How To Install and Configure VNC On Debian 10

How to Install and Configure VNC on Debian 10 | DigitalOcean https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-co...
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How to Install and Configure VNC on Debian 10

Miscellaneous Debian Applications
By finid and Brian Hogan

Published on October 10, 2019 ! 83.9k
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Introduction
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Virtual Network Computing, or VNC, is a connection system that allows you to use your
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keyboard and mouse to interact with a graphical aCRremote
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It makes managing files, software, and settings on a remote server easier for users who
are not yet comfortable with the command line.
In this guide, you’ll set up a VNC server on a Debian 10 server and connect to it securely
through an SSH tunnel. You’ll use TightVNC, a fast and lightweight remote control
package. This choice will ensure that our VNC connection will be smooth and stable even
on slower internet connections.
Prerequisites
To complete this tutorial, you’ll need:
• One Debian 10 server set up by following the Debian 10 initial server setup guide,
including a non-root user with sudo access and a firewall.
• A local computer with a VNC client installed that supports VNC connections over SSH
tunnels.
• On Windows, you can use TightVNC, RealVNC, or UltraVNC.
• On macOS, you can use the built-in Screen Sharing program, or can use a cross-
platform app like RealVNC.
• On Linux, you can choose from many options, including vinagre , krdc , RealVNC,
or TightVNC.
Step 1 — Installing the Desktop Environment and VNC

Server
By default, a Debian 10 server does not come with a graphical desktop environment or a
VNC server installed, so we’ll begin by installing those. Specifically, we will install
packages for the latest Xfce desktop environment and the TightVNC package available in
the official Debian repository.
On your
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$ sudo apt update
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Now install the Xfce desktop environment on your server:
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$ sudo apt install xfce4 xfce4-goodies
During the installation, you’ll be prompted to select your keyboard layout from a list of
possible options. Choose the one that’s appropriate for your language and press Enter .
The installation will continue.
Once the installation completes, install the TightVNC server:
$ sudo apt install tightvncserver
To complete the VNC server’s initial configuration after installation, use the vncserver
command to set up a secure password and create the initial configuration files:
$ vncserver
You’ll be prompted to enter and verify a password to access your machine remotely:
Output
You will require a password to access your desktops.
Password:
Verify:
The password must be between six and eight characters long. Passwords more than 8
characters will be truncated automatically.
Once you verify the password, you’ll have the option to create a a view-only password.
Users who log in with the view-only password will not be able to control the VNC
instance with their mouse or keyboard. This is a helpful option if you want to demonstrate
something to other people using your VNC server, but this isn’t required.
The process then creates the necessary default configuration files and connection
information for the server:
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Output
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Would you like to enter a view-only password (y/n)? n

xauth: file /home/ sammy /.Xauthority does not exist
New 'X' desktop is your_hostname :1
Creating default startup script /home/ sammy /.vnc/xstartup

Starting applications specified in /home/ sammy /.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /home/ sammy /.vnc/ your_hostname :1.log
Now let’s configure the VNC server.
Step 2 — Configuring the VNC Server

The VNC server needs to know which commands to execute when it starts up.
Specifically, VNC needs to know which graphical desktop it should connect to.
These commands are located in a configuration file called xstartup in the .vnc folder
under your home directory. The startup script was created when you ran the vncserver
command in the previous step, but we’ll create our own to launch the Xfce desktop.
When VNC is first set up, it launches a default server instance on port 5901 . This port is
called a display port, and is referred to by VNC as :1 . VNC can launch multiple instances
on other display ports, like :2 , :3 , and so on.
Because we are going to be changing how the VNC server is configured, first stop the
VNC server instance that is running on port 5901 with the following command:
$ vncserver -kill :1
The output should look like this, although you’ll see a different PID:
Output
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Killing Xtightvnc process ID 17648
×
Before you modify the xstartup file, back up the original:

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$ mv ~/.vnc/xstartup ~/.vnc/xstartup.bak
Now create a new xstartup file and open it in your text editor:
$ nano ~/.vnc/xstartup
Commands in this file are executed automatically whenever you start or restart the VNC
server. We need VNC to start our desktop environment if it’s not already started. Add
these commands to the file:
~/.vnc/xstartup
#!/bin/bash
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
startxfce4 &
The first command in the file, xrdb $HOME/.Xresources , tells VNC’s GUI framework to
read the user’s .Xresources file. .Xresources is where a user can make changes to
certain settings for the graphical desktop, like terminal colors, cursor themes, and font
rendering. The second command tells the server to launch Xfce, which is where you will
find all of the graphical software that you need to comfortably manage your server.
To ensure that the VNC server will be able to use this new startup file properly, we’ll need
to make it executable.
$ sudo chmod +x ~/.vnc/xstartup
Now, restart the VNC server.
$ vncserver
You’ll see output similar to this:
×
Output
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New 'X' desktop is your_hostname :1
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Starting applications specified in /home/ sammy /.vnc/xstartup

