# Changes in recent Tigervnc versions
Previous Tigervnc versions had a wrapper script called `vncserver`. This script
could be run as a user manually to start *Xvnc* process. The usage was quite 
simple as you just run:
```
$ vncserver :x [vncserver options] [Xvnc options]
```
and that was it. It worked fine for some cases, but far from all. There were issues
when users wanted to use it in combination with *systemd*. Therefore, the implementation
had to be changed to comply with *SELinux* and *systemd* rules.

# How to start Tigervnc server
## Add a user mapping
With this you can map a user to a particular port. The mapping should be done in 
`/etc/tigervnc/vncserver.users` configuration file. It should be pretty 
straightforward. Once you open the file you will see there are some examples, but basically
the mapping is in form:
```
:x=user
```
For example you can have
```
:1=test
:2=vncuser
```

## Configure Xvnc options
To configure Xvnc parameters, you need to go to the same directory where you did
the user mapping and open `vncserver-config-defaults` configuration file. This 
file is for the default Xvnc configuration and will be applied to every user 
unless any of the following applies:
* The user has its own configuration in `$HOME/.vnc/config`.
* The same option with different value is configured in 
  `vncserver-config-mandatory` configuration file, which replaces the default 
  configuration and has even a higher priority than the per-user configuration.
  This option is for system administrators when they want to force particular 
  *Xvnc* options.

Format of the configuration file is also quite simple as the configuration is
in form of:
```
option=value
option
```
for example:
```
session=gnome
securitytypes=vncauth,tlsvnc
desktop=sandbox
geometry=2000x1200
localhost
alwaysshared
```
See the following manpage for more details: Xvnc(1).

### Note:
It is recommended to set option specifying the session you want to start. E.g. when
you want to start GNOME desktop, then you have to use:
```
session=gnome
```
This should match the name of a session desktop file from `/usr/share/xsessions`
directory. If you don't specify the session, Tigervnc will try to use the first 
one it finds, which may or may not work correctly.

## Set VNC password
You need to set a password for each user in order to be able to start the 
Tigervnc server. In order to create a password, you just run:
```
$ vncpasswd
```
You need to run it as the user who will run the server. 

### Note:
If you used Tigervnc before with your user and you already created a 
password, then you have to make sure the `$HOME/.vnc` folder created by 
`vncpasswd` have the correct *SELinux* context. You either can delete this 
folder and recreate it again by creating the password one more time, or 
alternatively you can run:
```
$ restorecon -RFv /home/<USER>/.vnc
```

## Start the Tigervnc server
Finally you can start the server using systemd service. To do so just run:
```
$ systemctl start vncserver@:x
```
Run this as the root user or:
```
$ sudo systemctl start vncserver@:x
```
Run it as a regular user in case the user has permissions to run `sudo`. 
Don't forget to replace the `:x` by the actual number you configured in the
user mapping file. For example:
```
$ systemctl start vncserver@:1
```
This starts a Tigervnc server for user `test` with GNOME session.

In case you want your server to be automatically started at boot, you can 
run:
```
$ systemctl enable vncserver@:1
```

### Note:
If you previously used Tigervnc and you were used to start it by using 
*systemd*, then you might need to remove previous *systemd* configuration files
placed in `/etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service`, in order to avoid them being
prioritized by the new systemd service files from latest Tigervnc.

# Limitations
You will not be able to start a Tigervnc server for a user who is already
logged into a graphical session. Avoid running the server as the `root` user as
it's not a safe thing to do. While running the server as the `root` should work 
in general, it's not recommended to do so and there might be some things which
are not working properly.
