schnicklbob/cloudos repository overview

⁠fritz-workstation: For Use on All NVIDIA Hardware Up to RTX 4090

A GPU-accelerated Linux desktop container providing a full XFCE4 desktop environment accessible via browser (NoVNC), designed for AI/ML workloads on cloud GPU instances (RunPod, Vast.ai, Paperspace, etc.).

GPU acceleration is provided via the NVIDIA Container Toolkit pre-installed on the host by the cloud provider. No host configuration is required on your part — just deploy and connect.

Don't forget your launch files!

Since you are rebuilding this image, you will need the supervisord.conf and entrypoint.sh files in the same directory as your Dockerfile for the image to boot successfully. Here is the exact code for those so you can copy/paste them:

1. supervisord.conf This controls all your background services and ensures they restart if they crash.

[supervisord] nodaemon=true user=root

[program:sshd] command=/usr/sbin/sshd -D autostart=true autorestart=true

[program:vnc] command=su - fritz -c "vncserver :0 -geometry %(ENV_RESOLUTION)s -depth 24 -localhost no -SecurityTypes None" autostart=true autorestart=true

[program:novnc] command=su - fritz -c "websockify --web=/usr/share/novnc/ 6080 localhost:5900" autostart=true autorestart=true

[program:pulseaudio] command=su - fritz -c "pulseaudio --start --exit-idle-time=-1" autostart=true autorestart=true

[program:audio-share] command=su - fritz -c "audio-share-server" autostart=true autorestart=true

1. entrypoint.sh This initializes the environment, sets up SSH keys, and hands off control to Supervisor.

#!/bin/bash set -e

⁠Setup SSH directory for root

mkdir -p /var/run/sshd

⁠Ensure fritz owns their home directory

chown -R fritz:fritz /home/fritz

⁠Start Supervisor to manage all background services

exec /usr/bin/supervisord -c /etc/supervisor/conf.d/supervisord.conf

Make sure to run chmod +x entrypoint.sh on your local machine before building the Docker image so it is executable!

⁠Connecting From Your Local Machine

You do not need to install any special software to use this container. Everything runs through your web browser. The sections below explain how to get the best experience on both Windows and Linux.

⁠The Quick Version (Works on Any OS)

1. Deploy your pod and wait for it to show Running
2. In your pod's Connect menu, find the URL for port 6080
3. Click it — your desktop appears instantly in the browser
4. That's it. Nothing to install.

⁠Connecting on Windows

⁠Desktop (Browser — Recommended)

No installation required. Just open Chrome or Edge and go to the NoVNC URL shown in your pod's Connect menu for port 6080.

Example: https://abc123.proxy.runpod.net/6080

You will see the full Linux desktop in your browser tab. You can resize the window and the desktop will adjust automatically.

Tips for Windows users:

• Use F8 inside the NoVNC window to open the settings menu (fullscreen toggle, clipboard, etc.)
• To go fullscreen, press F8 → Fullscreen
• To send Ctrl+Alt+Del (which Windows would intercept), use the NoVNC menu instead of your keyboard

⁠Copy & Paste Between Your PC and the Remote Desktop

NoVNC uses an intermediate clipboard because browsers restrict direct clipboard access for security reasons. [web:167][web:169]

• To paste text INTO the remote desktop: Press F8 to open the NoVNC menu → click Clipboard → paste your text into the box → it will appear in the remote desktop's clipboard, ready to paste with Ctrl+V

• To copy text FROM the remote desktop: Copy text normally inside the desktop (Ctrl+C), then press F8 → Clipboard to see it, and copy it back to your local PC

⁠Sound on Windows

Sound streams directly through your browser via the audio bridge running on port 8081.

1. Find the URL for port 8081 in your pod's Connect menu
2. Open it in a separate browser tab (keep it open in background)
3. Click Play if prompted
4. Audio from the remote desktop will now play through your Windows speakers or headphones

⁠SSH on Windows (Optional — for advanced use)

SSH lets you type commands directly into the container without using the desktop. It's useful for running Python scripts, managing files, or using Conda.

1. Download and install PuTTY (free): https://www.putty.org⁠
2. Open PuTTY
3. In Host Name, enter the hostname shown in your pod's Connect menu
4. In Port, enter the external port mapped to 22 (shown in your Connect menu — it will NOT be 22 itself)
5. Click Open
6. Login as: fritz
7. Password: qwerty (change this after first login!)

Alternatively, if you have Windows 10/11 with the built-in OpenSSH client, open PowerShell and type:

ssh fritz@<hostname> -p <port-number>

⁠Connecting on Linux

⁠Desktop (Browser — Recommended)

Same as Windows — open Chrome or Firefox and navigate to the NoVNC URL for port 6080 from your pod's Connect menu.

⁠Copy & Paste on Linux

Works the same way as Windows via the F8 NoVNC clipboard menu. [web:167][web:169]

Linux bonus: if you use middle-click paste (the Linux clipboard), this will work naturally inside the remote desktop without needing the F8 menu.

⁠Sound on Linux

Same as Windows — open the URL for port 8081 in a separate browser tab and press Play. Audio will stream through your local speakers.

If you prefer a native audio stream instead of browser-based, you can pipe it through PulseAudio directly. Open a terminal on your local Linux machine and run:

# Stream audio natively (optional, advanced users only)
pacat --server=tcp:<your-pod-hostname>:<port-8081> \
  --playback --rate=44100 --channels=2 --format=s16le

⁠SSH on Linux

Open any terminal and run:

ssh fritz@<hostname> -p <port-number>
# Password: qwerty

Where <hostname> and <port-number> come from your pod's Connect menu (the port mapped to internal port 22).

To avoid typing the password every time, copy your SSH key:

ssh-copy-id -p <port-number> fritz@<hostname>

⁠Port Reference (Quick Cheat Sheet)

All URLs and port numbers are found in your pod's Connect menu after it starts. You do not need to remember any IP addresses — the platform generates the URLs for you.

⁠Troubleshooting Common Issues

The desktop looks blurry or pixelated Open the NoVNC menu (F8) → set Scaling Mode to Remote Resizing. This tells the remote desktop to match your browser window size exactly.

I can hear no sound Make sure the browser tab for port 8081 is open and not muted. Check the small speaker icon on that tab in your browser.

Copy/paste is not working Use the F8 clipboard method described above. Direct clipboard access between your PC and the remote desktop requires going through the NoVNC clipboard panel. [web:167]

The browser asks me to allow clipboard access Click Allow. This is Chrome asking for permission to sync the clipboard — it is safe to allow for this use case.

SSH says "connection refused" Make sure you are using the external port shown in your Connect menu, not port 22 directly. Cloud platforms remap SSH to a high-numbered port for security.