Selkies

Open-source WebRTC platform for streaming a Linux desktop to a web browser with low latency.

FreeOpen sourceLinuxWebSelf-hosted
Official websitegithub.com

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About Selkies

Selkies streams a Linux desktop to a web browser using WebRTC, with hardware acceleration to keep latency low. It is designed to be self-hosted and runs in containers, on Kubernetes, or on cloud and HPC machines.

The repository ships a Dockerfile and docker-compose file for deployment. It suits people who want browser access to a remote Linux workstation, for example a GPU machine, without installing a client on the device they connect from.

Strengths

  • Browser-only access, no client install
  • Hardware-accelerated low-latency streaming
  • Container and Kubernetes friendly

Limitations

  • Host side is Linux only
  • Setup expects familiarity with containers

Details

Pricing
FreeFree and open source for self-hosting.
License
Open source, license not stated
Developer
The Selkies Project contributors
Platforms
Linux, Web, Self-hosted
How it runs
Self-hosted
Works offline
No
Best suited for
Browser access to a remote Linux or GPU workstation you run yourself
Categories
Remote desktop
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.

Alternatives to Selkies

Compare all

Software that can replace Selkies for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • KasmVNC

    Access a Linux desktop through a web browser.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hostedWeb

    KasmVNC also gives browser access to a Linux desktop without a viewer app, but it uses a VNC-based server instead of WebRTC streaming and does not support traditional VNC viewers.

  • Apache Guacamole

    A self-hosted remote desktop gateway that gives browser access to machines over VNC, RDP and SSH.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Apache Guacamole is a self-hosted Apache-licensed gateway that reaches machines over VNC, RDP and SSH from a browser, instead of streaming a Linux desktop over WebRTC with hardware acceleration.

  • Amazon DCV

    A remote display protocol and server for streaming graphics-intensive desktops and applications to client devices.

    FreeProprietarySelf-hosted

    Amazon DCV streams graphics-heavy desktops with bandwidth-adaptive streaming and a web client SDK, but it is proprietary and oriented toward AWS and business workloads.

  • ThinLinc

    Linux remote desktop server for hosting desktops and applications centrally, with a free usage tier.

    FreemiumProprietaryLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    ThinLinc hosts Linux desktops centrally with native and web clients and a free tier for small deployments, but it is proprietary and aimed at organisations with many users.

  • Kasm Workspaces

    Container streaming platform that delivers desktops, applications and isolated browsers to a web browser.

    FreemiumProprietaryWebSelf-hosted

    Kasm Workspaces streams full desktops, single apps and isolated browsers from containers, but it is a freemium closed-source platform built mainly for organisations rather than an open-source project.

  • noVNC

    An open-source VNC client that runs in a web browser using HTML5 WebSockets and Canvas.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    noVNC is an open-source browser VNC client that needs a VNC server on the remote machine, so you lose Selkies' hardware-accelerated WebRTC streaming but gain a simple, embeddable viewer.

Selkies as an alternative

Listings that name Selkies as an alternative.

  • Neko

    Self-hosted virtual browser that runs in Docker and streams to other browsers over WebRTC.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Selkies is an open-source WebRTC platform that streams a whole Linux desktop to the browser with hardware acceleration, rather than a single shared browser session.

  • TurboVNC

    A VNC server and viewer tuned for image-heavy work, so 3D applications and video stay usable over a network.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Selkies streams a Linux or GPU workstation to a web browser over WebRTC with hardware acceleration, so clients need no viewer, but the host must be Linux.

Similar software

Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.

Report a wrong fact or a dead link on this listing