Xming is the leading free unlimited X Window Server for Microsoft Windows (XP/2003/Vista). It is fully featured, light and fast, simple to install and because it is standalone native Microsoft Windows, easily transported portable as a Pocket PC X server. It is totally secure when used with SSH and optionally includes an enhanced PuTTY Link SSH client and a portable PuTTY replacement package.

Xming is cross-compiled on Linux for Microsoft Windows (32-bit x86), using MinGW, mainly from the canonical X.Org source code with my patches applied. It is kept current and secure with frequent updates from X.Org, XKB, FreeType2, Pthreads-Win32 and Freedesktop Bugzilla.

When released Public Domain, Xming can be distributed and used without restriction.

Screen captures

-multiwindow mode with a custom X toolbar icon menu and several remote X clients.

One window XDMCP on one X server, and a xlogo X client started from another.

-multiwindow mode selecting Linux kernel build options remotely.

Releases

Links and release status

Xming Website Releases	Version	State	Released	MD5 signatures	Size MB
Xming	7.3.0.31	Website release	15 Nov 2008	ditto	3.37
Xming-portable-PuTTY	7.3.0.31	Website release	12 Nov 2008	ditto	1.50
Downloads of the Xming Website Releases and the development snapshots are password controlled, see Donations.

Public Domain Releases	Version	State	Released	MD5 signature	Size MB
Xming Xming-mesa	6.9.0.31	Public release	4 May 2007	4cd12b9bec0ae19b95584650bbaf534a e580debbf6110cfc4d8fcd20beb541c1	2.10 2.50
Xming-fonts	7.3.0.22	Public release	8 Aug 2008	3033d1511d176ab03c68ac8bcab761a9	31.5
Xming-portable-PuTTY	7.3.0.26	Public release	3 Oct 2008	5b8196d91df4337d8794590bb15b35c1	1.50
Xming-tools-and-clients	6.9.0.28	Superseded	23 Mar 2007	4b9b2ab58da77898dcd882035fbed11c	7.41

Installers for 32-bit Windows

Use installers with /silent or /verysilent command line parameters for an unattended installation.

                                   

Xming

This essential installer includes the XLaunch wizard. Optional extras are Mesa libraries, the PuTTY Link for Xming SSH client and Tools and clients.

If you intend to use PuTTY make sure you correctly pick the PuTTY Link SSH client ('plink.exe'), either for use with standard PuTTY or Xming-portable-PuTTY (i.e. there are two different 'plink.exe's in the installer).

You must associate XLaunch.exe with the .xlaunch file extension (an installer option, that is enabled by default) to get the X server quickstart feature (i.e. just one click runs Xming, the way you want, via a saved .xlaunch configuration file).

Xming uses Microsoft's OpenGL renderer interface. You will only need to install the Mesa libraries (i.e. a very capable software-only implementation of the OpenGL renderer) if you have an awkward X client that's failing to render. Note: the alternative Xming Mesa executable or installer (which have Mesa 6.4.1 built-in and are therefore slower, but more capable, than the standard version) will hopefully be superseded by server-side use of these up-to-date modular libraries.

Typical X clients probably need extra fonts, somewhere, to supplement Xming's built-in minimum...

Xming fonts

This additional installer provides standard core X fonts (which are usually required) and optional extended Bitstream Vera replacement fonts from DejaVue. You must install Xming-fonts in the same directory you installed Xming.

I split fonts out from the Xming installer since they have a high installed footprint and modern X applications use client side fonts instead. Xming-fonts are however needed by traditional X applications e.g. emacs. Also if you have a correctly configured X font server on your network you can use it instead of this package.

Since these standard X Window fonts tend to be ugly, you could use better TrueType fonts from your Microsoft system like this.

Xming portablePuTTY

This optional installer provides a fully portable replacement for PuTTY. You don't have to install portablePuTTY in the same directory you installed Xming.

Xming portablePuTTY works without requiring access to the Windows registry. The portable 'plink.exe' executable also incorporates the Xming specific changes from the 'PuTTY Link for Xming SSH client'.

