X11 Forwarding for Remote Applications

Your local machine needs an X server before remote graphical applications can open on your screen.

On macOS, install XQuartz and restart your session:

On Windows, install and start VcXsrv or Xming. On Linux desktops, the X server is usually already available.

On the remote Linux host, edit the SSH daemon configuration file:

Add or modify the following lines:

X11Forwarding yes
X11DisplayOffset 10
X11UseLocalhost yes
			

Restart the SSH service to apply changes. The service name depends on the distribution:

sudo systemctl restart ssh

sudo systemctl restart sshd
			

On the remote Linux host, install only the graphical application you want to open.

Optional test tool for xclock:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install x11-apps
			

Optional browser package if Firefox is not already installed:

sudo apt install firefox-esr
			

From your local machine, connect to the remote host with trusted X11 forwarding:

If -Y is not allowed in your environment, try standard X11 forwarding:

After logging in through SSH, run the following commands on the remote host:

echo $DISPLAY

xclock
			

If the clock is not displayed, X11 forwarding is not configured correctly.

Once the X11 test works, start the remote graphical application from the SSH session:

firefox &

firefox-esr &
			

The application runs on the remote host, but its window should appear on your local desktop.