Xming is the leading X Window Server for Microsoft Windows® (XP/2003/Vista). It is fully featured, lean, fast, current, simple to install and because it is standalone native Microsoft Windows, easily transported portable as a Pocket PC X server.

Xming is totally secure when used with SSH and optionally includes an enhanced PuTTY Link SSH client and a portable PuTTY replacement package. Xming can work completely independent of the Window's registry when used with Xming-portablePuTTY.

Interactive 3D graphics capability is provided compatible with OpenGL/GLX.

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, Mesa, PuTTY and Freedesktop Bugzilla.

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

Screenshots

-multiwindow mode with an Xming menu and a few clients, including a remote ParaView.

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

Using -multiwindow mode to select Linux kernel build options remotely.

Releases

Links and release status

Website Releases	Version	State/Notes	Released	MD5 signatures	Size MB
Xming (+Mesa)	7.5.0.5	Website Release	24 May 2009	MD5 signatures	3.38
Xming	7.4.0.5	Website Release	24 May 2009	MD5 signatures	3.44
Xming-portablePuTTY	7.4.0.6	Website Release	27 Apr 2009	MD5 signatures	1.39
Parallel development occurs in both 7.5 and 7.4 series. See Donations for how to obtain a Donor Password.

Public Domain Releases	Version	State/Notes	Released	MD5 signature	Size MB
Xming-fonts	7.4.0.3	Public Domain	10 Mar 2009	54e15f944a986456f3293ebe84d89a85	30.3
Xming Xming-mesa	6.9.0.31	Public Domain	4 May 2007	4cd12b9bec0ae19b95584650bbaf534a e580debbf6110cfc4d8fcd20beb541c1	2.10 2.50

Installers for 32-bit Windows

These installers make it child's play to quickly install Xming components, interactively, with a few mouse clicks. They will also install/uninstall, silently, using command line parameters.

                                   

Xming

This essential installer includes the XLaunch wizard. Optional extras include 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), either for use with standard PuTTY or Xming-portablePuTTY i.e. there are two different plink'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 as standard (i.e. unless a Mesa version). You need the Mesa version when you have an awkward X client that's failing to display. Xming Mesa versions usually render most clients that use OpenGL.

The Xming executable has an absolute minimum of fonts; the so-called built-ins. X clients usually need extra fonts to supplement these...

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 separated these fonts from the Xming installer, above, since they have a high installed footprint, don't change very often 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 as it is completely autonomous.

Xming-portablePuTTY works without requiring access to the Windows registry. The portable plink executable also incorporates the 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 server-side X fonts to include any TrueType fonts on your Windows machine. These high quality fonts can be accessed, in situ, and added to the server font list.
• 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 a Linux/Unix machine by removing its 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.
• If you want focus-follows-mouse use Microsoft's PowerToy TweakUI to enable X-Mouse for -multiwindow mode. On Vista this is equivalent: "Ease of Access Center" > "Make the mouse easier to use" > check "Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse".
• 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
    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. Note: only an old version of PulseAudio is available as a Windows binary and EsounD is no longer developed.
• Xming can be used with external Windows window managers, such as xwinwm (via -mwextwm), openbox or twm (via -rootless). I test xwinwm with this script and twm with this script (xwinwm and openbox are available in Cygwin/X, twm is in Xming tools and clients). However using an alternative window manager on the Windows desktop is really only an amusing party trick, just use -multiwindow mode, run virtual machines or install Linux instead .

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 online X.Org Manual pages also give more detail on server and client options, however they may be out-of-date. Note that not all generic options are logical for Windows or honoured by Xming.

Other manuals are available for XLaunch, Xmingrc, portablePuTTY, Xmon, the Run Utility and command line use of Xming's install and uninstall programs.

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 but simplifies server startup

This gives you a rootless X server on display-number 0 (the default), with an integrated Windows window manager, in its easiest to use form. This is as simple as it gets, but is totally unsafe (see Access control), so start the X server without -ac and only use X-Forwarding to display remote clients. Note: you cannot run two X servers with the same display-number; use the :display-number option if you want multiple instances.