Using Xming

	Most operating systems have an X Window Server, why not Microsoft Windows?

What can you use Xming for?

All the normal X Window Server functions and some you might not have thought of

• 'Project' your favourite X Window GUI applications onto a Microsoft Desktop.
• Use your Windows machine as just a thin client to Linux/Unix .
• Extend available X client fonts to include better ones (usually!) from Microsoft Windows.
• Use Xming with portablePuTTY as a Pocket PC X Server by copying both to a USB flash drive etc. Once made portable, no installed software or access to the Windows registry are needed.
• Use as a KVM substitute. No need for expensive hardware or a tangle of leads.
• Headless your Linux/Unix machines by removing keyboard, mouse, monitor and video card. Redirect the BIOS console and then access terminals via minicom (using a serial port) or PuTTY, and GUI's via Xming (using an ethernet).
• You can display remote X clients directly on a Windows Desktop without running a remote Display Manager and so free up the system resources used by that DM. Note however that use of XDMCP mode needs a remote DM running!
• You can use the Xming X server, just locally, together with coLinux, Cygwin, SFU (Microsoft Services for Unix) / SUA or UWIN.
• Use SSH and X-Forwarding in -multiwindow mode, instead of VNC, to reclaim precious resources (including desktop space) and facilitate cut-and-paste between windows.
• You can run Xming on multiple monitors in many ways, e.g. if you have two monitors on a Windows machine, you could put the full remote Linux/Unix session on the second monitor using

  >Xming -screen 0 @2 -query <IP of remote machine> -clipboard -nodecoration

• Configure a Linux kernel on a remote machine, 'make xconfig' i.e. using the convenient GUI method.
• Update remote machines via the distribution's GUI tools e.g. for Mandriva use mcc, rpmdriva and MandrivaUpdate.
• Install the Enlightened Sound Daemon, EsounD, to have sound with remote X applications. On the Xming machine start

  >esd.exe -tcp -public
    Note: this is not really secure. Now on the remote Linux/Unix machine
  $ export ESPEAKER=<IP of Xming PC>

  PulseAudio is an EsounD replacement, free of cygwin1.dll, that can also be used as a sound server.
• Xming can be used with external window managers, such as 'xwinwm' (via -mwextwm), 'openbox' or 'twm' (via -rootless). I run 'xwinwm' with this script and 'twm' with this script ('xwinwm' and 'openbox' are available from Cygwin/X, 'twm' is in Xming tools and clients).

Manuals

Using X servers can be difficult and complex, so if you want to use Xming 'quick and easy' start it with XLaunch. The learning curve for seamlessly combining X, Microsoft Windows, SSH and Linux/Unix can be pretty steep for novices. Documentation here just scratches the surface of many topics so be prepared to read more elsewhere and to try options out. Also this documentation is constantly being updated and may be incorrect for old versions.

Xming Manual. This doesn't contain any X server commands. You could view these with -help or run this XLaunch file. These old X.Org Manual pages (i.e. only at X11R7.0) also give more detail on server and client options. Note: not all generic options are logical for Windows or honoured by Xming.

Other manuals are available for XLaunch, Xmingrc, Xmon, advanced use of Installers/Uninstallers (made by Inno Setup) and the run utility.

To simply start Xming in -multiwindow mode, with no access control, from 'Command Prompt' or Start/Run.../Open:

"C:\Program Files\Xming\Xming.exe" -ac -multiwindow -clipboard
  Note: -ac is totally unsafe on public networks, but makes things easier for beginners on private ones.

That gives you a rootless X server, with an integrated Windows window manager, in its easiest to use form.

Things can get very tricky e.g. -screen scr_num [width height [x y] | [[WxH[+X+Y]][@m]] ] is an Xming parameter that, for example, you may need to use with multiple monitors.

