X servers in container for use with x11docker

This Dockerfile provides a set of X servers that can be used by x11docker. The resulting image x11docker/xserver can be used automatically to run the supported X servers in a container. This allows to isolate the X servers from host and to reduce x11docker dependencies on host.

Pull the image from docker hub with docker pull x11docker/xserver.

Or build image yourself with: x11docker --build x11docker/xserver The build takes a while because nxagent is built from source.

This image supports all x11docker X server options and also contains several tools to reduce x11docker dependencies on host. The image includes X servers and Wayland compositors kwin_wayland, nxagent, Xephyr, Xorg, Xvfb, weston, Xwayland and xpra.

Supported x11docker options (formerly host only) for use with image x11docker/xserver:

• --kwin
• --nxagent
• --weston
• --weston-xwayland
• --xephyr
• --xorg
• --xpra
• --xpra-xwayland
• --xvfb
• --xwayland

New options that depend on image x11docker/xserver and xpra on host:

• --xpra2
• --xpra2-xwayland

--xpra2 and --xpra2-xwayland run X server and xpra server in container, but xpra client on host. This should provide the best possible combination of security and performance for xpra.

GPU support

Open source MESA drivers

The image contains the free open source MESA drivers. No setup is needed if you use MESA drivers on host.

NVIDIA driver

If you have closed source NVIDIA driver installed on host, image x11docker/xserver needs the same driver version inside for hardware acceleration. However, this only makes sense if your driver version is >=470.x as older ones do not support the accelerated X server setups of this image.

You have two possibilities:

Automated install on every container startup

Provide an NVIDIA driver installer file at ~/.local/share/x11docker. x11docker will install the driver on every startup of x11docker/xserver. This will slow down container startup. Compare x11docker wiki: Automated install of NVIDIA driver during container startup.

Build x11docker/xserver based on x11docker/nvidia-base

• Create an image x11docker/nvidia-base. A script for this is provided at x11docker wiki: NVIDIA driver base image.
• In Dockerfile for x11docker/xserver change FROM debian:bullseye to FROM x11docker/nvidia-base and build image x11docker/xserver with this Dockerfile.

Note that this image will only work with the NVIDIA driver version of your host and is not portable.