Xojo on Docker

Docker images to run Xojo IDE and desktop apps. Images are hosted on Docker Hub.

Usage

Via X11 Forwarding

First connect to a Linux host running Docker with SSH X11 forwarding enabled.

ssh -Y host

Then start the container to run Xojo IDE.

docker run \
    --rm \
    --net host \
    --env DISPLAY \
    --volume ~/.Xauthority:/root/.Xauthority \
    kmaehashi/xojo-docker:xojo2022r11-ubuntu20.04

Notes:

• --net host: The container shares the same network namespace as the Docker host. This is mandatory to connect to a TCP port for X11 forwarding from the container, as the port only binds to localhost of the Docker host.
• --env DISPLAY: X11 applications (i.e., Xojo IDE) use this information to know the TCP port for X11 forwarding.
• --volume ~/.Xauthority:/root/.Xauthority: X11 applications inside the container use this file as the authorization cookie to the forwarded X11 server.

Remote Debugger can also be run inside the container.

docker run \
    --rm \
    --net host \
    --env DISPLAY \
    --volume ~/.Xauthority:/root/.Xauthority \
    kmaehashi/xojo-docker:xojo2022r11-ubuntu20.04 \
    "/opt/xojo/xojo/Extras/Remote Debugger Desktop/Remote Debugger Desktop 64-Bit/Remote Debugger Desktop"

To run your application instead of the IDE, specify the application path as an argument. You can use desktop-runtime image, which provides smaller footprint than xojo-{VERSION} images.

docker run \
    --rm \
    --net host \
    --env DISPLAY \
    --volume ~/.Xauthority:/root/.Xauthority \
    --volume /local/path/to/app_dir:/container/path/to/app_dir \
    kmaehashi/xojo-desktop-runtime:ubuntu20.04 \
    /container/path/to/app_dir/app

Hints:

• Make sure that xauth command is available on the Docker host when using SSH X11 forwarding.
• SELinux may prevent accessing .Xauthority from inside Docker containers.
• Containers launched using the docker command line above are volatile as --rm option is specified. Consider specifying additional volumes to keep your Xojo configuration and projects outside of the container. The IDE stores preferences (including licenses) under /root.
• /opt/xojo/xojo is a symbolic link to the current Xojo root directory (e.g., /opt/xojo/xojo/xojo2019r2).
• To install additional plugins you will need a custom Dockerfile based on xojo-VERSION image. Place plugin files (*.xojo_plugin) under /opt/xojo/xojo/Plugins/.

Headless Mode

You can run your desktop application in headless (no-display) mode for e.g. testing purposes or contiguous integration systems. Before starting your application you need to source the headless script, which internally configures a virtual X11 server (Xvfb).

docker run \
    --rm \
    --volume /local/path/to/app_dir:/container/path/to/app_dir \
    kmaehashi/xojo-desktop-runtime:ubuntu20.04 \
    bash -c 'source /headless; /container/path/to/app_dir/app'

Hints:

• Use System.DebugLog method in Desktop apps to print to the standard output.
• You can access the command line arguments via /proc/self/cmdline, e.g.:

Public Function Arguments() as String()
  Var ret() As String

  #if TargetLinux And TargetDesktop
    Var s As TextInputStream = TextInputStream.Open(New FolderItem("/proc/self/cmdline"))
    Try
      Var chunks() As String
      While True
        Var buf As String = s.Read(12)
        If buf.Length = 0 Then Exit
        chunks.Append(buf)
      Wend
      ret = String.FromArray(chunks, "").Split(Chr(0))
    Finally
      s.Close()
    End Try
  #endif

  Return ret
End Function

Debug-Running Projects

Debug-run your application inside the Docker container, using the project source code and Xojo IDE.

cat _EOF_ | nc -U /tmp/XojoIDE
OpenFile("/path/to/project")
DoCommand("RunApp")
_EOF_