Launch Configuration¶
Environment Variables¶
Environment variables are used to configure the Helios container. The following environment variables are available:
| Name | Value | Required |
|---|---|---|
| USER | Name of the user | X |
| UID | POSIX compliant uid for the user | X |
| GID | POSIX compliant gid for the user | |
| PASSWORD | Password set for the user | |
| IDLE_TIME | Trigger the idle hook after x time | |
| DESKTOP_FILES | Paths seperated by ":". For example, /some/path/1/*.desktop:/some/*/2/*.desktop |
|
| PREFIX | Prefix for URL for use behind a reverse proxy |
Desktop File Scraping
Desktop file scraping isn't supported in Alpine Linux.
Info
The GID will match the UID if not specified.
UID and GID
The UID and GID are NOT the user that is launching and running the container.
Because of s6, the container always starts and runs as root. It then uses s6 to run the desktop using the specified
user using those environment variables. This is done to ensure that the desktop has the correct permissions and
ownership on things like the home directory and other files. This helps with things like Network Shares as well.
Authentication
Helios DOES NOT provide any authentication for connecting to the workstation. This means that anyone who can connect to the http endpoint can access the desktop as that user. For proper security, we recommend using a reverse proxy with authentication in front of Helios. This can be done using Nginx, Traefik, or any other reverse proxy that supports authentication.
Security is a very important part of any deployment and it isn't a one size fits all solution. Instead of shipping Helios with a specific authentication method, we leave it up to the user to implement their own security measures that best fit their deployment. This allows for more flexibility and customization in how Helios is used.
Endpoints¶
Helios provides 2 endpoints for accessing the desktop:
| Endpoint | Description |
|---|---|
{PREFIX}/ |
The main interactive endpoint |
{PREFIX}/view-only/ |
Locked view only endpoint |
Ports¶
Helios exposes the following ports:
| Port | Description |
|---|---|
| 3000 | HTTP Desktop Port |