Raspberry Pi VNC: How to Install and Configure VNC

John John (304)
15 minutes

Virtual Network Computing (VNC) allows you to control the desktop of another computer remotely. This is especially useful for working with a Raspberry Pi if you don't want to have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse for each Raspberry Pi you run. This guide will show you how to install and set up a VNC server on Raspberry Pi OS and configure a VNC client on your computer.

Raspberry PiRaspberry Pi ×1

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We're going to start by installing tightvncserver. Open a shell on your Raspberry Pi and type:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tightvncserver

After this completes, go ahead and start the server.

vncserver :1

This will prompt you for a password, so enter one you'll remember.

Now we just need to grab the IP address of the Raspberry Pi and save it for later. To get the IP address type:

ifconfig

Since I'm using a USB WiFi adapter, I'm looking at the inet addr on the wlan0 interface (192.168.1.243 for me).

Pi VNC login screen

You can install the VNC client of your choice. I'm going to use Chicken for Mac (formerly Chicken of the VNC) since that is what I'm familiar with and because it works well. If you're using Windows, a quick Google search can find you another good VNC client.

Once this is installed, open a new connection using using the IP Address of your Pi as the Host address, enter your password, and use 1 for the display. Then connect.

Note: In some clients, you’ll need to specify the port for the display in the host. For example, display 1 would be port 5901:

192.168.1.243:5901
Now you're connected!

You're connected! You should now see your Pi's screen in the VNC client.

Play your favorite games on the TV!
Ash Ash (362)
15 minutes

You want to play games on the TV? What are you, some kind of console player? Hey—I won't judge. Getting started is easy!