TheHolm / xfce4-desktop-over-http

NoVNC based minimal XFCE4 desktop enviroment in container accessible via HTTP

Docker XFCE desktop over HTTP

A lightweight (519 MB) Linux workstation based on Debian. Provides a graphical desktop via HTTP.

Based on two projects

• fcwu/docker-ubuntu-vnc-desktop
• rwildcat/docker_ubuntu-vnc

but it is not a fork of any of them.

Last update: 16 Nov 2023.
Base image: Debian 11.8 bullseye

Main packages

• xfce4 : Graphic desktop environment
• x11vnc : X vnc server
• novnc : HTTP-to-VNC gateway
• firefox-esr : Web browser
• chromium : Web browser

Usage (synopsis)

1. (Optional) Download (pull) the image from its docker hub repository.

   If this step is not done first and the image does not previously exists in your local computer, the image will be downloaded later by the docker run command:

   $ docker pull theholm/xfce4-desktop-over-http

2. Run the container.

   For example:

   • To run session (port 6080):

     $ docker run --rm -p 127.0.0.01:6080:6080 theholm/xfce4-desktop-over-http

3. Connect to the virtual computer using any modern web browser by browsing to 127.0.0.1:6080

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Usage (full syntax)

To run the container, you can just issue the $ docker run <image-name> command. The image will be first pulled if it not previously done:

Full syntax:

$ docker run [-it] [--rm] [--detach] [-h HOSTNAME] -p HTTPPORT:6080 -p LSSHPORT:22 [-e XRES=1280x800x24] [-e TZ={TZArea/TZCity}] [-v LDIR:DIR] theholm/xfce4-desktop-over-http

where:

• HTTPPORT: Localhost port where desktop will be available.

• XRES: Screen resolution and color depth. Default: 1200x800x24

• TZ: Local Timezone Area/City, e.g. Etc/UTC, America/Mexico_City, etc.

• LDIR:DIR: Local directory to mount on container. LDIR is the local directory to export; DIR is the target dir on the container. Both sholud be specified as absolute paths. For example: -v $HOME/worskpace:/home/user/workspace.