Docker - Running some GUI interfaces in the browser

In a future article, I'll be covering a subject I've just discovered: the possibility of running graphical interfaces in Docker and, therefore, having a Linux application running in Windows. That article is now written: Docker - Run Graphical User Interfaces - Firefox, Chrome & GIMP, where the applications are displayed as real windows instead of in a browser tab.

But first, let's take a look at a few graphical interfaces, such as Firefox or GIMP (image processing software), which can be run as if they were web applications.

Start Firefox in your browser​

Imagine you're a web developer and just want to check if your site can be displayed on a specific version of Firefox (without having to install the version, of course). Here it is, running in a container and rendered straight in Chrome:

To reproduce this, copy/paste the command below in your console (coming from https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/firefox):

$ docker run -d \
    --name=firefox \
    --security-opt seccomp=unconfined \
    -e PUID=1000 \
    -e PGID=1000 \
    -e TZ=Etc/UTC \
    -e FIREFOX_CLI=https://www.linuxserver.io/ \
    -p 3000:3000 \
    -p 3001:3001 \
    -v /path/to/config:/config \
    --shm-size="1gb" \
    --restart unless-stopped \
    lscr.io/linuxserver/firefox:latest
▋

Then open your browser and surf to http://localhost:3000 to start Firefox. You can then surf to any amazing site.

And, for fun, here is the same but I've started Firefox in Docker in an MS-DOS environment and, then, I've used Edge instead of Chrome:

The command I've used in DOS is: docker run -d --name=firefox --security-opt seccomp=unconfined -e PUID=1000 -e PGID=1000 -e TZ=Etc/UTC -e FIREFOX_CLI=https://www.linuxserver.io/ -p 3000:3000 -p 3001:3001 -v %CD%\temp:/config --shm-size="1gb" --restart unless-stopped lscr.io/linuxserver/firefox:latest.

Start GIMP in your browser​

Another example is running GIMP (image processing software) in the browser:

Take a look at https://github.com/linuxserver/docker-gimp?tab=readme-ov-file#docker-cli-click-here-for-more-info. You'll find there a command to run in your console.

First, make sure to create a subfolder called config and, in my example below, I'll also create a subfolder images where I've copied an avatar of a meerkat.

$ docker run -d \
    --name=gimp \
    --security-opt seccomp=unconfined \
    -e PUID=1000 \
    -e PGID=1000 \
    -e TZ=Etc/UTC \
    -p 3000:3000 \
    -p 3001:3001 \
    -v ./config:/config \
    -v ./images:/images \
    -w /images \
    --restart unless-stopped \
    lscr.io/linuxserver/gimp:latest
▋

Like earlier, now, just start your browser and surf to http://localhost:3000 to start GIMP — that's the screenshot above.

The MS-DOS version of the CLI is: docker run -d --name=gimp --security-opt seccomp=unconfined -e PUID=1000 -e PGID=1000 -e TZ=Etc/UTC -p 3000:3000 -p 3001:3001 -v %CD%/config:/config -v ./images:/images -w /images --restart unless-stopped lscr.io/linuxserver/gimp:latest.

Conclusion​

Two docker run commands, two GUI apps in a browser tab — no install, no cleanup. If you'd rather have these applications open as real windows on your desktop instead of inside a browser tab, Docker - Run Graphical User Interfaces - Firefox, Chrome & GIMP covers that variant.