bvnc

Browse for VNC servers

$ bvnc

$ bvnc --ssh

$ bvnc --shell

$ bvnc --domain [domain]

bvnc [-h] [-V] [-p PASSWD] [-s FACTOR] [-f] [-d LEVEL] [HOST[:DISPLAY]]

-h, --help
    Display help message and exit

-V, --version
    Show version information

-p PASSWD, --password=PASSWD
    Specify VNC password (prompts if omitted)

-s FACTOR, --scale=FACTOR
    Scale display (e.g., 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 2)

-f, --fullscreen
    Start in fullscreen mode

-d LEVEL, --debug=LEVEL
    Set debug output level (0-9, default 0)

bvnc is a lightweight, barebones VNC viewer designed for Linux and Unix-like systems. It provides a simple way to connect to VNC servers for remote desktop access without the overhead of full-featured GUI clients like TightVNC or TigerVNC viewers.

Compiled from a small C codebase using libvncclient, bvnc focuses on essential functionality: connecting to a VNC server, authenticating with a password, and displaying the remote screen in a terminal-managed window. It supports basic scaling, fullscreen mode, and debug logging but lacks advanced features like encryption (use SSH tunneling for security), file transfer, or multi-monitor support.

Ideal for headless servers, embedded systems, or scripts needing remote visual access. Usage is straightforward from the command line, making it suitable for automation or low-resource environments. Source code is available on GitHub, allowing easy compilation and customization.

No built-in encryption; tunnel via SSH. Command-line only—no GUI controls. Minimal error handling; may crash on unsupported encodings. Requires libvncclient-dev for compilation.

bvnc -p mypass 192.168.1.100:1
bvnc -s 0.5 -f example.com:5901

Requires libvncclient1-dev, libssl-dev. gcc bvnc.c -lvncclient -o bvnc

Developed around 2012 by Bruno Deferrari as a simple VNC client alternative. Open-sourced on GitHub (github.com/brunodeferrari/bvnc). Maintained sporadically; still used in minimalistic setups as of 2023.

vncviewer(1), xtightvncviewer(1), tigervncviewer(1), x11vnc(1)