Can you run GUI applications in a Docker container

Question

How can you run GUI applications in a Docker container?

Are there any images that set up vncserver or something so that you can - for example - add an extra speedbump sandbox around say Firefox?

Answer 1

You can allow the Docker user (here: root) to access the X11 display:

XSOCK=/tmp/.X11-unix
xhost +SI:localuser:root 
docker run -t -i --rm -v $XSOCK:$XSOCK:ro -e DISPLAY=unix$(DISPLAY) image 
xhost -SI:localuser:root

Answer 2

OSX (10.13.6, high sierra)

Similar to @Nick's answer, but his solution did not work for me.

First install socat by doing brew install socat, and install XQuartz (https://www.xquartz.org/)

Then followed these steps here (http://fabiorehm.com/blog/2014/09/11/running-gui-apps-with-docker/) in the comments section:

1. in one mac terminal i started:

socat TCP-LISTEN:6000,reuseaddr,fork UNIX-CLIENT:\"$DISPLAY\"

2. and in another mac terminal I ran:

docker run -ti --rm \
-e DISPLAY=$(ipconfig getifaddr en0):0 \
-v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
firefox

I was also able to launch CLion from my debian docker container too.