⚡ Linux Desktop Manager (linux-desktop-manager)

All-In-One Linux Desktop Environment & Remote Access Orchestrator
Interactive Arrow-Key TUI Menu, Full CLI Automation, 14 Desktops, 6 Remote Protocols, and Built-In TunnelMate Cloudflare Ingress.

Author: Shashan Lumbhani
License: MIT
Supported Distros: Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL, Fedora, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Arch Linux, CachyOS, openSUSE, Alpine Linux
Environments: Bare-Metal & Cloud VMs (Systemd) + Docker/LXC/Colab Containers (Non-Systemd)
Ingress Engine: Powered by TunnelMate (tunnelmate-cli)

🚀 Features

• 🎯 Interactive Arrow-Key TUI Menu: Built with questionary and rich for seamless keyboard navigation over SSH.
• 🖥️ 14 Desktop Environments & Window Managers:
  • Full Desktops: XFCE4 (Recommended), KDE Plasma, GNOME Shell, MATE, Cinnamon, LXQt, LXDE, Budgie, Deepin (DDE), Enlightenment.
  • Lightweight & Tiling WMs: i3wm, Openbox, IceWM, Fluxbox.
• 🌐 6 Remote Access Protocols & Web Consoles:
  • XRDP Server (Port 3389): Microsoft Remote Desktop (mstsc.exe, Remmina, macOS RDP).
  • OpenSSH Server + X11 Forwarding (Port 22): Secure terminal with remote GUI application forwarding.
  • TigerVNC Server (Port 5901): Display :1 RFB protocol for standard VNC viewers.
  • noVNC HTML5 Web Desktop (Port 6080): Zero-install browser desktop over WebSocket.
  • X2Go Server (Port 22): Low-bandwidth high-speed remote session over SSH.
  • Cockpit Web Console (Port 9090): Modern web administration console.
• ⚡ Built-In Public Cloud Ingress (Powered by TunnelMate):
  • TunnelMate Cloudflare TCP Tunnel (Windows RDP Port 3389): Exposes Microsoft Remote Desktop over Cloudflare TCP protocol. Connect with cloudflared access rdp --hostname <host> --url localhost:3389 and mstsc.exe.
  • TunnelMate Cloudflare HTTP Tunnel (Browser noVNC Port 6080): Instantly generates public HTTPS links (https://*.trycloudflare.com/vnc.html) for noVNC browser desktop.
• 🛡️ Integrated Security & Firewall: 1-click port inspection and opening for UFW & Firewalld.
• 👤 Multi-User & Session Manager: Automatic setup of ~/.xsession, ~/.xsessionrc, Polkit colord popup suppression, and DBus daemon handling.
• 🧹 Complete Clean Wipe: Option to safely purge remote desktop services and restore server to clean state.

📦 Installation & Setup

Option 1: Install from PyPI

pip install linux-desktop-manager

Option 2: Install from Source

git clone https://github.com/shashansoni/linux-desktop-manager.git
cd linux-desktop-manager
pip install -e .

🎮 Usage

1. Interactive Arrow-Key TUI Menu (Default)

Launch the full interactive terminal menu with:

sudo linux-desktop-manager
# or short alias:
sudo ldm

Use your Up/Down arrow keys, Space to toggle checklist items, and Enter to select.

2. Command-Line (CLI) Automation

You can also use linux-desktop-manager in headless scripts, cloud deployment pipelines, and Docker containers:

# View real-time status of services, active DE, and listening ports:
sudo linux-desktop-manager --status

# Install a desktop environment:
sudo linux-desktop-manager --install-de xfce4

# Switch default active session for user:
sudo linux-desktop-manager --set-de xfce4 --user myuser

# Manage individual services:
sudo linux-desktop-manager --start xrdp
sudo linux-desktop-manager --stop xrdp
sudo linux-desktop-manager --restart tigervnc
sudo linux-desktop-manager --install-service novnc

# Control public cloud tunnels:
sudo linux-desktop-manager --tunnel rdp      # Start TunnelMate Cloudflare TCP tunnel for Windows RDP (Port 3389)
sudo linux-desktop-manager --tunnel cf       # Start TunnelMate Cloudflare HTTPS browser tunnel (Port 6080)
sudo linux-desktop-manager --tunnel stop     # Stop all public tunnels

# Open all remote desktop ports in firewall:
sudo linux-desktop-manager --allow-ports

# Clean wipe all remote desktop components:
sudo linux-desktop-manager --purge-all

🐍 Python Library API

You can import linux_desktop_manager directly in your Python projects and orchestration scripts:

from linux_desktop_manager import (
    ServerEnv,
    DesktopEnvManager,
    RemoteServiceManager,
    TunnelManager,
    FirewallManager,
    UserManager
)

# 1. Inspect Server Environment
env = ServerEnv()
print("OS:", env.os_info["pretty_name"])
print("Package Manager:", env.pkg_mgr)
print("Runtime Mode:", env.env_type)
print("Listening Ports:", env.get_listening_ports())

# 2. Manage Desktop Environments
de_mgr = DesktopEnvManager(env)
de_mgr.install_desktop("xfce4", target_user="ubuntu", set_as_default=True)

# 3. Manage Remote Services
svc_mgr = RemoteServiceManager(env)
svc_mgr.install_service("xrdp", target_user="ubuntu")
svc_mgr.start_service("xrdp")

# 4. Manage Cloudflare Tunnels (Powered by TunnelMate)
tunnel_mgr = TunnelManager()

# Browser noVNC HTTP Ingress
url = tunnel_mgr.start_cloudflare_tunnel(port=6080)
print(f"Web Browser Desktop URL: {url}/vnc.html")

# Windows RDP TCP Ingress
rdp_url = tunnel_mgr.start_rdp_tcp_tunnel(port=3389)
print(f"Windows RDP Cloudflare TCP Address: {rdp_url}")

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Created by Shashan Lumbhani.