TigerVNC 1.11.0: a wreck of a release.

2020/10/07 2:26 PM (UTC -5) | tildearrow

I guess 1.10 is the final version I will use... because 1.11 is a complete restructuring which breaks my workflow.

the main reason is because vncserver no longer allows for simple (and usually ephemeral) startup, which I have been accustomed to for the past five years:

vncserver :2
*mess around in session*
vncserver -kill :2

yep, it was that simple.
I just typed one command, and the server was ready while it allowed me to keep using the shell.
I could even specify my own xstartup, as an example to start XFCE instead of the default (in the case of Arch Linux, three xterm windows and TWM).

TigerVNC 1.11.0 completely changes this:
vncserver :2
*suddenly, a bunch of debug information*

it doesn't even allow me to run the server in the background like before...
and guess what? now I cannot use my xstartup script anymore! I am greeted with 3 windows and the ancient TWM! (oh, and a 1024x768 resolution. ugh.)
so... how do you supposedly set this up?

...yeah, there is an option called "session", which apparently would allow you to start up an xsession...
but it has two huge flaws:

• it doesn't even work. seriously... the first time I tried this, I expected XFCE to boot up, but no! the same 3 windows, boring TWM and 1024x768 resolution is all I could get the whole time! I am not sure what could be causing this, but one thing for sure is that I am using a custom xorg.conf... but what's the problem with that?!
• it changes your session when you go back to the display manager. so if I start the VNC server, and then leave, when I return to my computer and log in it will hurl me to XFCE rather than KDE!

guess what? now you HAVE to use systemd to set up the VNC server. yeah.
and even worse, it has to run as root, which makes it complicated if you want it to run as your user (which I am sure you probably desire).

horrible right? back to 1.10... and never moving...