VNC server for real X displays. Allows remote access to an existing X11 session (unlike Xvnc which creates a virtual display).
Ubuntu 24.04 ships x11vnc 0.9.16, which is fragile in practice. This build provides 0.9.17 with patched defaults for reliable unattended use:
-forever — keeps x11vnc running after clients disconnect instead of exiting. No more "start it, connect, it dies when you close the viewer" cycle. Pass -once to restore old behaviour-auth guess — automatically finds the X authority file so x11vnc -display :1 just works without needing -auth guess or -auth /run/user/1000/.... Use -noauth to revert this-noxdamage — disables the XDAMAGE extension which causes XIO fatal errors and crashes on many systems (upstream issue #154). Pass -xdamage to re-enable-noauth option — explicitly disables the automatic -auth guess default, for cases where the guess interferesThe NetLinux TightVNC viewer has a -sshvnc option that automates the entire remote access workflow: it SSHs to the remote host, starts x11vnc automatically, discovers the display and port, and connects directly — no manual setup required:
vncviewer -sshvnc user@remote-hostFeatures include auto-reconnect (restarts x11vnc if it exits), display scaling (-scale), and optional -sshvnc-persist to leave x11vnc running after the viewer exits. See the tightvnc package for details.
| Feature | Ubuntu 24.04 (0.9.16) | NetLinux (0.9.17) |
| Persists after client disconnect | No (exits by default) | Yes (-forever default) |
| Auto-detect Xauthority | No (requires -auth guess) | Yes (automatic) |
| XDAMAGE crash protection | No (enabled, causes XIO errors) | Yes (disabled by default) |
| Multi-touch / mousewheel | No | Yes (uinput) |
| 8-button mouse | No | Yes |
| DRM/shm rawfb | No | Yes |
TightVNC -sshvnc integration | No | Yes (auto SSH + start + connect) |
| Upstream version | 0.9.16 | 0.9.17 |
| Version | 0.9.17-5netlinux1-1 |
|---|---|
| Architecture | amd64 |
| Component | main |
| Download | x11vnc_0.9.17-5netlinux1-1_amd64.deb |
| Upstream | github.com/LibVNC/x11vnc |
| Source | github.com/netlinux-ai/x11vnc |
sudo apt install x11vncSee the main page for repository setup instructions.