Webtop - Dockerised Linux Desktop in a Browser

[marcusquinn]

• https://www.linuxserver.io/blog/2021-05-05-meet-webtops-a-linux-desktop-environment-in-your-browser
• https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-webtop
• https://github.com/linuxserver/gclient

Before I joined the LinuxServer organization I had been working on a Docker management solution called Taisun. Over the years it became apparent everyone downloading this application was only really using the subfeature to be able to run a Linux desktop in their web browser. From parts of this project we as a team started deploying containers for popular GUI applications in docker containers and have now released: https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/webtop

The image is also available in Ubuntu outside of just Alpine in the following Desktop environments installed and pre-configured:

XFCE
KDE
MATE
i3
Openbox
IceWM

Please take a look at the Github Repo for updated lists of supported tags:

https://github.com/linuxserver/docker-webtop

[timconsidine]

@marcusquinn
I have deployed webtop as a local docker app on my Mac, and it works well.
Would be cool and useful to have this as a Cloudron app.
Good to have instead of deploying KASM on a VPS.

[marcusquinn]

Looks like these guys use something like this to deploy ParrotOS in a browser:

• https://www.hackthebox.com/
• https://parrotlinux.org/

[marcusquinn]

Another vid on this:

[plusone-nick]

@marcusquinn Techno Tim is awesome! We for sure need a VDI solution on Cloudron
+1

[fbartels]

While webtop works quite nice (easily connect from either the browser or a rdp client) its biggest drawback is that one cannot easily install new software (would be gone when pulling the next container) and that is it single user only by default.

[timconsidine]

@fbartels kasm is similar in that regard.
You can set up persistence of data, but installing of new software is a problem.

[robi]

@fbartels said in Webtop - Dockerised Linux Desktop in a Browser:

its biggest drawback is that one cannot easily install new software

The video clearly shows that is not the case, as you can apt get anything you like.

Tim does mention that this is more like a container you don't update via a new container image, but only via updates from within, just like the usual OS and App updates.

This of course just grows the container continuously over time.

We'd need something like what Cloudron does for our apps, separating the app from the data and being able to restore it after an image update.

Or by mounting dockerized app images as layers instead of installing apps, preserving data elsewhere.

[fbartels]

@robi said in Webtop - Dockerised Linux Desktop in a Browser:

The video clearly shows that is not the case, as you can apt get anything you like.

you also need to quote what came next

(would be gone when pulling the next container)

Maybe someone utilising flatpak for user added applications would be a good way. This is how SteamOS handles this.

[robi]

@fbartels

Yeah, common problem for minimal app installs.

Container images are a good source of precompiled binaries and libs, so if you know how to pick those out of the images, that can be a light recipe.

Statically compiled binaries are a bit much, however separating the /bin/ dirs into persistent layers would also work.

[fbartels]

I just saw that they now have a way included to install apps, that will persist when pulling a new container. https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-webtop/#application-setup