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I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

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Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#111

Post by giancarlostoro »

> This entire experiment took place on a Windows 10 PC, driven by a specific question: what if you could have the best of both worlds? The idea of a full Linux environment running inside a Docker container, side-by-side with my standard Windows applications, was too intriguing to pass up. No reboots, no separate partitions—just a seamless, containerized Linux desktop.

> No reboots, no separate partitions—just a seamless, containerized Linux desktop.

> Windows 10 PC .... No reboots

You're kidding right? Linux is no reboots, Windows... Well let's just say yet another reason I no longer daily Windows.

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#112

Post by giancarlostoro »

swiftcoder wrote: post #45

Can you not use the X11 server packaged with WSL as your display driver, and avoid piping this all into the web browser? Seems very inefficient to have to render everything through the browser

WSL 1 did this well, not so sure about WSL 2+

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#113

Post by k_bx »

ranger_danger wrote: post #110
k_bx wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Update: I looked at it. Overall it looks very promising on paper. However, the bootstrapping process is so much work that I've ended up ditching it for now. I don't want to "automate the automation" yet. Trying out podman now.

Have you tried LXC? It runs entire distros as containers, with init and everything.

It looks a bit confusing. There’s LXC, LXD and Incus. I should look for Incus, right?

Seems a bit less popular and supported, I also like that Podman has strong backing from Red Hat and potentially seamless macOS integration.

Otherwise if Podman will fail I’ll take a look at Incus.

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#114

Post by k_bx »

throwaway74354 wrote: post #6
k_bx wrote: post #2

I develop my apps in the most possible native way I can: deb packages, apt repo, systemd, journald etc. however I would like to also be able to run it in docker/vm. Is there a good systemd-in-docker solution for this to basically not run anything differently and not have to maintain two sets of systems?

Containers with systemd as an init process are considered first-class citizen by the Podman ecosystem (the base images are named accordingly: e.g, ubi10-init vs ubi10)

My current production systems are running Ubuntu 22.04, and there is no official images with systemd for them in Podman. So it does feel like second class citizen.

On another hand, if ubi’s work fine — that means there should be no technical limitation to keep Ubuntu working.

I’ll keep playing with Podman for now, but will switch to Incus if that will fail

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#115

Post by bornfreddy »

mcint wrote: post #106

aiui "distrobox" is built to support these setups and experimentation, even more readily, including defaults to support: > The created container will be tightly integrated with the host, allowing sharing of the HOME directory of the user, external storage, external USB devices and graphical apps (X11/Wayland), and audio. https://distrobox.it/ > Why * Provide a mutable environment on an immutable OS, like ChromeOS, Fe…

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

Unfortunately it looks like sandbox mode [0] is not a goal, so it doesn't solve the main problem I have - running semi-trusted apps (e.g. Android Studio) and minimising their impact. Currently I just share X11 socket and run it in Docker.

[0] https://github.com/89luca89/distrobox/issues/28

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#116

Post by uxcolumbo »

MomsAVoxell wrote: post #103
uxcolumbo wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get that. I was just wondering about the comment that it can be carried around on a keychain. Looking at the pictures, some have a little screen attached and maybe a battery, so thought it might be a bit too big for a keychain.

Okay, your keychain and my keychain might have different orders of magnitude, but yeah - I run the pwnagotchi as a standalone Linux machine (because that's what it is), and I use the paper display for my own purposes these days, just to view a calendar and subjects of last 3 messages to a particular mailbox .. when I want to do some dev, I ssh -Y in, and its just like a moderately performing Linux box .. https://www.…

Thanks for clarifying. Your Pi case looks smaller compared to the others, so now it makes sense that it fits on your keychain.

Sounds like a fun little project.

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#117

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

heresie-dabord wrote: post #84
pmontra wrote: post #32

Samsung DEX had a Linux desktop package in 2018. It was a lxd container based on Ubuntu 16.04. They developed it in collaboration with Canonical. Unfortunately they deprecated it shortly after, maybe already in 2018. The next Android update would remove it. It worked but Android killed it mercilessly if it used too much memory or the rest of the system needed it.

Some current Android devices that have USB-C 3.1+ and support dp-alt-mode (USB-C to HDMI) will detect when an external display is connected and provide a full extended desktop. [0] You can connect mouse, keyboard, and display to the Android device through an unpowered USB-C hub that offers the respective ports. Battery life depends on the make/model of Android device. I have a Motorola phone and the experience is ver…

>Although DisplayPort functionality was disabled at a hardware level on Google Pixel 7 and previous models, Mishaal Rahman discovered that it is only locked at a software level on the Google Pixel 8. It is possible to enable display output on a rooted Pixel 8 with the following shell command with adb.

It works perfectly with GrapheneOS as of Pixel 8 and newer.

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#118

Post by MomsAVoxell »

uxcolumbo wrote: post #116
MomsAVoxell wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, your keychain and my keychain might have different orders of magnitude, but yeah - I run the pwnagotchi as a standalone Linux machine (because that's what it is), and I use the paper display for my own purposes these days, just to view a calendar and subjects of last 3 messages to a particular mailbox .. when I want to do some dev, I ssh -Y in, and its just like a moderately performing Linux box .. https://www.…

Thanks for clarifying. Your Pi case looks smaller compared to the others, so now it makes sense that it fits on your keychain. Sounds like a fun little project.

It’s a productive setup. As a fully functioning Linux machine, I can use it for everything. The iPad/rpi combo is pretty nice .. a lot lighter than the regular laptop, but just as productive, all things considered.

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#119

Post by trelane »

jchw wrote: post #90
JanisErdmanis wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What issues have you seen recently in the wild where Linux just does not work on a laptop? I have pretty good experiences just putting Ubuntu on old laptops for people who asks me to fix their computer.

For old laptops it's significantly less bad, but definitely old. 5+ years old is usually a good start, though these days it may be better if it's even older. The most significant issues: - Peripherals simply don't work at all , as in, no touchpad or keyboard, or at least no touchscreen. This is definitely an issue with a variety of laptops including some Microsoft Surface and Dell laptops. - Power management . Freque…

This illustrates why Linux users should buy Linux hardware, not just slap Linux on Windows hardware.

Re: I run a full Linux desktop in Docker just because I can

#120

Post by thevinchi »

MutableLambda wrote: post #68
thevinchi wrote: post #65

I’ll just leave this here, thank me later: https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-webtop/ These images are top-notch, well documented, and have recently been refactored to use Selkies under the hood. Even with gamepad support, I’ve used these for running DOSbox, RetroArch, streaming video, and many other things. There’s even a mature extensibility layer for using their images as a base layer to add services and ap…

I actually wanted to try webtop for a long time, and did it only recently. I could not figure out these selkies for the life of me. It wanted a bunch of ports, was complaining about something all the time (don't remember, it's been a month). Might be a skill issue, but I've been using docker for the past 10 years. Moreover they want root access to the host system, which kind of defies one of the reasons to use contai…

fwiw: I’ve never run webtop with privileged mode or docker-in-docker enabled, those are both optional.
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