Remote Desktop - Revision history

Dangerflask: Add suggestion for x11vnc instead of TigerVNC as remote/server

2026-02-20T06:48:21Z

Add suggestion for x11vnc instead of TigerVNC as remote/server

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:48, 20 February 2026
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	<code>pathToScript</code> can also be a path to an executable like <code>${pkgs.icewm}/bin/icewm</code>		<code>pathToScript</code> can also be a path to an executable like <code>${pkgs.icewm}/bin/icewm</code>

	=== ~~Tiger VNC~~ ===		=== TigerVNC ===

	Nixpkgs has a package but no service.		Nixpkgs has a package but no service.
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	For an automated nixos config see [[TigerVNC]].		For an automated nixos config see [[TigerVNC]].

			However, you'll more likely have success running [https://search.nixos.org/packages?channel=unstable&query=x11vnc&show=x11vnc x11vnc] on the remote/far-away server, while only using `vncviewer` from the TigerVNC package from where you're sitting. Quality documentation for x11vnc usage is at its [https://github.com/LibVNC/x11vnc/?tab=readme-ov-file#readme official repository].

	=== x2go ===		=== x2go ===

Johanno at 23:13, 13 February 2026

2026-02-13T23:13:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:13, 13 February 2026
Line 49:		Line 49:
	The server component can be started using the <code>vncserver</code> command.		The server component can be started using the <code>vncserver</code> command.
	To connect, use the <code>vncviewer</code> command.		To connect, use the <code>vncviewer</code> command.

			For an automated nixos config see [[TigerVNC]].

	=== x2go ===		=== x2go ===

Sandro: Fix syntax highlighting

2026-01-22T23:01:24Z

Fix syntax highlighting

Show changes

Sandro: /* Self hosting */

2026-01-22T22:31:56Z

Self hosting

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:31, 22 January 2026
Line 10:		Line 10:

	== Self hosting ==		== Self hosting ==
	* [[RustDesk]] (nixpkgs: rustdesk-server)		* [[RustDesk]] available in nixpkgs as rustdesk-server

	== Clients ==		== Clients ==

Sandro: Remove wont fix issue

2026-01-22T22:31:31Z

Remove wont fix issue

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:31, 22 January 2026
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	<code>services.meshcentral.enable = true;</code>		<code>services.meshcentral.enable = true;</code>

	~~However, the agent (client) is not available. ([https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/167527 Request])~~

	[[Category:Applications]]		[[Category:Applications]]
	[[Category:Desktop]]		[[Category:Desktop]]
	[[Category:Server]]		[[Category:Server]]

Sandro: Remove default setting for gnome

2026-01-22T22:27:31Z

Remove default setting for gnome

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:27, 22 January 2026
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	To fix this we need to enable and start the systemd unit at boot using <code>wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ];</code> as shown below:		To fix this we need to enable and start the systemd unit at boot using <code>wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ];</code> as shown below:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">services.gnome.gnome-remote-desktop.enable = true; ~~# 'true' does not make the unit start automatically at boot~~		<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">services.gnome.gnome-remote-desktop.enable = true;
	systemd.services.gnome-remote-desktop = {		systemd.services.gnome-remote-desktop = {
	wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ]; # for starting the unit automatically at boot		wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ]; # for starting the unit automatically at boot
	};		};
	services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = false;		services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = false;
	~~services.getty.autologinUser = null;~~
	networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 3389 ];</syntaxhighlight>		networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 3389 ];</syntaxhighlight>

