Desktop-Lite does not start Xtigervnc

[cobnett3]

I installed desktop-lite feature.
The build is successfully completed but Xtigervnc is not launched automatically.

I can see /usr/local/share/desktop-init.sh stopped or hanged up from the log:

$ cat /tmp/container-init.log
[Sat Aug 10 10:24:56 AM UTC 2024] ** SCRIPT START **
[Sat Aug 10 10:24:57 AM UTC 2024] Running "/etc/init.d/dbus start".
[Sat Aug 10 10:24:58 AM UTC 2024] Starting Xtigervnc.

I confirmed that tigervnc and novnc are installed by manually starting them on Terminal and access from vnc client / browser. So I guess something went wrong in desktop-init.sh.

Though not sure if this is relevant, I can see $1.log is created, which seems wired ($1 instead of Xtigervnc?).

$ ls /tmp
'$1.log'              dbus-daemon-system.log                                 vscode-ipc-7acb4610-355f-457f-bec6-fdc6478bf580.sock
'$1.pid'              vscode-git-28e133266e.sock                             vscode-ipc-971e000d-98f1-4bc4-a76e-db753bf0e6cc.sock
 codespaces_logs      vscode-git-fbb824366b.sock                             vscode-ipc-db7ae755-3039-46cd-949e-5c7cab4af4b5.sock
 container-init.log   vscode-ipc-5cc52e8f-5046-4f2a-a735-9c4760d441fe.sock

devcontainer.json

{
	"name": "Node.js & TypeScript",
	"image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/typescript-node:1-22-bookworm",
	"features": {
		"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1": {}
	},
	"forwardPorts": [
		6080
	],
	"portsAttributes": {
		"6080": {
			"label": "Desktop Lite Web"
		}
	}
}

netstat -tulpn | grep LISTEN

$ netstat -tulpn | grep LISTEN
(Not all processes could be identified, non-owned process info
 will not be shown, you would have to be root to see it all.)
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:16634         0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -                   
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:16635         0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -                   
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.53:53           0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -                   
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:44093         0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      529/node            
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:40045         0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -                   
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:2000            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -                   
tcp6       0      0 :::2000                 :::*                    LISTEN      -                   
tcp6       0      0 ::1:16635               :::*                    LISTEN      -                   
tcp6       0      0 ::1:16634               :::*                    LISTEN      -                  

/usr/local/share/desktop-init.sh

#!/bin/bash

user_name="${USERNAME}"
group_name="$(id -gn ${USERNAME})"
LOG=/tmp/container-init.log

export DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS="${DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS:-"autolaunch:"}"
export DISPLAY="${DISPLAY:-:1}"
export VNC_RESOLUTION="${VNC_RESOLUTION:-1440x768x16}" 
export LANG="${LANG:-"en_US.UTF-8"}"
export LANGUAGE="${LANGUAGE:-"en_US.UTF-8"}"

# Execute the command it not already running
startInBackgroundIfNotRunning()
{
    log "Starting $1."
    echo -e "\n** $(date) **" | sudoIf tee -a /tmp/\$1.log > /dev/null
    if ! pgrep -x $1 > /dev/null; then
        keepRunningInBackground "$@"
        while ! pgrep -x $1 > /dev/null; do
            sleep 1
        done
        log "$1 started."
    else
        echo "$1 is already running." | sudoIf tee -a /tmp/\$1.log > /dev/null
        log "$1 is already running."
    fi
}

# Keep command running in background
keepRunningInBackground()
{
    ($2 bash -c "while :; do echo [\\$(date)] Process started.; $3; echo [\\$(date)] Process exited!; sleep 5; done 2>&1" | sudoIf tee -a /tmp/\$1.log > /dev/null & echo "\$!" | sudoIf tee /tmp/\$1.pid > /dev/null)
}

apt_get_update()
{
    if [ "$(find /var/lib/apt/lists/* | wc -l)" = "0" ]; then
        echo "Running apt-get update..."
        apt-get update -y
    fi
}

check_packages() {
    if ! dpkg -s "$@" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
        apt_get_update
        apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends "$@"
    fi
}

# Use sudo to run as root when required
sudoIf()
{
    if [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]; then
        check_packages sudo
        sudo "$@"
    else
        "$@"
    fi
}

# Use sudo to run as non-root user if not already running
sudoUserIf()
{
    if [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ] && [ "${user_name}" != "root" ]; then
        check_packages sudo
        sudo -u "${user_name}" "$@"
    else
        "$@"
    fi
}

# Log messages
log()
{
    echo -e "[$(date)] $@" | sudoIf tee -a $LOG > /dev/null
}

log "** SCRIPT START **"

# Start dbus.
log 'Running "/etc/init.d/dbus start".'
if [ -f "/var/run/dbus/pid" ] && ! pgrep -x dbus-daemon  > /dev/null; then
    sudoIf rm -f /var/run/dbus/pid
fi
sudoIf /etc/init.d/dbus start 2>&1 | sudoIf tee -a /tmp/dbus-daemon-system.log > /dev/null
while ! pgrep -x dbus-daemon > /dev/null; do
    sleep 1
done

