Ubuntu 20.04/18.04 (Focal/Bionic) Desktop running Openbox/Xfce4/i3 in VNC

Base Docker Image

Ubuntu 20.04/18.04 (x64)

Get the image from Docker Hub

docker pull fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop
docker pull fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop:bionic
docker pull fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop:xfce4
docker pull fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop:i3

Build it locally using the github repository

docker build -t="fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop"        github.com/Fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop
docker build -t="fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop:bionic" github.com/Fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop#bionic
docker build -t="fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop:xfce4"  github.com/Fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop#xfce4
docker build -t="fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop:i3"     github.com/Fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop#i3

VNC Options

Optional: Set Depth 16
Default: 24

-e VNCDEPTH='16'

Optional: Set 1920x1080 Resolution
Default: 1280x800

-e VNCRES='1920x1080'

Optional: Bind to Port 5909
Default: port 5901

-e VNCPORT='9'

Optional: Set Password Authentication
Default: No Authentication

-e VNCPASS='vncpass'

Optional: Set Read-Write and Read-Only password
Default: No Authentication

-e VNCPASS='vncpass' -e VNCPASSRO='readonly'

Optional: Run as a new non-root user
Default: root (UID: 0)

-e VNCUSER='guest' -e VNCUID='1000'

Optional: If you want your non-root user to be part of the users group
Default: same as VNCUSER and VNCUID
Pre-Req: VNCUSER and VNCUID must be set

-e VNCGROUP='users'

Optional: Define a new group for non-root user
Default: same as VNCUSER and VNCUID
Pre-Req: VNCUSER and VNCUID must be set

-e VNCGROUP='guests' -e VNCGID='1001'

Optional: Set a password for the VNCUSER account
Default: none and the account is locked
Pre-Req: VNCUSER and VNCUID must be set

-e ACCTPASS='mysecretpassword'

Optional: Set umask to define permission for new files
Default: 0022

-e VNCUMASK='0002'

TimeZone Configuration

Set the timezone to be used inside the container
Default: UTC

-e TZ='Asia/Tokyo'
-e TZ='Europe/London'
-e TZ='America/Los_Angeles'
-e TZ='America/Denver'
-e TZ='America/Chicago'
-e TZ='America/New_York'

Wallpaper Configuration

Set a background image for the openbox desktop
Default: None
Image Links: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8
Layout Options: fill / extend / full / tile / cover / center
Default Layout: center

-e WALLPAPER='1'
-e WALLPAPER='3'
-e WALLPAPER='5' -e WPLAYOUT='cover'

FUSE Configuration (to support AppImages)

Set privileges to allow FUSE to work properly inside the container

--device /dev/fuse --cap-add SYS_ADMIN

Privileged Mode (to support FlatPak)

Set privileged mode to allow FlatPaks to work properly inside the container

--privileged

Shared Memory Modification (to support Web Browsers)

Increase the size of shared memory to prevent web browsers from crashing
Thanks to jlesage

--shm-size 2g

Run the image

Run the image on localhost port 5901 with default configuration

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image with Depth 16

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 -e VNCDEPTH='16' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image with 1920x1080 Resolution

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 -e VNCRES='1920x1080' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image with Password Authentication

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 -e VNCPASS='vncpass' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image with Read-Write and Read-Only password (Using R/O pass requires R/W pass)

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 -e VNCPASS='vncpass' -e VNCPASSRO='readonly' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image as a non-root user account

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 -e VNCUSER='guest' -e VNCUID='1000' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image as a non-root user account with custom group

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 -e VNCUSER='guest' -e VNCUID='1000' -e VNCGROUP='guests' -e VNCGID='1001' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image in Tokyo

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 -e TZ='Asia/Tokyo' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image with FUSE privileges

docker run --device /dev/fuse --cap-add SYS_ADMIN -d -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image using host networking binding tigervncserver to port 5909

docker run -d --network=host -e VNCPORT='9' fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Run the image on localhost port 5901 with a decent hostname

docker run -d -h mycagedbuntu -p 127.0.0.1:5901:5901 fullaxx/ubuntu-desktop

Connect using vncviewer or a web browser

Use any standard VNC client to connect directly.
For web access, check out noVNC to access your ubuntu-desktop with a web browser.

vncviewer 127.0.0.1:5901

Using the Openbox Desktop Environment

Right-Click to activate the Openbox menu system. You will find a number of convenience scripts for running applications.

Terminals:

• xterm, uxterm, sakura, terminology, terminator, tilix, tilda, archipelago (AI), hyper (AI), powershell

Browsers:

• chrome, chromium, firefox, vivaldi, tor browser, ncsa mosiac (AI), edge

Office:

• libreoffice, libreoffice fresh (AI)

Editors:

• gedit, gvim, medit, bluefish, geany, vscode, netbeans, panwriter (AI), xfw

Torrenting:

• BiglyBT, qbittorrent, ktorrent, deluge, transmission-gtk, bitstormlite, electorrent (AI)

Chat:

• empathy, hexchat, loqui, konversation, kopete, pidgin, polari, qchat, ring, xchat

Music:

• amarok, audacious, banshee, clementine, gmusicbrowser, gpodder, pragha, quodlibet, rhythmbox, smplayer, strawberry

Graphics:

• gimp, inkscape, krita, blender

File Managers:

• 4pane, caja, doublecommander, krusader, nemo, pcmanfm, spacefm, thunar, xfe, worker

Utilities:

• galculator, kcalc

Reverse Engineering:

• cutter (AI), packet sender (AI), ngrev (AI)

Misc:

• dropbox, slack, gtkstresstesting (FP)