Fschn90: tiny fix of syntax in nginx reverse proxy config

2025-09-30T08:11:41Z

tiny fix of syntax in nginx reverse proxy config

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:11, 30 September 2025
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	services.nginx = {		services.nginx = {
	enable = true;		<nowiki> </nowiki> enable = true;
	upstreams."guacamole_server" = {		<nowiki> </nowiki> upstreams."guacamole_server" = {
	extraConfig = ''		<nowiki> </nowiki> extraConfig = <nowiki>''</nowiki>
	keepalive 4;		<nowiki> </nowiki> keepalive 4;
	'';		<nowiki> </nowiki> <nowiki>''</nowiki>'';
	servers = {		<nowiki> </nowiki> servers = {
	"127.0.0.1:8080" = {};		<nowiki> </nowiki> "127.0.0.1:8080" = {};
	};		<nowiki> </nowiki> };
	};		<nowiki> </nowiki> };
	virtualHosts."remote.mydomain.net" = {		<nowiki> </nowiki> virtualHosts."remote.mydomain.net" = {
	forceSSL = true; # redirect http to https		<nowiki> </nowiki> forceSSL = true; # redirect http to https
	enableACME = true;		<nowiki> </nowiki> enableACME = true;
	locations."/" = {		<nowiki> </nowiki> locations."/" = {
	extraConfig = ''		<nowiki> </nowiki> extraConfig = <nowiki>''</nowiki>
	proxy_buffering off;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_buffering off;
	proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
	proxy_set_header Connection $http_connection;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_set_header Connection $http_connection;
	proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
	proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
	proxy_set_header Host $host;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_set_header Host $host;
	proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy true;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy true;
	proxy_pass http://guacamole_server/guacamole$request_uri;		<nowiki> </nowiki> proxy_pass http://guacamole_server/guacamole$request_uri;
	proxy_redirect http://guacamole_server/ https://$server_name/;		proxy_redirect http://guacamole_server/ https://$server_name/;
	'';		<nowiki> </nowiki> <nowiki>''</nowiki>'';
	};		};
	};		};

Crazivik at 09:30, 11 August 2025

2025-08-11T09:30:31Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:30, 11 August 2025
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	To fix this we need to enable and start the systemd unit at boot using <code>wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ];</code> as shown below:		To fix this we need to enable and start the systemd unit at boot using <code>wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ];</code> as shown below:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">services.gnome.gnome-remote-desktop.enable = true; # 'true' does not make the unit start ~~by default~~ at boot		<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">services.gnome.gnome-remote-desktop.enable = true; # 'true' does not make the unit start automatically at boot
	systemd.services.gnome-remote-desktop = {		systemd.services.gnome-remote-desktop = {
	wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ]; # for starting the unit ~~by default~~ at boot		wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ]; # for starting the unit automatically at boot
	};		};
	services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = false;		services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = false;

Crazivik at 09:28, 11 August 2025

2025-08-11T09:28:57Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:28, 11 August 2025
Line 258:		Line 258:
	wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ]; # for starting the unit by default at boot		wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ]; # for starting the unit by default at boot
	};		};
	services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = ~~lib.mkForce~~ false;		services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = false;
	services.getty.autologinUser = ~~lib.mkForce~~ null;		services.getty.autologinUser = null;
	networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 3389 ];</syntaxhighlight>		networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 3389 ];</syntaxhighlight>

Crazivik: Updated XRDP Subsection, Major Update to Gnome RDP Section, Minor formatting changes.

2025-08-11T09:26:56Z

Updated XRDP Subsection, Major Update to Gnome RDP Section, Minor formatting changes.

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:26, 11 August 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	= Software =		== Software ==

	Remote desktop software is split into two types: servers and clients.		Remote desktop software is split into two types: servers and clients.
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	* VNC		* VNC
	* ~~XRDP~~		* RDP


	== Self hosting ==		== Self hosting ==
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	* GNOME Connections		* GNOME Connections
	* [[RustDesk]]		* [[RustDesk]]

	~~= Configuration =~~

	== VNC ==		== VNC ==
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	Various servers provide configuration options either by CLI or by configuration file.		Various servers provide configuration options either by CLI or by configuration file.

