contact if you would like to find out more.

Development device setup

1. On your device, download and install the Xbox PC Toolbox from the MS Store on Windows.

2. Launch the application, select the "Set as development device" option and click "Continue".

3. Click on "Install Tools" to install the pre-requisites to configure your environment.

4. Once the installation of the prerequisites has completed successfully, you will be given the option to select which network adapter to use among those available in your system. Select the adapter you would prefer to use to setup the secure channel (If you only have one adapter it will be auto-selected by default).

5. Add a strong passphrase to protect your SSH key and safely take a note of it. Click confirm to start the device configuration process.

6. Once the configuration of the device has been applied you will be taken to the device workspace screen.

Remote target device setup

Follow the same steps as on the development device up to Step 6, with the adjustments highlighted on the note.

Pairing the devices

1. [On the remote target device] On the device workspace screen click on the "Pair this device" button. This will initiate the "Pair Device" flow.

2. [On the target device] Click on the "Start Pairing" button. The pin required to setup the connection will be generated and the information to connect to this device will now be visible. Take note of the connection details, you will need them on the development device to setup and test the connection.

3. [On the development device] On the device workspace screen click on "Pair device". This will open the pairing screen to input the connection information obtained from the remote iteration device. Type the Alias, IP address or device name, username and the pin, then click "Confirm"

4. [On the remote target device] The pairing successful screen will be displayed. Return to the device workspace using the "Return Home" button. This device is now ready to receive secure remote connections from the development pc.

5. [On the development device] To finalize the connection setup on the development PC side, you will have to accept the SSH fingerprint. To do this the app will open a command line terminal asking you if you want to continue. Make sure to type yes and then press enter to confirm that you want to connect to your device.

6. [On the development device] Once the connection test finishes a success screen will be shown confirming your devices are now securely paired. Click on the "Return" button.

Using Xbox PC Device Manager (XDM)

The XDM is a foundational PowerShell module installed during the Xbox PC Toolbox setup that establishes secure, encrypted communication between dev PCs and remote devices. It handles device acquisition, OpenSSH configuration, and trust management. It also enables remote execution of commands with device state management using PS Remoting.

Starting an Interactive Session

In the development PC, on the device workspace screen of the Xbox PC Toolbox, you can click on the "Connect" button on the card corresponding to the device you want to connect to:

This will launch an interactive session to the remote device on a command line terminal. Everything you execute on this terminal is executed on the remote iteration device.

Provisioning remote iteration tools

wdRemote and wdEndpoint are command-line utilities for incrementally deploying, launching and terminating games on remote Windows devices after establishing a secure connection via the Xbox PC Toolbox application. wdRemote and wdEndpoint are both standalone executables that can be run from anywhere on the file system. The executables can be obtained using the Xbox PC Toolbox and are installed on each corresponding device as part of the pairing process.

• wdRemote.exe: Runs on development PC, sends commands
• wdEndpoint.exe: Runs on target device, executes commands

Using wdRemote

Open a command line terminal on the development PC, you will use it to execute wdRemote commands.

Deploying Games

When supplying path arguments for the remote machines, they should be written relative the gameroot directory. The game root directory is C:\%ProgramData%\Microsoft GDK\wdEndpoint\gameroot on the target device.

# Syntax
wdRemote /action:deploy /device:<computername or ip address> /source:<source_directory> /destination:<destination_directory_under_gameroot>

# Example
wdRemote /action:deploy /device:mypc1 /source:c:\game /destination:gamedir

Launch Games

# Syntax  
wdRemote /action:launch /device:<computername or ip address> /path:<remote_path_to_exe_within_gameroot>

# Example
wdRemote /action:launch /device:mypc1 /path:gamedir\game.exe

Terminate Games

# Syntax
wdRemote /action:terminate /device:<computername or ip address> /processid:<game_process_id>

# Example
wdRemote /action:terminate /device:mypc1 /processid:1234

Reporting issues and providing feedback

From the Xbox PC Toolbox App Title Bar, select the Send Feedback button (to the left of the Documentation button), and then select Report a Problem as shown in the following screenshot:

When reporting issues, please include:

• Operating System version (Windows 10/11 build)
• PowerShell version ($PSVersionTable) for Xbox Device Management PowerShell Module issues
• Network configuration (Wi-Fi/Ethernet, corporate/home)
• Error messages (exact text)
• Steps to reproduce
• Which tool was being used (Xbox PC Toolbox, Xbox Device Management PowerShell Module, wdRemote, or wdEndpoint)
• Preview version you're using