NAME¶

vncsession - start a VNC server

SYNOPSIS¶

vncsession [-D] <username> <:display#>

DESCRIPTION¶

vncsession is used to start a VNC (Virtual Network Computing) desktop. vncsession performs all the necessary steps to create a new user session, run Xvnc with appropriate options and starts a window manager on the VNC desktop.

vncsession is rarely called directly and is normally started by the system service manager.

-D OPTION¶

vncsession by default forks and detaches. If the -D option is used, it does not fork and detach. This option is provided for use with system service managers that require services to run in the foreground. This option is not intended for debugging in a login shell from a terminal or for running vncsession from a terminal as an ordinary user.

FILES¶

Several VNC-related files are found in the directory $HOME/.config/tigervnc:

/etc/tigervnc/vncserver-config-defaults

The optional system-wide equivalent of $HOME/.config/tigervnc/config. If this file exists and defines options to be passed to Xvnc, they will be used as defaults for users. The user's $HOME/.config/tigervnc/config overrides settings configured in this file. The overall configuration file load order is: this file, $HOME/.config/tigervnc/config, and then /etc/tigervnc/vncserver-config-mandatory. None are required to exist.

/etc/tigervnc/vncserver-config-mandatory

The optional system-wide equivalent of $HOME/.config/tigervnc/config. If this file exists and defines options to be passed to Xvnc, they will override any of the same options defined in a user's $HOME/.config/tigervnc/config. This file offers a mechanism to establish some basic form of system-wide policy. WARNING! There is nothing stopping users from constructing their own vncsession-like script that calls Xvnc directly to bypass any options defined in /etc/tigervnc/vncserver-config-mandatory. The overall configuration file load order is: /etc/tigervnc/vncserver-config-defaults, $HOME/.config/tigervnc/config, and then this file. None are required to exist.

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tigervnc/config

$HOME/.config/tigervnc/config

An optional server config file wherein options to be passed to Xvnc are listed to avoid hard-coding them to the physical invocation. List options in this file one per line. For those requiring an argument, simply separate the option from the argument with an equal sign, for example: "geometry=2000x1200" or "securitytypes=vncauth,tlsvnc". Options without an argument are simply listed as a single word, for example: "localhost" or "alwaysshared".

The special option session can be used to control which session type will be started. This should match one of the files in /usr/share/xsessions. E.g. if there is a file called "gnome.desktop", then "session=gnome" would be set to use that session type.

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tigervnc/passwd

$HOME/.config/tigervnc/passwd

The VNC password file.

$XDG_STATE_HOME/tigervnc/Bhost:Bdisplay#.log

$HOME/.local/state/tigervnc/Bhost:Bdisplay#.log

The log file for Xvnc and the session.

SEE ALSO¶

vncviewer(1), vncpasswd(1), vncconfig(1), Xvnc(1)
https://www.tigervnc.org

AUTHOR¶

Tristan Richardson, RealVNC Ltd., D. R. Commander and others.

VNC was originally developed by the RealVNC team while at Olivetti Research Ltd / AT&T Laboratories Cambridge. TightVNC additions were implemented by Constantin Kaplinsky. Many other people have since participated in development, testing and support. This manual is part of the TigerVNC software suite.