	==== Desktop session ====		=== Desktop session ===

	To start a desktop session or window manager, one currently has to do this manually because servers still have hard-coded paths to <code>/usr/share/xsessions</code> to look for <code>.desktop</code> files. That means one has to write a script that starts the desktop session, window manager, or any other X application.		To start a desktop session or window manager, one currently has to do this manually because servers still have hard-coded paths to <code>/usr/share/xsessions</code> to look for <code>.desktop</code> files. That means one has to write a script that starts the desktop session, window manager, or any other X application.
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	== RDP ==		== RDP ==

			=== XRDP ===
			[[File:Screenshot from 2024-03-02 03-15-05.png\|thumb\|right\|GNOME running in an XRDP shell in Remmina.]]
	NixOS has first-class support for XRDP. Client-wise, RDP can be accessed in many ways, but `remmina` and `freerdp` support it natively.		NixOS has first-class support for XRDP. Client-wise, RDP can be accessed in many ways, but `remmina` and `freerdp` support it natively.

Line 234:		Line 233:
	(Source: [https://discourse.nixos.org/t/please-post-working-xrdp-setting-in-configuration-nix/7404/10 Discourse Link], [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/86a80807d8d7051c63ab2b9d7f630abe066468b1/nixos/modules/services/networking/xrdp.nix nixpkgs code])		(Source: [https://discourse.nixos.org/t/please-post-working-xrdp-setting-in-configuration-nix/7404/10 Discourse Link], [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/86a80807d8d7051c63ab2b9d7f630abe066468b1/nixos/modules/services/networking/xrdp.nix nixpkgs code])

	A different window manager can be used for XRDP than a machine user, provided it has been enabled (through NixOS <code>services</code> or <code>nixpkgs</code>.		A different window manager can be used for XRDP than a machine user, provided it has been enabled (through NixOS <code>services</code> or <code>nixpkgs</code>.

	Make sure you log out the visual user first on the remote machine, otherwise you'll get a black screen. (Source: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Proxmox/comments/hxp28j/black_screen_in_microsoft_remote_desktop_noob/fzm7zbo/ Reddit]). You may be able to work around this by enabling and configuring [[Polkit]], as demonstrated on that page.		Make sure you log out the visual user first on the remote machine, otherwise you'll get a black screen. (Source: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Proxmox/comments/hxp28j/black_screen_in_microsoft_remote_desktop_noob/fzm7zbo/ Reddit]). You may be able to work around this by enabling and configuring [[Polkit]], as demonstrated on that page.

	=== ~~GNOME~~ ===		==== XRDP with Gnome 48 and higher ====
	~~[[File:Screenshot from 2024~~-03-~~02 03~~-15-05.~~png\|thumb\|right\|~~GNOME ~~running~~ in ~~an XRDP shell~~ in ~~Remmina~~.]]		<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">

			services.xrdp.enable = true;
			services.xrdp.defaultWindowManager = "${pkgs.gnome-session}/bin/gnome-session"; # gnome wayland session
			services.gnome.gnome-remote-desktop.enable = true; # needs gnome-remote-desktop backend to work!!
			services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = false;
			services.getty.autologinUser = null;
			networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 3389 ];
			</syntaxhighlight>

			=== GNOME RDP ===

			To enable the built in gnome-rdp, setting <code>services.gnome.gnome-remote-desktop.enable = true;</code> is not enough by itself. This installs the systemd unit but the unit does not start automatically at boot. As a consequence the 'Remote Desktop' configuration option is also not available in 'System' tab of the 'Settings' app.

			To fix this we need to enable and start the systemd unit at boot using <code>wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ];</code> as shown below:

	~~The XRDP~~ <~~code>defaultWindowManager</code> setting to access a remote GNOME shell should be set to <code~~>gnome-remote-desktop~~</code>~~. ~~Also ensure you include~~ the ~~package <code>pkgs~~.~~gnome~~.gnome-remote-desktop~~</code> in your configuration files and that you have a firewall port open for XRDP to communicate on (~~for the ~~GNOME connections app, this is usually <code>~~3389</~~code~~>).		<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">services.gnome.gnome-remote-desktop.enable = true; # 'true' does not make the unit start by default at boot
			systemd.services.gnome-remote-desktop = {
			wantedBy = [ "graphical.target" ]; # for starting the unit by default at boot
			};
			services.displayManager.autoLogin.enable = lib.mkForce false;
			services.getty.autologinUser = lib.mkForce null;
			networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 3389 ];</syntaxhighlight>

	=== Meshcentral ===		=== Meshcentral ===