Xming For Mac
Overview
The X Window System (also known as X11, or just X) is a software package and network protocol that lets you interact locally, using your personal computer's display, mouse, and keyboard, with the graphical user interface (GUI) of an application running on a remote networked computer.
- Xming For Mac Os Once Xming is installed, run XLaunch and select the display setting you want to use: From the next menu choose to Start a program and click Next. Configure a remote connection to the server using 'eniac.seas.upenn.edu' as the computer you want to connect to, and your username in the 'Login as user' field.
- Installing/Configuring PuTTy and Xming. Most of us connect to the CTM server via a PC running Windows, essentially making the PC a terminal. The PC interacts with the server through the X-windows system, forwarding the display from the server to the PC.
You can use X forwarding in an SSH session on your personal computer to securely run graphical applications (X clients) installed on the Indiana University research supercomputers.
Requirements
MacLIVE is a LIVE client for Mac OS X systems; LIVE Console is a LIVE client installed with the LIVE server which allows localhost LIVE connections to be made; See also. Cygwin/X - A free alternative; Exceed - A commercial alternative; Reflection X - A commercial alternative; Xming - Donations or purchase required; References. Pretty sure on the Mac in your xterm window you would xhost name of remote host, then ssh to the remote host. Set your display environment variable to the IP of your Mac, then when you launch the app on the linux machine it should display back to your Mac's X server. Been awhile since I've done that though, so I may have missed a step or two. Xming runs natively on Windows and does not need any third-party emulation software. Xming may be used with implementations of Secure Shell (SSH) to securely forward X11 sessions from other computers. It supports PuTTY and ssh.exe, and comes with a version of PuTTY's plink.exe. The Xming project also offers a portable version of PuTTY. Currently I am using putty to connect to the mac via ssh (and have the enable X windows forwarding box checked), and I have Xming running on my laptop to display the x windows. This setup works fine for connecting to unix machines, but it doesn't work for connecting to the mac.
For X forwarding in SSH to work, your personal computer must be running an X server program. The X server program manages the interaction between the remote application (the X client) and your computer's hardware.
Most Linux distributions have the X server installed, but if your personal computer is running Windows or macOS, you will most likely need to install and run an X server application. For example:
- For Windows, download and install Xming. For X forwarding to work, you'll need to start Xming before connecting to the remote system with your SSH client (for example, PuTTY).
- For macOS, download and install XQuartz. For X forwarding to work, you'll need to start XQuartz before making an SSH connection to the remote system. Once XQuartz launches, you can use X forwarding with SSH from the Terminal or from the
xterm
application in XQuartz.
Additionally, your personal computer's SSH terminal application must have X11 forwarding enabled:
- In Linux, the SSH terminal supports X forwarding by default.
- In macOS, you may need to edit your
ssh_config
file (typically found at/etc/ssh/ssh_config
or~/.ssh/config
) if you have trouble using X forwarding. Ifssh_config
includes#X11Forwardingno
(or justX11Forwarding no
), uncomment out the line (remove the leading#
), and change it toX11Forwarding yes
. - In PuTTY for Windows, you can enable X forwarding in new or saved SSH sessions by selecting Enable X11 forwarding in the 'PuTTY Configuration' window (Connection > SSH > X11).
Xming For Mac Download
Also, the remote computer's SSH application must be configured to accept X server connections. The IU research supercomputers all have SSH configured to allow X forwarding (trusted mode only).
Use SSH with X forwarding
Linux or macOS
To use SSH with X forwarding on your Linux or macOS personal computer to run an X client application installed on an IU research supercomputer:
- Open your SSH terminal client.
- On the command line, enter (replacing
username
with your IU username):- For Big Red 3:
- For Carbonate:
- For Karst:
- Log in with your IU passphrase.
To test if X forwarding is working, try running xclock
; on the command line, enter:
If X forwarding is working, the xclock
graphical clock will appear on your personal computer's desktop.
PuTTY for Windows

To use SSH with X forwarding in PuTTY for Windows:
- Launch your X server application (for example, Xming).
- Make sure your connection settings for the remote system have Enable X11 forwarding selected; in the 'PuTTY Configuration' window, see Connection > SSH > X11.
- Open an SSH session to the desired remote system:
System Hostname Big Red 3 bigred3.uits.iu.edu
Carbonate carbonate.uits.iu.edu
Karst karst.uits.iu.edu
- Log in normally with your IU username and passphrase.
To test if X forwarding is working, try running xclock
; on the command line, enter:
If X forwarding is working, the xclock
graphical clock will appear on your personal computer's desktop.
Use X forwarding for interactive sessions
On Carbonate or Karst
On Carbonate or Karst, if your interactive session requires:
- Less than 20 minutes of processor time: Connect via SSH with X forwarding enabled, and then launch the X client from the command line.
- More than 20 minutes of processor time: Submit a request for an interactive job via the batch system.
To do so, connect via SSH with X forwarding enabled, and then:
- Use the TORQUE
qsub
command to submit an interactive job request. Add the-I
(for interactive) and-X
(for X forwarding) flags; for example (on Karst): - If the X client is not already added to your user environment, load the appropriate module; for example:
- From the command prompt, launch the X client; for example:
- Use the TORQUE
On Big Red 3
On Big Red 3, submit a request for an interactive job with X11 forwarding in the debug or general partition, and then launch your X application from a compute node:
- SSH to Big Red 3 with X forwarding enabled.
- On the command line, use the Slurm
srun
command with the--x11
flag to request an X11-enabled interactive session in the debug or general partition; for example:For more about using the Slurm
srun
command, see Use Slurm to submit and manage jobs on high performance computing systems. - Once you are placed on a compute node, you can launch graphical X applications (for example,
xterm
), as well as your own binaries, from the command line. Depending on the application and your~/.modules
file, you may need to load the module for the desired X client before launching the application.
Xming Alternative For Mac
Get help
Xming For Mac
Support for IU research supercomputers, software, and services is provided by the Research Technologies division of UITS. To ask a question or get help, contact UITS Research Technologies.
For more about using Modules to configure your user environment, see Use Modules to manage your software environment on IU's research supercomputers.