This article describes the installation and configuration of TeamViewer (Classic) on headless Linux systems (e.g. servers). Such instances include:
- No screen attached to device
- X server not running on the device
- Via SSH
- For unattended access
Basic installation is the same as described in Install TeamViewer (Classic) on Linux
This article applies to all TeamViewer (Classic) users.
Xorg without a screen
📌Note: By default, Xorg will not start if no screen is detected. You can prevent this by creating a Xorg configuration with a dummy screen definition.
Framebuffer console without Xorg
TeamViewer (Classic) can be used to access machines without a graphical desktop environment (Xorg, Wayland). TeamViewer (Classic) lets you connect to the foreground console (as indicated by fgconsole). In other words, the VT (virtual terminal) which is currently visible on the screen – or would be visible if a screen was attached.
📌Note: The console must be a framebuffer console. If the file /dev/fb0 does not exist, you might have to adapt your kernel configuration or kernel boot parameters.
Connections to the console are exclusive. If an X server is running, incoming connections will go to the active X session.
📌Note: If no X server is installed or used, dependencies to Qt can technically be ignored. Instead of forcing the package manager to ignore them, you may use the TAR package.
Unattended access: command line configuration
When installing on the console or via ssh, the UI is not available in order to see the TeamViewer ID, set a password, or assign the device to a TeamViewer account. However, the same functionality is also available on the command line:
teamviewer help # list all available commands teamviewer info # show TeamViewer ID teamviewer passwd # set password teamviewer setup # assign device to account
If you assign a device to your account,a password is not required to be set. Instead, follow the setup assistant instructions to complete the installation. The device will then appear in Computers & Contacts.
An example installation and setup would look like this:
$ apt install ./teamviewer*.deb $ teamviewer setup Please enter your e-mail: [email protected] Please enter your password: ****** You have successfully added this computer to your Computers & Contacts.