LinuxServer.io Webtop

LinuxServer.io Webtop provides container images that run a full Linux desktop environment and expose it through a browser-based remote desktop interface. It is designed to make a disposable or persistent GUI workspace easy to run with Docker across multiple base distributions.

Key Features

• Multiple supported base distributions via tags (Alpine, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, and Enterprise Linux variants)
• Multiple desktop environment flavors (XFCE, KDE, MATE, and i3 depending on image tag)
• Browser access over HTTPS with websocket support for interactive desktop streaming
• Optional HTTP Basic Auth via environment variables for simple access control on trusted networks
• Built on LinuxServer.io Selkies base image, with options for Wayland mode and GPU/VAAPI acceleration (where supported)
• Multi-architecture images (commonly amd64 and arm64)

Use Cases

• Running a browser-accessible Linux desktop for homelabs, kiosks, or thin clients
• Providing an isolated GUI environment for tools that are easier to use with a desktop UI
• Temporary desktops for testing packages, configurations, or workflows inside containers

Limitations and Considerations

• By default there is no authentication; securing access typically requires a reverse proxy with strong authentication
• The container can effectively grant powerful access inside the environment (including terminal and sudo), so exposure must be carefully controlled
• Some modern GUI apps may require relaxed container sandboxing (for example, unconfined seccomp) on certain hosts, which reduces security

Webtop is best suited when you want the convenience of a full desktop delivered via the browser while keeping deployment simple through standard container workflows. It is most effective when combined with proper network segmentation and an authentication layer in front of the service.