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Mattscreative edited this page Nov 19, 2025 · 2 revisions

📺 Linux Screen Sharing Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to screen sharing on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including Wayland screen sharing, X11 screen sharing, and application screen sharing.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. Understanding Screen Sharing
  2. Wayland Screen Sharing
  3. X11 Screen Sharing
  4. Application Screen Sharing
  5. Troubleshooting

🎯 Understanding Screen Sharing

What is Screen Sharing?

Screen sharing allows sharing your screen with others.

What it does:

  • Share screen: Show your screen to others
  • Remote presentations: Present remotely
  • Support: Help others remotely
  • Collaboration: Collaborate with others

Why use screen sharing:

  • Presentations: Present to remote audience
  • Support: Help others troubleshoot
  • Collaboration: Work together
  • Meetings: Share screen in meetings

🖥️ Wayland Screen Sharing

Install Portals

Install desktop portals:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gnome

# For KDE
sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-kde

# For XFCE
sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-gtk

Using Screen Sharing

Most applications automatically use portals for screen sharing.

Applications that support:

  • Zoom: Video conferencing
  • Discord: Voice/video chat
  • Teams: Microsoft Teams
  • Browser: Web-based screen sharing

How it works:

  1. Application requests screen share
  2. Portal shows permission dialog
  3. Select screen/window to share
  4. Screen sharing starts

🖼️ X11 Screen Sharing

Install Tools

Install sharing tools:

# Install VNC
sudo pacman -S tigervnc

# Or use x11vnc
sudo pacman -S x11vnc

X11VNC

Setup x11vnc:

# Start x11vnc
x11vnc -display :0 -auth guess

# With password
x11vnc -display :0 -auth guess -passwd password

# As service
sudo systemctl enable x11vnc
sudo systemctl start x11vnc

📱 Application Sharing

OBS Studio

Install OBS:

# Install OBS
sudo pacman -S obs-studio

# Stream or record
obs

Browser Screen Sharing

Chrome/Chromium:

  • Built-in screen sharing
  • Works with portals on Wayland
  • Works with X11

Firefox:

  • Built-in screen sharing
  • Works with portals on Wayland
  • Works with X11

🔧 Troubleshooting

Screen Sharing Not Working

Check portals:

# Check portal service
systemctl --user status xdg-desktop-portal

# Restart portal
systemctl --user restart xdg-desktop-portal

Permission Issues

Check permissions:

# Check portal permissions
# Usually handled by desktop environment

📝 Summary

This guide covered screen sharing for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including Wayland, X11, and application screen sharing.

🔗 Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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