coder/desktop: KDE Plasma instead of XFCE

Add image/Dockerfile (published as
git.nic-oconnor.com/public/coder-desktop-kde:noble): enterprise-desktop
noble plus KDE Plasma and KasmVNC 1.5.0, baked in so starts skip apt.
It carries three fixes found testing in the cluster:

- kwin-x11 installed explicitly (only a Recommends; without it Plasma
  runs with no window manager),
- startkde -> startplasma-x11 symlink, since KasmVNC's -select-de kde
  checks for startkde and Plasma 5.20+ renamed it,
- KWin compositing off by default (no GPU; it only adds VNC lag).

The template now uses that image with desktop_environment = "kde" and
pulls Always, and drops the XFCE .xsessionrc seeding.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
2026-09-18 15:02:27 -04:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 5
parent 1524fa8203
commit 2919012206
4 changed files with 88 additions and 31 deletions
+1 -1
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@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ Already have a clone? Just run it directly:
Not run by `bootstrap.sh`:
- `coder/desktop/` — Coder template for coder.nic-oconnor.com: an XFCE
- `coder/desktop/` — Coder template for coder.nic-oconnor.com: a KDE Plasma
desktop (KasmVNC) pod on the homelab cluster that applies this repo via the
dotfiles module. Push with `coder templates push desktop -d coder/desktop`;
see its README.
+40 -12
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@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
# coder/desktop — Coder desktop template
A Coder template for <https://coder.nic-oconnor.com>: an XFCE desktop in the
browser (the [KasmVNC module](https://registry.coder.com/modules/coder/kasmvnc))
A Coder template for <https://coder.nic-oconnor.com>: a KDE Plasma desktop in
the browser (the [KasmVNC module](https://registry.coder.com/modules/coder/kasmvnc))
running as a pod on the homelab Kubernetes cluster, set up from this repo by the
[dotfiles module](https://registry.coder.com/modules/coder/dotfiles).
@@ -15,14 +15,42 @@ coder templates push desktop -d coder/desktop -y
The in-cluster provisioner uses the `coder` service account, whose workspace
Role is bound in the `coder` namespace — which is where workspaces go.
## The image
`image/Dockerfile` builds `git.nic-oconnor.com/public/coder-desktop-kde:noble`:
`codercom/enterprise-desktop:ubuntu-noble` plus KDE Plasma (with Dolphin,
Konsole, Kate) and KasmVNC. Both are baked in because only `/home/coder` is
persisted, so installing them at start time would cost minutes on every
start. The package is public on Gitea, so the cluster pulls it without a
secret. Rebuild after changing the Dockerfile:
```sh
docker build -t git.nic-oconnor.com/public/coder-desktop-kde:noble coder/desktop/image
docker push git.nic-oconnor.com/public/coder-desktop-kde:noble
```
The pod pulls with `Always`, so workspaces pick the new image up on their
next start.
Workarounds the Dockerfile carries:
- `kwin-x11` is installed explicitly. It is only a Recommends of
`kde-plasma-desktop`, and without it Plasma starts with no window manager.
- `/usr/local/bin/startkde -> startplasma-x11`. KasmVNC's `-select-de kde`
(what the module runs) checks for `startkde`, which Plasma 5.20+ renamed,
and otherwise fails with "Desktop Environment not installed".
- KWin compositing is off in `/etc/xdg/kwinrc`: there is no GPU, and
software compositing over VNC only adds lag. Turn it back on in System
Settings if you want it.
## What a workspace gets
- `codercom/enterprise-desktop:ubuntu-noble`: XFCE, git, python3, and the
`coder` user (uid 1000) with passwordless sudo.
- The image above, running as the `coder` user (uid 1000) with passwordless
sudo.
- A PVC (`truenas-iscsi`, default 30 GiB) at `/home/coder`. Everything the
dotfiles install into `$HOME` survives stops; system packages (zsh, docker
CLI, KasmVNC) are reinstalled on each start because the root filesystem
is not persisted.
dotfiles install into `$HOME` survives stops, and so do the Plasma settings.
System packages the dotfiles add (zsh, the docker CLI) are reinstalled on
each start.
- The KasmVNC app, path-based (`subdomain = false`) because the deployment has
no wildcard access URL.
- A "Dotfiles" startup script: clones this repo into
@@ -42,9 +70,9 @@ bootstrap still applies everything else; `secrets`, `mcp-config` and `hermes`
are reported as not completed. Fix that later from a workspace terminal with
`~/.config/coderv2/dotfiles/secrets/install.sh`, then refresh the dotfiles.
## Why these pins
## Why noble
- `ubuntu-noble`, not `ubuntu`: the `ubuntu` tag is now 26.04 (resolute), and
KasmVNC publishes no resolute package, so the module's install 404s.
- `kasm_version = "1.5.0"`: the newest KasmVNC release, which has a noble
build. Revisit both once KasmVNC ships a resolute `.deb`.
The `enterprise-desktop:ubuntu` tag is now 26.04 (resolute), and KasmVNC