Log file is /home/ sammy /.vnc/ your_hostname :1.log
With the configuration in place, let’s connect to the server from our local machine.
Step 3 — Connecting the VNC Desktop Securely

VNC itself doesn’t use secure protocols when connecting. We’ll use an SSH tunnel to
connect securely to our server, and then tell our VNC client to use that tunnel rather than
making a direct connection.
Create an SSH connection on your local computer that securely forwards to the
localhost connection for VNC. You can do this via the terminal on Linux or macOS with
the following command:
$ ssh -L 5901 :127.0.0.1: 5901 -C -N -l sammy your_server_ip
The -L switch specifies the port bindings. In this case we’re binding port 5901 of the
remote connection to port 5901 on your local machine. The -C switch enables
compression, while the -N switch tells ssh that we don’t want to execute a remote
command. The -l switch specifies the remote login name.
Remember to replace sammy and your_server_ip with your non-root username and
the IP address of your server.
If you are using a graphical SSH client, like PuTTY, use your_server_ip as the
connection IP, and set localhost:5901 as a new forwarded port in the program’s SSH
tunnel settings.
Once the tunnel is running, use a VNC client to connect to localhost:5901 . You’ll be
prompted to authenticate using the password you set in Step 1.
Once you are connected, you’ll see the default Xfce desktop.
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Select Use default config to configure your desktop quickly.
You can access files in your home directory with the file manager or from the command
line, as seen here:
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7 de 16 30/09/21 12:04
On your local machine, press CTRL+C in your terminal to stop the SSH tunnel and return
to your prompt. This will disconnect your VNC session as well.
Next let’s set up the VNC server as a service.
Step 4 — Running VNC as a System Service

Next, we’ll set up the VNC server as a systemd service so we can start, stop, and restart
it as needed, like any other service. This will also ensure that VNC starts up when your
server reboots.
First, create a new unit file called /etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service using

your favorite text editor:
$ sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service
The @ symbol at the end of the name will let us pass in an argument we can use in the
service configuration. We’ll use this to specify the VNC display port we want to use when
we manage the service.
Add the following lines to the file. Be sure to change the value of User, Group,
WorkingDirectory, and the username in the value of PIDFILE to match your username:
/etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service
[Unit]
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Description=Start Getserver
TightVNC the latest
at tutorials
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×
After=syslog.target network.target
[Service]
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User= sammy
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Group= sammy
WorkingDirectory=/home/ sammy
PIDFile=/home/ sammy /.vnc/%H:%i.pid

ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/vncserver -kill :%i > /dev/null 2>&
&1
ExecStart=/usr/bin/vncserver -depth 24 -geometry 1280x800 :%i
ExecStop=/usr/bin/vncserver -kill :%i
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
The ExecStartPre command stops VNC if it’s already running. The ExecStart
command starts VNC and sets the color depth to 24-bit color with a resolution of
1280×800. You can modify these startup options as well to meet your needs.
Save and close the file.
Next, make the system aware of the new unit file.
$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
Enable the unit file.
$ sudo systemctl enable vncserver@1.service
The 1 following the @ sign signifies which display number the service should appear
over, in this case the default :1 as was discussed in Step 2..
Stop the current instance of the VNC server if it’s still running.
$ vncserver -kill :1
Then start it as you would start any other systemd service.
$ sudo systemctl start vncserver@1
You can verify that it started with this command:

