❗Looking for a new maintainer 👀

[bk138]

As I am spending most of my time on other open source and business projects and (presumably) the other LibVNC members don't have time for x11vnc either (and its original author went MIA, see #63), I declare LibVNC is looking for a new x11vnc maintainer or co-maintainer.

What's the project about?

x11vnc is a VNC server not only for X11, it's got its own Wikipedia page and was (is?) quite popular as a standalone VNC server for Unices (in contrast to Xvnc servers which are both an X11 and a VNC server).

Current status of the project

The code is reasonably stable though quite old. It also contains support for a lot of ancient and probably unsupported platforms and OS's. Wayland support is only very rudimentary. Lot's of issues reported that need attention.

Should I apply?

Definitely! You should bring some experience in C coding and in maintaining open source project(s). The existing LibVNC members can help with some initial questions for getting started, but you're expected to first do your homework and in the long term run the project mostly on your own.

How to apply

Just post an answer to this issue describing your experience and interests.

[paulmenzel]

In lieu of volunteers, is there a commercial entity, which could be funded for doing the maintenance work?

[bk138]

In lieu of volunteers, is there a commercial entity, which could be funded for doing the maintenance work?

Well, yes. I do provide freelance services, but am currently quite busy with other projects, so anything to do with x11vnc will run in parallel to those. If it's just about #136, it feels a kinda awkward to ask €€€ for this, i.e. I can just do it and you can maybe send me a beer or coffee tip.

[profetik-777]

@bk138

I really come the appreciate this tool. I wonder instead of looking for a new maintainer, maybe consider:

1. Fork it

Leave this as legacy / deprecated and

2. Create a new variant that only targets a few modern distros.

This way, the new variant could potentially be a smaller code base (or comment the hell out of anything that is not applicable) and thus, easier to maintain.

Thoughts?

[bk138]

@profetik-777 I think that the modernisation of the codebase can actually happen in-place, so from my point of view there's no hard need for a fork (the legacy stuff in here is really legacy).

[linex-cd]

I am working on adding Wayland support to this project, in order to be compatible with existing softwares that depend on x11vnc. I'm not sure whether I should commit code or fork a new repo.

[bk138]

I am working on adding Wayland support to this project, in order to be compatible with existing softwares that depend on x11vnc. I'm not sure whether I should commit code or fork a new repo.

As no new development is happening in this repo, I propose you create a PR with your additions and once it's ready, it can be merged and you can be given write access to maintain it here.

[linex-cd]

I am working on adding Wayland support to this project, in order to be compatible with existing softwares that depend on x11vnc. I'm not sure whether I should commit code or fork a new repo.

As no new development is happening in this repo, I propose you create a PR with your additions and once it's ready, it can be merged and you can be given write access to maintain it here.

I am glad this project is still useful for most machines. I have tested my code for support shmkey and drm(wayland may need this), please merge it or give me access, if you think it is okay. Thanks!

[profetik-777]

Having issues w/ opensuse Aeon (immutable os). Looks like now ubuntu is jumping into the immutability waters as well...something to consider as well. However way I can help, please let me know.

[bk138]

Having issues w/ opensuse Aeon (immutable os). Looks like now ubuntu is jumping into the immutability waters as well...something to consider as well. However way I can help, please let me know.

If you'd like, you can create a PR that cuts a new release and documents the procedure; I'm willing to review. Your best bet for this probably is to look at how it was done in the past, then re-do the steps for the new version.

[desmarty]

I want to develop a GUI for this thing

[profetik-777]

How did things go with your merge request @linex-cd ?

[joe-average-user]

How about a new release that targets simple fixes. Like this one needs it:

x11vnc: Libgcrypt warning: missing initialization - please fix the application

does not sound very complex to solve to me. Seeing it on arch linux, you get tons of these on syslog.

What else is minor effort and can be included?

[bk138]

@joe-average-user If you'd like to contribute, what about starting a PR? I'd be willing to invest some time to review and merge and, if you want to volunteer, give you write access to the repo for maintenance.

[joe-average-user]

Ok, in my effort to solve my described problem I found out that someone else had the same problem with another application and found an unexpected answer. It is not the application, it is the installation. libgcrypt has a 32 bit version which often gets installed because of a dependency (e.g. lib32-systemd). If it is installed after the 64 bit version, then x11vnc falls into the 32 bit library which spills out this message. If you reinstall the libgcrypt 64bit version over again and restart x11vnc the message is gone.
So this issue can be declared solved.

Regarding your other question about maintenance. I am a daily user of the project. I do make patches on various projects if needed. I am not the most structured programmer on the planet and have not read a significant part of the projects code so far. Nevertheless I am full of respect for karl runges work as it is very well performing for its age. I would hardly see myself as maintainer of exactly this project. But I want to point out that I would try to save it if it was dumped otherwise.