Ubuntu 24.04 GNOME Desktop in GitHub Codespaces

This repository configures a browser-accessible Ubuntu GNOME desktop in a GitHub Codespaces container.

Architecture

• Ubuntu 24.04 base container
• Ubuntu GNOME session (gnome-session --session=ubuntu)
• Xvfb virtual X11 display at :1
• x11vnc bound to container loopback at 127.0.0.1:5901
• noVNC browser gateway at port 6080 (the only forwarded port; keep it private)

First launch

1. Create or open a Codespace on main.
2. Rebuild the container after changing Dev Container configuration. This runs .devcontainer/setup-gnome.sh to install desktop packages.
3. The desktop starts through postStartCommand. Codespaces remains available even if the desktop session fails.
4. Open the Ports tab and open private port 6080.
5. Visit /vnc.html and select Connect.

Start and stop

Start: bash .devcontainer/start-gnome.sh

Stop: bash .devcontainer/stop-gnome.sh

Logs

All service logs are stored in ~/.local/state/ubuntu-gnome/: xvfb.log, session.log, x11vnc.log, and novnc.log.

Diagnostics

pgrep -af 'Xvfb|gnome-session|gnome-shell|x11vnc|novnc_proxy' || true
ss -ltn | grep -E ':5901|:6080' || true
for f in ~/.local/state/ubuntu-gnome/*.log; do
  [ -f "$f" ] && { echo "===== $f"; tail -100 "$f"; }
done

Limitations

A Codespaces container is not a full virtual machine. Hardware acceleration, audio, systemd/logind, suspend, and hardware device access may be limited. The Codespace must remain running while the desktop is in use.