publishes no resolute package. The image is pinned to noble with KasmVNC
1.5.0; revisit once KasmVNC ships a resolute `.deb`, and keep
`kasm_version` in `main.tf` in step with `KASMVNC_VERSION`.
+34
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@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
# coder/desktop/image — the workspace image: Coder's desktop base with KDE
# Plasma and KasmVNC baked in, so a start does not spend minutes in apt (the
# root filesystem is not persisted; only /home/coder is).
#
# docker build -t git.nic-oconnor.com/public/coder-desktop-kde:noble coder/desktop/image
# docker push git.nic-oconnor.com/public/coder-desktop-kde:noble
#
# noble, not resolute: KasmVNC publishes no resolute package yet.
FROM codercom/enterprise-desktop:ubuntu-noble
ARG KASMVNC_VERSION=1.5.0
USER root
# kwin-x11 is only a Recommends of kde-plasma-desktop, so --no-install-recommends
# drops it and Plasma comes up with no window manager (no title bars).
RUN apt-get update \
&& DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
kde-plasma-desktop kwin-x11 dolphin konsole kate plasma-nm breeze-gtk-theme \
dbus-x11 libdatetime-perl \
&& curl -fsSL -o /tmp/kasmvnc.deb \
"https://github.com/kasmtech/KasmVNC/releases/download/v${KASMVNC_VERSION}/kasmvncserver_noble_${KASMVNC_VERSION}_amd64.deb" \
&& DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends /tmp/kasmvnc.deb \
&& rm -f /tmp/kasmvnc.deb /home/coder/.xsessionrc \
&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
# KasmVNC's `-select-de kde` (what the Coder kasmvnc module runs) looks for a
# `startkde` binary, which Plasma 5.20+ renamed to startplasma-x11.
RUN ln -s /usr/bin/startplasma-x11 /usr/local/bin/startkde
# No GPU in the pod: software compositing over VNC only adds lag. Users can
# still turn it on in System Settings (~/.config/kwinrc overrides this).
RUN printf '[Compositing]\nEnabled=false\n' > /etc/xdg/kwinrc
USER coder
+13 -18
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@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
# coder/desktop — Coder template: an XFCE desktop in the browser (KasmVNC)
# coder/desktop — Coder template: a KDE Plasma desktop in the browser (KasmVNC)
# on the homelab Kubernetes cluster, set up from this dotfiles repo.
#
# Push it with: coder templates push desktop -d coder/desktop
@@ -174,21 +174,14 @@ resource "coder_agent" "main" {
arch = data.coder_provisioner.me.arch
os = "linux"
# The home PVC hides whatever the image put in /home/coder, so seed it on
# first start: the skel dotfiles, plus the image's .xsessionrc (XFCE session
# env that KasmVNC's X session reads).
# The home PVC hides whatever the image put in /home/coder, so seed it
# with the skel dotfiles on first start.
startup_script = <<-EOT
set -e
if [ ! -f ~/.init_done ]; then
cp -rT /etc/skel ~ || true
touch ~/.init_done
fi
if [ ! -f ~/.xsessionrc ]; then
printf '%s\n' \
'export GNOME_SHELL_SESSION_MODE=ubuntu' \
'export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=xfce' \
'export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11' > ~/.xsessionrc
fi
EOT
env = merge({
@@ -235,9 +228,10 @@ module "dotfiles" {
manual_update = true
}
# XFCE is in the image; the module installs KasmVNC and serves it on :6800.
# kasm_version: KasmVNC ships a .deb per Ubuntu codename, and the module's
# default (1.4.0) is older than we need; 1.5.0 has noble.
# KDE Plasma and KasmVNC are baked into the image (image/Dockerfile), so the
# module skips its install and just configures and starts KasmVNC on :6800.
# kasm_version: only used if the image lacks KasmVNC; keep it in step with
# KASMVNC_VERSION in the Dockerfile.
# subdomain = false: the deployment has no wildcard access URL, so the app
# is served path-based under coder.nic-oconnor.com.
module "kasmvnc" {
@@ -245,7 +239,7 @@ module "kasmvnc" {
source = "registry.coder.com/coder/kasmvnc/coder"
version = "1.3.0"
agent_id = coder_agent.main.id
desktop_environment = "xfce"
desktop_environment = "kde"
kasm_version = "1.5.0"
subdomain = false
}
@@ -299,8 +293,9 @@ resource "kubernetes_deployment_v1" "main" {
}
spec {
# Runs as the image's coder user (uid 1000), which has passwordless
# sudo. The KasmVNC module and the dotfiles modules (zsh, docker)
# need it for apt; the namespace enforces PSA baseline, which allows it.
# sudo. The KasmVNC module needs it to write /etc/kasmvnc, and the
# dotfiles modules (zsh, docker) for apt; the namespace enforces PSA
# baseline, which allows it.
security_context {
run_as_user = 1000
fs_group = 1000
@@ -309,8 +304,8 @@ resource "kubernetes_deployment_v1" "main" {
container {
name = "dev"
image = "codercom/enterprise-desktop:ubuntu-noble"
image_pull_policy = "IfNotPresent"
image = "git.nic-oconnor.com/public/coder-desktop-kde:noble"
image_pull_policy = "Always"
command = ["sh", "-c", coder_agent.main.init_script]
env {
name = "CODER_AGENT_TOKEN"