Enable GUI access to a Rocky Linux VM

This guide explains how to install a lightweight graphical environment (XFCE) and configure XRDP to enable remote desktop access to your Rocky Linux virtual machine.

Note: You must have sudo privileges to perform the installation steps.


🔧 Step 1: Update the System
sudo dnf update -y



 
🧪 Step 2: Install EPEL repository
The installation of the XFCE desktop environment requires to install the EPEL repository which is a repository that provides high-quality software packages for RHEL-distributions.
sudo dnf install epel-release -y

🎛️ Step 3: Install XFCE Desktop Environment
sudo dnf groupinstall "Xfce" -y


 
📦 Step 4: Install XRDP
sudo dnf install xrdp -y


 
🔄 Step 5: Enable and Start XRDP
sudo systemctl enable xrdp --now

Check the service status:
sudo systemctl status xrdp
You should see "active (running)".



 
🔐 Step 6: Open RDP Port in Firewall

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=3389/tcp 
sudo firewall-cmd --reload


 
🛠️ Step 7: Set XFCE as the Default Desktop for XRDP Sessions
Create or modify your user’s 
.Xclients file:
echo "startxfce4" > ~/.Xclients chmod +x ~/.Xclients
To apply this for all new users, you can add it to 
/etc/skel/:
echo "startxfce4" | sudo tee /etc/skel/.Xclients 
sudo chmod +x /etc/skel/.Xclients


 
🔄 Step 8: Reboot the system
To ensure all services and graphical environment changes take effect, reboot the virtual machine:
sudo systemctl reboot
Wait a few moments for the system to come back online.

💻 Step 9: Connect via Remote Desktop
From your local machine, open your Remote Desktop Client (RDP) and connect to:

<VM_IP_ADDRESS>:3389


Log in using your UNIL username and password.






If you need further help, please contact your system administrator or open a support ticket with the helpdesk (helpdesk@unil.ch).