X2Go – Remote Linux Desktops That Actually Work Over Slow Links
What It’s About
Remote desktop on Linux is usually… a pain. X11 forwarding is sluggish, VNC is blurry and laggy, and RDP doesn’t really speak Linux natively. X2Go fixes most of that.
It gives you a proper Linux desktop — KDE, XFCE, MATE — over an SSH tunnel, using the NX protocol under the hood. It’s compressed, encrypted, and more responsive than anything else in its category. You open a session, work normally, close the laptop — and pick it up later without losing anything.
No web interface, no browser tricks — just a solid, local-feeling desktop over a remote connection.
What Makes It Work
| Feature/Part | What It Actually Does |
| Protocol | NX, based on compressed X11 over SSH |
| Target OS | Linux desktops (KDE, XFCE, MATE, partial GNOME support) |
| Clients | Available for Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Session model | Each user gets their own persistent session |
| Resume support | Yes — disconnect, reconnect later, no reboot needed |
| Audio and printing | Forwarded to local device if configured |
| File transfer | Native, via the same SSH tunnel |
| Security layer | All traffic goes through SSH — no extra ports |
| License | GPLv2 |
| Website | https://wiki.x2go.org |
How It Feels in Use
Once it’s installed (server on the Linux box, client on the user’s side), starting a session is easy: choose the desktop environment, hit connect, and you’re in.
You can drag files in and out, hear audio, copy-paste text between remote and local, and suspend the session anytime. The whole experience feels way smoother than VNC or remote X11 — even over slower DSL or 4G links.
No web browser required, no Java applets, nothing awkward. Just an app that does what it promises.
Great for Use Cases Like These
– Students or researchers needing remote access to campus Linux machines
– Remote workers doing actual GUI-based work (LibreOffice, GIMP, RStudio, etc.)
– Admins needing a real desktop for system setup or monitoring
– Developers compiling or debugging on remote Linux boxes
– Anyone fed up with laggy VNC sessions