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$ sudo systemctl status vncserver@1
If it started correctly, the output should look like this:
Output
● vncserver@1.service - Start TightVNC server at startup
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled
Active: active (running) since Thu 2019-10-10 17:56:17 UTC; 5s ago
Process: 935 ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/vncserver -kill :1 > /dev/null 2>&1 (code=exited, sta
Process: 940 ExecStart=/usr/bin/vncserver -depth 24 -geometry 1280x800 :1 (code=exited,
Main PID: 948 (Xtightvnc)
. . .
Your VNC server will now be available when you reboot the machine.
Start your SSH tunnel again:
$ ssh -L 5901 :127.0.0.1: 5901 -C -N -l sammy your_server_ip
Then make a new connection using your VNC client software to localhost:5901 to
connect to your machine.
Conclusion
You now have a secured VNC server up and running on your Debian 10 server. Now you’ll
be able to manage your files, software, and settings with an easy-to-use and familiar
graphical interface, and you’ll be able to run graphical software like web browsers
remotely.
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About the authors
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Comments
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willymanroes March 17, 2020
1 please help.
i have try the tutorial but when im trying connect the vnc, the screen was grey
Reply Report
PatMustard May 16, 2020
0 Thank you! But i failed at the final hurdle. When i try to run
ssh -L 5901:127.0.0.1:5901 -C -N -l (my_ip)
I am told
ssh: connect to host (my_ip) port 22: Connection timed out
I’m on a new HP Chromebook that runs Linux.
Any hints?
edited by MattIPv4
Reply Report
lawaladekunle June 22, 2020
Did you check the connectivity between your local system and the server?
0
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nc -vw 5 remote-server-ip 22
You can also try the command like so.
ssh -C -N user_name@remote-server-ip -L 5901:localhost:5901
Reply Report
Avonidas February 17, 2021
0 Thanks for this great tutorial :-)
However, when I connect to the VNC session (Debian 10, xfce), I notice that my $PATH is not
set correctly (as in a normal session).
Also, the session doesn’t pick up the theme, compositor etc. settings, so window
decorations, icons, transparency are not working.
I assume I must suitably configure xstartup in order to get a normal session, but I’m not sure
how. Could you provide some hints/examples?
Reply Report
mannmustermaximilian763 June 11, 2021
0 Thanks for this great tutorial. It helped me a lot with my first VPS. ssh-ing through to VNC
works flawlessly on my raspberrypi. But I cant get running the vnc-ssh-tunnel on my
Windows-machine. I use putty and setting the tunnel in the menu ‘Connection > SSH >
Tunnel’ will not work. Any hints, please?
Reply Report
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How To Install and Configure VNC On Debian 10 - DigitalOcean

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How to Install and Configure VNC on Debian 10 | DigitalOcean https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-co...

20 DAYS Upcoming Tech Talk: Making Fullstack JavaScript Apps

By finid and Brian Hogan

Not using Debian 10?

Step 1 — Installing the Desktop Environment and VNC

$ sudo apt install xfce4 xfce4-goodies

Once the installation completes, install the TightVNC server:

$ sudo apt install tightvncserver

Would you like to enter a view-only password (y/n)? n

New 'X' desktop is your_hostname :1

Creating default startup script /home/ sammy /.vnc/xstartup

Now let’s configure the VNC server.

Step 2 — Configuring the VNC Server

Before you modify the xstartup file, back up the original:

$ sudo chmod +x ~/.vnc/xstartup

Now, restart the VNC server.

Starting applications specified in /home/ sammy /.vnc/xstartup

Step 3 — Connecting the VNC Desktop Securely

$ ssh -L 5901 :127.0.0.1: 5901 -C -N -l sammy your_server_ip

Select Use default config to configure your desktop quickly.

Next let’s set up the VNC server as a service.

Step 4 — Running VNC as a System Service

First, create a new unit file called /etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service using

$ sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service

PIDFile=/home/ sammy /.vnc/%H:%i.pid

Save and close the file.

Next, make the system aware of the new unit file.

$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable the unit file.

$ sudo systemctl enable vncserver@1.service

Then start it as you would start any other systemd service.

You can verify that it started with this command:

$ sudo systemctl status vncserver@1

If it started correctly, the output should look like this:

Start your SSH tunnel again:

$ ssh -L 5901 :127.0.0.1: 5901 -C -N -l sammy your_server_ip

Was this helpful? !"# $% $ % &

About the authors

finid Brian Hogan

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Join the DigitalOcean Community

How To Install the Etherpad Collaborative Web Editor on Ubuntu 20.04

willymanroes March 17, 2020

PatMustard May 16, 2020

lawaladekunle June 22, 2020

You can also try the command like so.

ssh -C -N user_name@remote-server-ip -L 5901:localhost:5901

Avonidas February 17, 2021

0 Thanks for this great tutorial :-)

mannmustermaximilian763 June 11, 2021

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