Running GUI applications using Docker in Mac, Linux and Windows

Docker, primarily used for running background applications, can also run GUI applications. While this usage is not very common, it can be beneficial for offloading resource-intensive tasks to Docker containers for specific GUI applications.

To run GUI applications, you need to have XServer installed on your local machine

Running On MacOS

Prerequisites:

• Install XQuartz from https://www.xquartz.org Installation of XQuartz will require to restart your machine.
• Ensure the xhost command is available after installation.
• Configure XQuartz to allow connections from network clients from Preferences -> Security tab

To run:

• On your local machine, start XQuartz
• Run xhost + ${hostname} after
• Set DISPLAY var in the container: export DISPLAY=<IP>:0
• Run xclock in the container to test the X11
• Now you can run your app with GUI

Running On Linux

Prerequisites:

To run:

• On your local machine, start XQuartz
• Run xhost + ${hostname} in the local machine
• Set DISPLAY var in the container: export DISPLAY=<IP>:0.0
• Run xclock in the container to test the X11
• Now you can run your app with GUI

Running On Windows

Prerequisites:

• Install VcXsrv Windows X Server (https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/) manually or choco install vcxsrv
• Run Xlaunch from the start menu and perform the initial configuration.
• Make sure to save to configuration file before you click finish. Save it to one of the following locations:

%appdata%\Xming %userprofile%\Desktop %userprofile%

To run:

• Run Xlaunch
• Find up by ipconfig on the local machine
• Set DISPLAY var in the container: export DISPLAY=<IP>:0.0
• Run xclock in the container to test the X11
• Now you can run your app with GUI

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