# Startup tigervnc server and fluxbox
sudoIf rm -rf /tmp/.X11-unix /tmp/.X*-lock
mkdir -p /tmp/.X11-unix
sudoIf chmod 1777 /tmp/.X11-unix
sudoIf chown root:${group_name} /tmp/.X11-unix
if [ "$(echo "${VNC_RESOLUTION}" | tr -cd 'x' | wc -c)" = "1" ]; then VNC_RESOLUTION=${VNC_RESOLUTION}x16; fi
screen_geometry="${VNC_RESOLUTION%*x*}"
screen_depth="${VNC_RESOLUTION##*x}"

# Check if VNC_PASSWORD is set and use the appropriate command
common_options="tigervncserver ${DISPLAY} -geometry ${screen_geometry} -depth ${screen_depth} -rfbport ${VNC_PORT} -dpi ${VNC_DPI:-96} -localhost -desktop fluxbox -fg"

if [ -n "${VNC_PASSWORD+x}" ]; then
    startInBackgroundIfNotRunning "Xtigervnc" sudoUserIf "${common_options} -passwd /usr/local/etc/vscode-dev-containers/vnc-passwd"
else
    startInBackgroundIfNotRunning "Xtigervnc" sudoUserIf "${common_options} -SecurityTypes None"
fi

# Spin up noVNC if installed and not running.
if [ -d "/usr/local/novnc" ] && [ "$(ps -ef | grep /usr/local/novnc/noVNC*/utils/launch.sh | grep -v grep)" = "" ]; then
    keepRunningInBackground "noVNC" sudoIf "/usr/local/novnc/noVNC*/utils/launch.sh --listen ${NOVNC_PORT} --vnc localhost:${VNC_PORT}"
    log "noVNC started."
else
    log "noVNC is already running or not installed."
fi

# Run whatever was passed in
log "Executing "\$@\"."
exec "$@"
log "** SCRIPT EXIT **"

[JamesOsborn-SE]

I can confirm the same issue. I can run it manually. So all the needed packages are there. I think the installation script is borked.

I think xtigervncserver needs -PasswordFile instead of --passwd

[jhcole]

This issue broke the workflow for several students on my team. In case it helps someone else, I added the script below to our repos as a temporary workaround. They can run the script and then continue working normally. Make sure to change the path in the instructions to your actual path.

# Temporary fix until https://github.com/devcontainers/features/issues/1085 is resolved.
#
# If your desktop is not showing up, follow these steps:
#
# 1. Open a terminal.
#
# 2. If your terminal is not already in the /workspaces/homework directory, navigate to
#    that directory by typing:
#
#    cd /workspaces/homework
#
# 3. Run this script by typing:
#
#    ./tmp_fix_desktop.sh
#
# 4. After running the script, try to access the desktop again.

# Check and launch tigervncserver if not running
if ! pgrep -f "tigervncserver" > /dev/null; then
    tigervncserver :1 -geometry 1440x768 -depth 16 -rfbport 5901 -dpi 96 -localhost \
        -desktop fluxbox -passwd /usr/local/etc/vscode-dev-containers/vnc-passwd &
fi

# Check and launch noVNC if not running
if ! pgrep -f "launch.sh --listen 6080 --vnc localhost:5901" > /dev/null; then
    /usr/local/novnc/noVNC*/utils/launch.sh --listen 6080 --vnc localhost:5901 &
fi

[JamesOsborn-SE]

I don't see versioning for this feature other than latest and 1.0.8(last year). Why is that? I know it's a simple bash script, but by virtue of being interpreted bash scripts are easy to mess up, so I would argue any change should be a new version.
A decent IDE/editor will give color clues that may help

Putting the whole path in double quotes is preferred

"/tmp/$1.log"

[NicholasWalton]

Workaround: change "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1" to "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.2.0" in your devcontainer.json (unless you need #945).

@samruddhikhandale @gauravsaini04 this issue seems to have been introduced by #1024.

[samruddhikhandale]

Thanks for the nudge and apologies for the inconvenience.

We have merged in #1082 which should fix this. Can anyone let us know if that worked for you?

If not, @gauravsaini04 can you revert #1024 until we find the root cause.

[novarider]

Updating to 1.2.0 fixed the problem for me. Thanks!

[cobnett3]

I also confirm that updating to 1.2.0 fixed the problem. Thank you very much!

[jozefvodicka]

In Dev Container with image FROM mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/typescript-node:22-bullseye

this "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.1.0" works and noVNC is available on 6080
and 1.2.0 and 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.2.2" does not work and noVNC is NOT available on 6080 port

[jhcole]

Can anyone let us know if that worked for you?

@samruddhikhandale

Image "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:1-3.12-bookworm"

feature version	VNC working	Notes
"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.1.0"	yes
"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.2.0"	yes	was not asked for password
"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.2.1"	installed but not started
"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.2.2"	installed but not started
"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1.2.3"	yes	was not asked for password

[samruddhikhandale]

Thanks for the details. I have reverted the commit which is the root cause of this issue, see #1088

Let us know if you are still facing issues with v1.2.3, thanks!