For the advanced user, if you use PuTTY and have an SSH daemon on you remote Linux/Unix machine, you could safely get an 'xcalc' on display-number 2 (i.e. Xming Server:2.0)

>Xming :2 -multiwindow -clipboard
>plink -ssh -X -pw <password> <user@host> xcalc
  or
>plink -pw <password> -load <sessname> xcalc        load settings from saved session
  Notes: Pre-empt the password entry, in both cases, by using 'pageant'.
         Don't run plink without a trailing command (e.g. xcalc) when using 'user@host' or '-load sessname'
         i.e. use xterm (as the command), or use putty (not plink!), to get a remote shell on Windows.

or using a Windows SSH client

>Xming :2 -multiwindow -clipboard
>ssh -Y <user@host> xcalc
  Note: pre-empt the password entry by using 'keychain'.

XLaunch makes using Xming with PuTTY or any generic SSH client (i.e. any 'ssh.exe' for Windows) easy and has some help on using the 'pageant' or 'keychain' key managers.

The XLaunch wizard

XLaunch is a wizard for simplifying the startup of an Xming server. Its re-usable XML configuration files can also act as mini-session managers. One X client can be selected for concurrent display from a local or remote machine. When remote, the X client is accessed securely via PuTTY (e.g. via the 'PuTTY Link for Xming SSH client') or SSH (e.g. using Cygwin OpenSSH) with 'plink.exe' or 'ssh.exe' respectively.

Remote login using XDMCP is also provided as well as a host finder/chooser, via -find and XPing...

Also use XLaunch to just simply start the X server and then run several X clients later by hand, or from Xmingrc menu entries.

Example '.xlaunch' configuration files for a remote 'xterm' via PuTTY, a remote login via XDMCP and a remote 'xcalc' via SSH.
Using the wizard to get a remote 'xcalc' via PuTTY in -multiwindow mode...

You can select the windowing mode, the way sessions are started and save the configuration for later reuse. An XLaunch configuration file can be just clicked to rerun saved settings without having to go through the wizard pages. Also automatic validation of configuration files against the XLaunch XML Schema Definition is selectable when starting the wizard. Additionally, automatic display-number (i.e. server) allocation is provided for the first twenty instances.

Latest XLaunch manual...
Display settings    Session type    Start program    XDMCP settings    Additional parameters    Finish configuration

International versions of XLaunch

Xmingrc and the X icon menu

You can configure the X toolbar icon menu (i.e. the right-click menu on the Xming system tray icon), Windows icons, styles and system menus (i.e. the right-click menu on a Window's title bar) using an Xmingrc file. Additionally, on the icon menu, a 'Finder' is provided for listing, choosing and then accessing any responding XDMCP hosts on your network, as well as a log file viewer. I use this Xmingrc file to open X Window clients (singly or combined in session files), PuTTY, Cygwin or 'Command Prompt' terminals and EsounD, and to control access to the X server.

Any program (local Microsoft Windows, local or remote X client) can be run from an Xmingrc menu item.

Xmingrc is a structured text file, so to avoid errors study my example and read the Xmingrc Manual.

                      

Tools and clients

Many X.Org tools and clients have been ported to Microsoft Windows console applications using MinGW. These include appres, atobm, bitmap, bmtoa, cxpm, editres, ico, listres, mkfontscale, oclock, setxkbmap, sxpm, twm, viewres, xauth, xcalc, xclock, xdpyinfo, xev, xeyes, xfontsel, xhost, xkbcomp, xkill, xlogo, xlsatoms, xlsclients, xlsfonts, xmessage, xmodmap, Xmon ('xmond' + 'xmonui'), xprop, xset, xsetroot, xwininfo. Note that 'xkbcomp' is built without a console as it is used by Xming during server startup.

glxgears and glxinfo are supplied separately along with many other GLX and OpenGL test clients for Windows.

Examples, from 'Command Prompt'

>set DISPLAY=localhost:0
>set LANG=en_gb
>xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr -fg white -bg black -solid SteelBlue
>setxkbmap de -model pc105

Xmon example

>xmonui | xmond             Xmonui graphics front-end piped to an xmond console providing trace,
                            for display 1 clients, while a server is running display 0.
>xclock -display :1
>xcalc -display :1          Monitoring two clients started from separate 'Command Prompt' windows...

