VNC Access

import { TabItem, Tabs } from '@astrojs/starlight/components'

VNC (Virtual Network Computing) access provides a graphical desktop environment for your Daytona Sandbox directly in the browser. This allows you to interact with GUI applications, desktop tools, and visual interfaces running inside your sandbox.

VNC and Computer Use work together to enable both manual and automated desktop interactions. VNC provides the visual interface for users to manually interact with the desktop, while Computer Use provides the programmatic API for AI agents to automate mouse, keyboard, and screenshot operations. Through VNC, you can observe AI agents performing automated tasks via Computer Use in real-time.

• GUI application development: build and test desktop applications with visual interfaces
• Browser testing: run and debug web applications in a full browser environment
• Visual debugging: inspect graphical output and UI behavior in real-time
• Desktop tool access: use graphical IDEs, design tools, or other desktop software
• Agent observation: watch AI agents perform automated tasks through Computer Use

:::note[Sandbox image requirement] VNC and Computer Use require a sandbox with the default image. Sandboxes created with custom images do not include VNC support unless you install the required packages. :::

Access VNC from Dashboard

Access the VNC desktop environment directly from the Daytona Dashboard ↗.

1. Navigate to Daytona Sandboxes ↗
2. Locate the sandbox you want to access via VNC
3. Click the options menu (⋮) next to the sandbox
4. Select VNC from the dropdown menu

This opens a VNC viewer in your browser with a Connect button.

5. Click Connect to establish the VNC session

Once connected, a full desktop environment loads in your browser, providing mouse and keyboard control over the sandbox's graphical interface.

:::note VNC sessions remain active as long as the sandbox is running. If the sandbox auto-stops due to inactivity, you need to start the sandbox again before reconnecting via VNC. :::

Programmatic VNC management

Daytona provides methods to start, stop, and monitor VNC sessions and processes programmatically using the Computer Use references as part of automated workflows.

Start VNC

Start all VNC processes (Xvfb, xfce4, x11vnc, novnc) in the sandbox to enable desktop access.

result = sandbox.computer_use.start()
print("VNC processes started:", result.message)

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.start();
console.log('VNC processes started:', result.message);

result = sandbox.computer_use.start
puts "VNC processes started: #{result.message}"

err := sandbox.ComputerUse.Start(ctx)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
defer sandbox.ComputerUse.Stop(ctx)

fmt.Println("VNC processes started")

var result = sandbox.computerUse.start();
System.out.println("VNC processes started: " + result.getMessage());

curl 'https://proxy.app.daytona.io/toolbox/{sandboxId}/computeruse/start' \
  --request POST

Stop VNC

Stop all VNC processes in the sandbox.

result = sandbox.computer_use.stop()
print("VNC processes stopped:", result.message)

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.stop();
console.log('VNC processes stopped:', result.message);

result = sandbox.computer_use.stop
puts "VNC processes stopped: #{result.message}"

err := sandbox.ComputerUse.Stop(ctx)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}

fmt.Println("VNC processes stopped")

var result = sandbox.computerUse.stop();
System.out.println("VNC processes stopped: " + result.getMessage());

curl 'https://proxy.app.daytona.io/toolbox/{sandboxId}/computeruse/stop' \
  --request POST

Get VNC status

Check the status of VNC processes to verify they are running.

response = sandbox.computer_use.get_status()
print("VNC status:", response.status)

const status = await sandbox.computerUse.getStatus();
console.log('VNC status:', status.status);

response = sandbox.computer_use.status
puts "VNC status: #{response.status}"

status, err := sandbox.ComputerUse.GetStatus(ctx)
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}

fmt.Printf("VNC status: %v\n", status["status"])

var response = sandbox.computerUse.getStatus();
System.out.println("VNC status: " + response.getStatus());

curl 'https://proxy.app.daytona.io/toolbox/{sandboxId}/computeruse/status'

For additional process management operations including restarting individual processes and viewing logs, see the Computer Use reference.

Automating desktop interactions

Once VNC is running, you can automate desktop interactions using Computer Use. This enables AI agents to programmatically control the mouse, keyboard, and capture screenshots within the VNC session.

Available operations:

• Mouse: click, move, drag, scroll, and get cursor position
• Keyboard: type text, press keys, and execute hotkey combinations
• Screenshot: capture full screen, regions, or compressed images
• Display: get display information and list open windows

For complete documentation on automating desktop interactions, see Computer Use.

Example: Automated browser interaction

# Start VNC processes
sandbox.computer_use.start()

# Click to open browser
sandbox.computer_use.mouse.click(50, 50)

# Type a URL
sandbox.computer_use.keyboard.type("https://www.daytona.io/docs/")
sandbox.computer_use.keyboard.press("enter")

# Take a screenshot
screenshot = sandbox.computer_use.screenshot.take_full_screen()

// Start VNC processes
await sandbox.computerUse.start();

// Click to open browser
await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.click(50, 50);

// Type a URL
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.type('https://www.daytona.io/docs/');
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('enter');

// Take a screenshot
const screenshot = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeFullScreen();

// Start VNC processes
sandbox.computerUse.start();

// Click to open browser
sandbox.computerUse.click(50, 50);

// Type a URL
sandbox.computerUse.typeText("https://www.daytona.io/docs/");
sandbox.computerUse.pressKey("enter");

// Take a screenshot
var screenshot = sandbox.computerUse.takeScreenshot();

Required packages

The default sandbox image includes all packages required for VNC and Computer Use. If you are using a custom image, you need to install the following packages.

VNC and desktop environment

X11 libraries