Dev Dock (GUI)

Docker image that provides a remote desktop (Xfce + TigerVNC + noVNC + SSH) for development.

Supports x86_64 and arm64 (aarch64). Build the image on the same architecture as the host so Firefox and VS Code run natively.

See also: development-container-manager for GUI management.

Included components

• Xfce desktop (lightweight)
• TigerVNC (port 5901) + noVNC (port 6901, browser access)
• OpenSSH (port 22)
• VS Code (launched with --no-sandbox for container compatibility)
• Firefox
• AnyDesk
• Miniconda
• fcitx5 Chinese input (e.g. Pinyin); use fcitx5-configtool to add or switch input methods
• Git, vim, and common dev tools

Build and run

Build on the same architecture as the host (e.g. on Apple Silicon, build there) to avoid "Dynamic loader not found" for Firefox/VS Code.

docker compose build && docker compose up

Or run in background:

docker compose up -d

Pull from Docker Hub

Pre-built image: natlee/gui-vnc. Use the tag that matches your machine: x86 (-x86) or Apple Silicon / ARM (-arm64).

Pull and run (replace <TAG> with e.g. 20250208-x86 or 20250208-arm64):

docker pull natlee/gui-vnc:<TAG>

docker run -d \
  -p 12345:5901 -p 13579:6901 -p 24680:22 \
  -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro \
  -e VNC_PW=mypassword \
  -e DEFAULT_USER=dev -e DEFAULT_USER_PASSWORD=dev \
  -e ROOT_PASSWORD=root \
  --name gui natlee/gui-vnc:<TAG>

Then open noVNC in browser: http://localhost:13579/?password=mypassword. See Parameters for more options (LANG, VNC_RESOLUTION, etc.).

NVIDIA GPU

Install NVIDIA Container Toolkit on the host, then use the GPU compose file:

docker compose -f docker-compose.nvidia.yml build && docker compose -f docker-compose.nvidia.yml up

Connection

Service	Port (default)	How to connect
VNC	5901	VNC client → <HOST_IP>:<PORT>
noVNC	6901	Browser → http://<HOST_IP>:6901/?password=<VNC_PW>
SSH	22	ssh <user>@<HOST_IP> -p <PORT> (user: root or DEFAULT_USER)

With the default docker-compose.yml, host ports are mapped to 12345 (VNC), 13579 (noVNC), 24680 (SSH).

Parameters (environment / run options)

Variable	Default	Description
VNC_PW	vncpassword	VNC (and noVNC) password
VNC_RESOLUTION	1600x900	Desktop resolution
VNC_VIEW_ONLY	false	If true, noVNC is view-only
DEFAULT_USER	user	Non-root user for desktop (e.g. AnyDesk)
DEFAULT_USER_PASSWORD	user	Password for DEFAULT_USER
ROOT_PASSWORD	root	Root password
LANG	en_US.UTF-8	Locale (e.g. zh_TW.UTF-8 for Chinese)

Example: docker run

docker run -d \
  -p 12345:5901 -p 13579:6901 -p 24680:22 \
  -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro \
  -v /path/on/host:/root/Desktop \
  -e VNC_PW=mypassword \
  -e VNC_RESOLUTION=1920x1080 \
  -e DEFAULT_USER=dev -e DEFAULT_USER_PASSWORD=dev \
  -e ROOT_PASSWORD=root \
  -e LANG=zh_TW.UTF-8 \
  --name gui gui-vnc

Build the image first (from this directory): docker compose build → image name is gui-vnc.

Useful run options

• Map ports: -p 12345:5901 -p 13579:6901 -p 24680:22
• Timezone: -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
• Mount folder: -v <HOST_PATH>:<CONTAINER_PATH>

License

MIT