Run Remote Linux GUI Application from Windows with X11 Forwarding

This article supposed the remote Linux is Ubuntu 20.04 and above.

Needed Software in Windows:

• VcXsrv
• PuTTY

Start PuTTY, configure SSH > X11 > Enable X11 forwarding:

In remote linux machine, change /etc/ssh/sshd_config:

X11Forwarding yes
X11UseLocalhost no

Restart remote SSH service:

sudo systemctl restart ssh.service

(Optional) Add in ~/.bashrc :

export LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT=1

To start the remote GUI application:

1. Run XLaunch first in Windows
2. Run PuTTY, login your remote machine
3. Run xclock in the command line to test if it works.