These Windows X clients are not the complete X.Org set, lack of a POSIX API in MinGW prevents some in the 'app' tree from compiling (e.g. 'xterm'), also some need client-side fonts or are just not applicable on Windows.

PuTTY Link for Xming SSH client

The Xming 'plink' SSH client is made with MinGW from patched PuTTY code. The Xming modifications substitute Windows prompts for most console ones, which are helpful when used with XLaunch or Xming (both run console free and so console messages are hidden). An original (i.e. PuTTY project supplied) 'plink' works fine with XLaunch/Xming when no extra input is required or errors encountered.

Debug XLaunch via 'plink' with this XLaunch file (i.e. a test is triggered by the tags ClientStart="PuTTY" + Program="testplink") and get 'plink' help by just clicking 'plink.exe'. Note: 'plink.exe' is built as a console application, as it runs from the command line and accepts input from 'stdin'.

The 'run' utility

The 'run' utility is a tool used to start Windows programs with a hidden console command window.
The 'run' utility binary (& 'run' utility + source code) is supplied separately from Project Xming and licensed GPLv2. Extract the executable and put in the Xming install directory. Its manual is here.
Here is an example Desktop Shortcut using 'run' and 'plink' to start a remote 'konsole', but you could also just put this JavaScript into a '.js' file to do the same thing

var wshell = new ActiveXObject('WScript.Shell');
wshell.Run('"C:\\Program Files\\Xming\\plink.exe" -load colin konsole --ls',0);

Donations

Without updating equipment my Xming development can't continue or advance, hence this hardware funding initiative...

By donating you will get an 'Xming donor password' sent by return email, enabling access to Xming Website Releases and the development snapshots for private individuals. This will be sent to the email address in the PayPal payment history, so please make sure it works! If you have contributed in other ways (e.g. code or patches), or not received your password, contact me. Also if you can't use PayPal, again contact me by email (colin dot harrison at virgin dot net) for alternatives. The suggested PayPal donation is £10 since less has a high percentage loss due to transfer charges.

Xming is free for you to enjoy, but I greatly appreciate contributions towards improving its development and hosting resources. Plus, if you found Xming useful, a little thanks gives me the motivation to make it even better.

Xming Website Builds include...

• Many Enhancements, Changes and Bugfixes not in the Public Domain Release.
• The latest stable release and development snapshots.
• Modular executables and libraries 'upstream' from X11R7.4 plus latest keyboard and locale databases.
• Extra Windows X clients including GLX demonstrators and Xmon.
• Optional Mesa OpenGL libraries.
• The XPing XDMCP host chooser integrated into XLaunch also with quick and simple activation from Xming.
• Regular updates from the ever improving X.Org, Mesa and FreeType2 codebase (to mention a few).

Support

I get so much email that I literally do not have time to answer it all. I regret this, but there's nothing I can do about it. So if you can possibly avoid sending mail to me, I recommend you do so. In particular, support requests are probably better sent to newsgroups, or passed to a local expert if possible. Problem reports will always be ignored by me if not accompanied by a complete Xming log file (with a full Dr. Watson 'Drwtsn32.log' if a crash report) and/or are imprecise as to what you are doing.

Terms and Conditions

Here are the terms and conditions including component licenses and all other non-technical clarifications.

Table of Contents

1. Screen captures
2. Releases
   1. Links and release status
3. Installers for 32-bit Windows
   1. Xming
   2. Xming fonts
   3. Xming portablePuTTY
4. Using Xming
   1. What can you use Xming for?
   2. Manuals
   3. The XLaunch wizard
      1. International versions of XLaunch
   4. Xmingrc and the X icon menu
   5. Tools and clients
   6. PuTTY Link for Xming SSH client
   7. The 'run' utility
5. Donations
6. Support
7. Terms and Conditions

The Xming website, documentation and images are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Colin Harrison Some rights reserved