Browser RDP Desktop

A containerized Ubuntu 24.04 desktop with XFCE, XRDP, and preinstalled browsers (Firefox, Chrome) plus LastPass and uBlock Origin extensions, optimized for responsive remote access.

Features

• Desktop: XFCE4 with terminal and goodies
• Remote Access: XRDP server (port 3389)
• Browsers: Firefox (deb), Google Chrome (latest stable)
• Extensions: LastPass and uBlock Origin preinstalled for both browsers
• Persistence: Single home-directory mount preserves all profiles and settings
• User Setup: Customizable user, group, and password via environment variables
• Supervision: Managed by supervisord for reliability

Performance Optimizations

The image ships with several optimizations baked in, so the RDP session stays responsive when browsing content-heavy sites:

Layer	What's tuned	Effect
XRDP	bitmap cache/compression, bulk compression, fastpath, 16-bit colour	Less data over the wire, lower latency
XFCE	Compositor off, vblank off, Adwaita theme	No transparency/shadow rendering overhead
Firefox	Autoplay blocked, GIF animation off, WebRender off, frame rate capped at 15 fps, smooth scroll off, AV1/VP9 disabled	Dramatically less CPU/GPU work per page
Chrome	--disable-smooth-scrolling --disable-gpu-compositing --autoplay-policy=user-gesture-required	Same idea, Chromium side
uBlock Origin	Force-installed in both browsers	Blocks ads, trackers, and heavy third-party scripts

Firefox settings are applied via system-level autoconfig (/usr/lib/firefox/mozilla.cfg) so they work regardless of which profile is active and never conflict with mount contents.

Profile Preservation

The compose file mounts a single host directory as the entire home directory:

volumes:
  - /path/to/home:/home/${USER_NAME}

On container start the entrypoint uses "create only if missing" logic:

• Fresh (empty) mount: Creates Downloads, .mozilla, .config/google-chrome, .xsession, and seeds XFCE defaults (compositor off, etc.)
• Existing mount: All directories and configs are left untouched — nothing is overwritten

To reset XFCE defaults after customizing, delete the xfconf directory and restart the container:

rm -rf /path/to/home/.config/xfce4/xfconf
docker restart browser-rdp

Migrating from per-subdirectory mounts

If you previously mounted individual directories (Downloads, .mozilla, .config/google-chrome), move their contents into a single home directory:

mkdir -p /path/to/home/.config
mv /old/Downloads   /path/to/home/Downloads
mv /old/mozilla     /path/to/home/.mozilla
mv /old/google-chrome /path/to/home/.config/google-chrome

Then update your docker-compose.yml to use the single mount.

Usage

1. Build and run with Docker Compose:

   docker-compose up -d

2. Connect via RDP: Use any RDP client to connect to localhost:3389.
3. Credentials: Set PASSWORD, USER_NAME, USER_ID, and GROUP_ID in docker-compose.yml.

File Overview

• Dockerfile: Builds the desktop environment and installs browsers/extensions.
• entrypoint.sh: Creates user/group, sets password, prepares home directories.
• supervisord.conf: Runs XRDP services under supervision.
• docker-compose.yml: Defines service, environment, volumes, and healthcheck.
• mozilla.cfg: Firefox system-wide performance defaults.
• autoconfig.js: Firefox autoconfig loader.
• xfce4-defaults/: XFCE window manager and appearance defaults.
• .github/workflows/publish.yml: CI for building and publishing the image to GHCR.

License

MIT License © 2025 Morgan Blackthorne