webdesktopd

webdesktopd is a browser-based Linux desktop for a single Unix user. It reuses SSH credentials for login, keeps terminal sessions alive across browser disconnects, and multiplexes terminal, file, and proxy traffic over one WebSocket.

Features

• Real terminal tabs backed by PTYs, with reconnect and output replay
• File manager with directory listing, upload, download, rename, delete, and chmod
• Port proxy for local web apps under /_proxy/{port}/...
• Desktop shell with windows, docking, and saved UI state
• System stats panel for CPU, memory, disk, network, uptime, and processes
• SSH password or SSH key authentication against the local sshd
• Login form with Remember me support that restores the username and secret from browser IndexedDB
• Debian/Ubuntu .deb and Alpine .apk release packages

Install

From release packages

1. Download the latest .deb or .apk from the GitHub Releases page.
2. Debian / Ubuntu:
   • sudo dpkg -i webdesktopd_*.deb
3. Alpine:
   • sudo apk add ./webdesktopd-*.apk
4. Set a strong JWT_SECRET in /etc/webdesktopd/env.
5. Start the service:
   • systemd: sudo systemctl start webdesktopd
   • OpenRC: sudo rc-service webdesktopd start

From source

1. Install Go 1.26+ and Bun.
2. Build the frontend and backend:
   • make build
3. Run locally:
   • JWT_SECRET=dev-secret ./webdesktopd
   • or make run

Development

• make dev-backend starts the Go server on :8080
• make dev-frontend starts the Vite dev server on :5173
• make test runs Go unit tests
• make e2e runs browser and server integration tests
• make build builds the frontend and backend
• make deploy PASS=... REMOTE_USER=abb builds and deploys to the remote host
• make tunnel PASS=... REMOTE_USER=abb opens an SSH tunnel to the remote instance