If you have installed portablePuTTY or PuTTY, have a configured SSH server on your remote Linux/Unix machine, and have then tested and saved some PuTTY sessions, you could display an xterm like this

>Xming :0 -multiwindow -clipboard                   start Xming Server:0.0, then run
>plink -ssh -X -pw <password> <user@host> xterm     either, plink using <user@host>
>plink -pw <password> -load <sessname> xterm        or, plink using a PuTTY saved session <sessname>
  Note: -pw <password> is not recommended for security; pre-empt -pw with PuTTY's pageant key manager
>plink -ssh -X <user@host> xterm                    plink is safer used with an authentication agent
>plink -load <sessname> xterm

or use a Windows SSH client, like Cygwin's OpenSSH, to do the same

>Xming :0 -multiwindow -clipboard                   start Xming Server:0.0, then run
>C:\cygwin\bin\ssh -Y <user@host> xterm             ssh using <user@host> (no saved sessions possible)
  Note: pre-empt getting a password/passphrase entry prompt by using keychain and a Cygwin shell

XLaunch makes using Xming with PuTTY's plink and generic Windows ssh clients easy...

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 and chooser via the -find command and XPing button...

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.

XLaunch Help pages...
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 Host 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, try the installed example_Xmingrc file, 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. Since MinGW does not provide a POSIX API some clients just can't compile (e.g. xterm), also a few need client-side fonts or are useless on Windows. Their absence is not really significant, and most users don't need to install 'Tools and clients' anyway. Using PuTTY with Xming is however highly recommended as it provides SSH for Windows, xterm emulation and plink is especially useful...

PuTTY Link for Xming SSH client

PuTTY Link (plink) is a command line connection tool similar to Unix ssh.

The Xming plink SSH client is made with MinGW from patched PuTTY code. The modifications substitute Windows prompts for many 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 just fine with XLaunch/Xming when no interactive input is required or errors encountered.

Get help on using Xming PuTTY Link by clicking the plink.exe file. Also debug using plink via XLaunch with this XLaunch file i.e. a test is triggered by the tags ClientStart="PuTTY" + Program="testplink" + PW="test" that outputs...

Note: plink is built as a console application, as it runs from the command line and accepts input from stdin. Several of its options output to stdout and so are only useful at a Command Prompt console.

The Run Utility

The Run Utility is an autonomous tool used to start Windows programs with a hidden console command window. This is the Manual for run. Its binary and source code are supplied separately from Project Xming; and licensed GPLv2.
Here is an example Desktop Shortcut using run and plink to display a remote konsole; but you could alternatively just use this code in a .js script file...

//Konsole.js - alternative to the Run Utility example provided above.
//JavaScript to display a remote konsole without a local Command Prompt...
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 a Donor Password sent by return email, enabling access to Xming Website Releases and 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. Note: You don't need a PayPal account to use PayPal from the button above, but the link does need cookies enabled.

I greatly appreciate contributions towards improving Xming's 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 Website Releases and regularly updated Development Snapshots.
• Modular executables and libraries upstream from X11R7.5 plus latest keyboard and locale databases.
• Extra Windows X clients including GLX demonstrators and Xmon.
• OpenGL enabled rendering via latest Mesa GL with Xming 7.5 series.
• The XPing XDMCP host chooser integrated into XLaunch also with quick and simple activation from Xming.
• The latest development snapshot PuTTY code, used as the baseline for both Xming's plink and portablePuTTY.

Other projects also benefit from Xming developments. These are freely available for their use when correctly cited in accordance with conditions.

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 are imprecise as to what you are doing. If a plink problem I need the plink command line used or a copy of your config.xlaunch file. That said; I do appreciate well formulated reports and suggestions.

Many difficulties, outside the scope of the Manuals, can be resolved by consulting the Trouble with Xming? documentation.

Terms and Conditions

Here are the Terms and Conditions including component licenses and clarifications. These may change or be updated from time to time. It remains your responsibility to check them whenever you access the website.

Table of Contents

1. Screenshots
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.
Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright © 2005-2009 Colin Harrison Some rights reserved