runx allows to easily run Linux GUI applications and desktops on MS Windows in Cygwin, MSYS2 or WSL.

• This is especially of interest for WSL in Windows 10 that does not support graphical applications on itself.

Background:

• runx starts an X server, either VcXsrv or XWin, to provide a graphical environment for Linux applications.
• runx creates an authorization cookie to restrict access to the X server to allowed clients only.
• runx runs the desired Linux GUI application with the credentials needed to access the X server.

For similar functionality on native Linux systems use x11docker with options --backend=host or --xonly.

• Linux environments on MS Windows
• Installation
  • Installation of X server
  • Installation in WSL
  • Installation in Cygwin
  • Installation in MSYS2
• GPU hardware acceleration
• Usage examples
  • Providing X server in background
• Output of runx --help
• Screenshot

runx can run in:

• WSL: Windows subsystem for Linux.
• Cygwin: Cygwin is a large collection of Open Source tools which provide functionality similar to a Linux distribution on Windows.
• MSYS2: MSYS2 is a software distro and building platform for Windows and serves as a base for git for windows and MingW. It is mainly used by developers.

Installation in general:

• Install an X server, VcXsrv or XWin.
• Copy runx into folder /usr/local/bin and make it executeable with chmod +x /usr/local/bin/runx.
• Install Linux dependency xauth if available.
• Install Linux dependency telnet.

runx needs an X server. Install on MS Windows one or both of:

• VcXsrv to provide X server VcXsrv.
  • Easier to install than XWin.
• Cygwin with packages xinit and xauth.
  • This provides X server XWin for Cygwin and WSL.
  • XWin has a better --gpu support than VcXsrv.

runx will automatically use XWin if available. You can specify the desired X server with options --xwin or --vcxsrv.

• Run the following commands in WSL/Ubuntu terminal to install runx and its dependencies:

  sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mviereck/runx/master/runx -O /usr/local/bin/runx
  sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/runx
  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install xauth
  

• Run the Cygwin installer and install packages xinit, xauth and wget.
• In Cygwin terminal run the commands:

  wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mviereck/runx/master/runx -O /usr/local/bin/runx
  chmod +x /usr/local/bin/runx
  

• In MSYS2 terminal run the commands:

  mkdir /usr/local/bin
  wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mviereck/runx/master/runx -O /usr/local/bin/runx
  chmod +x /usr/local/bin/runx
  

• Constraint in MSYS2: runx only supports X server VcXsrv, but not XWin.

runx supports GPU hardware accelerated graphics with option --gpu.

• GPU access can cause issues with X server VcXsrv, especially with NVIDIA cards. For that reason GPU usage is disabled by default in runx.
• If you encounter issues with option --gpu, try X server XWin instead of VcXsrv.

• File manager pcmanfm in WSL:
  • Installation:

    sudo apt update
    sudo apt install pcmanfm
    

  • Run:

    runx -- pcmanfm
    

• Mate desktop environment in WSL:
  • Installation:

    sudo apt update
    sudo apt install mate-desktop-environment
    

  • Run:

    runx --desktop --gpu -- mate-session
    

You can make an entry in the file ~/.bashrc to have an X server always available. Possible entry in ~/.bashrc:

source /usr/local/bin/runx

In future runs of the terminal you can directly run Linux GUI applications, e.g.:

pcmanfm

• If you specify option --display, runx will check if an X server is already running with the specified display number and will only provide the access credentials DISPLAY and XAUTHORITY instead of running an additional X server.
• The access credentials are also stored in file ~/.Xenv. You can make them available in a new terminal sourcing the file with . ~/.Xenv or source ~/.Xenv.

runx - Run Linux GUI applications on MS Windows.
Provides an X server on MS Windows in Cygwin, MSYS2 or WSL.
Syntax:
 runx [OPTIONS] -- [COMMAND]
Options:
 -h, --help Show this help.
 -d, --desktop Open a parent window for desktop environments.
 -g, --gpu Enable GPU hardware acceleration. Can fail 
 with NVIDIA cards. Works best with XWin.
 --size WIDTHxHEIGHT Window size for option --desktop, e.g. 800x600.
 --vcxsrv Use X server VcXsrv.
 --xwin Use X server XWin.
 --clipboard [=yes|no] Enable clipboard sharing yes/no. Default: yes.
 --display N Use display number N for new X server.
 If the display number is already in use, runx will 
 only provide the likely access credentials.
 --ip ADRESS IP adress to use. Default: First found 192.168.*
 --no-auth Disable X cookie authentication. Discouraged.
 --cleanup Stop all X servers and delete cookies.
 -v, --verbose Be verbose.
Installation of runx in WSL:
 - Copy runx into /usr/local/bin/
 - Make runx executeable: sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/runx
 - Install xauth: sudo apt update
 sudo apt install xauth
 
Install an X server on Windows:
 runx supports two X servers: VcXsrv and XWin. Install at least one of them.
 - VcXsrv: Download and install from: 
 https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/
 - XWin: Download and install Cygwin64 with packages: xinit xauth
 https://www.cygwin.com
VcXsrv is easier to install. XWin provides a better GPU support.
WSL, Cygwin: runx starts XWin if available, otherwise it starts VcXsrv.
MSYS2: runx supports VcXsrv only.
Usage:
Example to directly run an application with runx:
 - Install file manager pcmanfm: sudo apt update
 sudo apt install pcmanfm
 - Run pcmanfm with: runx -- pcmanfm
Example to run Mate desktop:
 - Install Mate desktop with: sudo apt install mate-desktop-environment
 - Run Mate desktop with: runx --desktop -- mate-session
 
Example to get a Wayland environment:
 - Install Wayland compositor: sudo apt install weston
 - Run Weston with: XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/tmp runx -- weston
Providing an X server in background all the time:
 - Create an entry in ~/.bashrc: source /usr/local/bin/runx
 - In future terminal session you can directly run GUI commands.
 E.g. just type: 'pcmanfm' instead of 'runx -- pcmanfm'.
 - If you specify a display number with --display, runx will re-use
 a possibly already running X server with same display number
 and only provide the access credentials DISPLAY and XAUTHORITY.
 This allows to use the same X server across several terminals.
runx stores the access credentials DISPLAY and XAUTHORITY in ~/.Xenv
This allows sourcing the file for custom access setups.
runx version 0.4.20
Please report issues and get help at: https://github.com/mviereck/runx

runx running Mate desktop on MS Windows: Mate Desktop on MS Windows