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The RealVNC VNC Viewer client connects to remote computers via the VNC (Virtual Network Computing) remote desktop protocol.
To connects to a remote computer with the RealVNC VNC Viewer, the remote computer must have the VNC server program installed and configured. Many articles at LinuxHint.com and many other websites you can read to learn how to install and configure the VNC server program on your desired Linux distribution. This is out of the scope of this article.
This article will show you how to install RealVNC VNC Viewer on some of the most popular Linux distributions and connect to a remote computer with RealVNC VNC Viewer. So, let's get started.
Installing VNC Viewer on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is not available in the official package repository of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. So, you will have to download it from the official website of RealVNC and install it on your Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Linux distribution.
First, visit the official download page of RealVNC VNC Viewer from your favorite web browser.
Once the page loads, select DEB x64 from the drop-down menu and click on the Download VNC Viewer button as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should prompt you to save the VNC Viewer installation file.
Select Save File and click on OK as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should download the VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb, as you can see in the screenshot below.
VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb should be downloaded in the ~/Downloads/ directory, as you can see in the screenshot below.
$ ls -lh ~/Downloads
Now, update the APT package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo apt update
Then, install VNC Viewer using the installation file you've just downloaded (VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb) as follows:
$ sudo apt install ~/Downloads/VNC-Viewer*.deb
VNC Viewer is being installed. It may take a few seconds to complete.
At this point, VNC Viewer should be installed.
Installing VNC Viewer on Debian 10:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is not available in the official package repository of Debian 10. So, you will have to download it from the official website of RealVNC and install it on your Debian 10 Linux distribution.
First, visit the official download page of RealVNC VNC Viewer from your favorite web browser.
Once the page loads, select DEB x64 from the drop-down menu and click on Download VNC Viewer as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should prompt you to save the VNC Viewer installation file.
Select Save File and click on OK as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should download the VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb, as you can see in the screenshot below.
VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb should be downloaded in the ~/Downloads/ directory, as you can see in the screenshot below.
$ ls -lh ~/Downloads
Now, update the APT package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo apt update
Then, install VNC Viewer using the installation file you've just downloaded (VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb) as follows:
$ sudo apt install ~/Downloads/VNC-Viewer*.deb
VNC Viewer is being installed. It may take a few seconds to complete.
At this point, VNC Viewer should be installed.
Installing VNC Viewer on Linux Mint 20:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is not available in the official package repository of Linux Mint 20. So, you will have to download it from the official website of RealVNC and install it on your Linux Mint 20 Linux distribution.
First, visit the official download page of RealVNC VNC Viewer from your favorite web browser.
Once the page loads, select DEB x64 from the drop-down menu and click on the Download VNC Viewer button as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should prompt you to save the VNC Viewer installation file.
Select Save File and click on OK as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should download the VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb, as you can see in the screenshot below.
VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb should be downloaded in the ~/Downloads/ directory, as you can see in the screenshot below.
$ ls -lh ~/Downloads
Now, update the APT package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo apt update
The APT package repository cache should be updated.
Install VNC Viewer using the installation file you've just downloaded (VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.deb) as follows:
$ sudo apt install ~/Downloads/VNC-Viewer*.deb
VNC Viewer is being installed. It may take a few seconds to complete.
At this point, VNC Viewer should be installed.
Installing VNC Viewer on CentOS/RHEL 8:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is not available in the official package repository of CentOS/RHEL 8. So, you will have to download it from the official website of RealVNC and install it on your CentOS/RHEL 8 Linux distribution.
First, visit the official download page of RealVNC VNC Viewer from your favorite web browser.
Once the page loads, select RPM x64 from the drop-down menu and click on the Download VNC Viewer button as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should prompt you to save the VNC Viewer installation file.
Select Save File and click on OK as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should download the VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.rpm, as you can see in the screenshot below.
VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.rpm should be downloaded in the ~/Downloads/ directory, as you can see in the screenshot below.
$ ls -lh ~/Downloads
Now, update the DNF package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo dnf makecache
Then, install VNC Viewer using the installation file you've just downloaded (VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.rpm) as follows:
$ sudo dnf install ~/Downloads/VNC-Viewer*.rpm
To confirm the installation, press Y and then press
VNC Viewer should be installed.
Installing VNC Viewer on Fedora 33 and Fedora 34:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is not available in the official package repository of Fedora 33 and Fedora 34. So, you will have to download it from the official website of RealVNC and install it on your Fedora 33 or Fedora 34 Linux distribution.
First, visit the official download page of RealVNC VNC Viewer from your favorite web browser.
Once the page loads, select RPM x64 from the drop-down menu and click on the Download VNC Viewer button as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should prompt you to save the VNC Viewer installation file.
Select Save File and click on OK as marked in the screenshot below.
Your browser should download the VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.rpm, as you can see in the screenshot below.
VNC Viewer installation file VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.rpm should be downloaded in the ~/Downloads/ directory, as you can see in the screenshot below.
$ ls -lh ~/Downloads
Now, update the DNF package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo dnf makecache
The DNF package repository cache should be updated.
Then, install VNC Viewer using the installation file you've just downloaded (VNC-Viewer-6.20.529-Linux-x64.rpm) as follows:
$ sudo dnf install ~/Downloads/VNC-Viewer*.rpm
To confirm the installation, press Y and then press
VNC Viewer should be installed.
Installing VNC Viewer on Arch Linux:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is not available in the official package repository of Arch Linux. But, it is available in the Arch User Repository (AUR). So, you can download and install RealVNC VNC Viewer from the Arch User Repository (AUR).
First, update the Pacman package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo pacman -Sy
The Pacman package repository cache should be updated.
Install Git from the official Arch Linux package repository as follows:
$ sudo pacman -S git
To confirm the installation, press Y and then press
Git should be installed.
Navigate to the ~/Downloads/ directory as follows:
$ cd ~/Downloads
Clone the RealVNC VNC Viewer's Git AUR repository with the following command:
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/realvnc-vnc-viewer.git
The AUR repository of the RealVNC VNC Viewer should be cloned.
A new directory realvnc-vnc-viewer/ should be created in the ~/Downloads/ directory, as you can see in the screenshot below.
$ ls -lh
Navigate to the newly created directory realvnc-vnc-viewer/ as follows:
$ cd realvnc-vnc-viewer/
Now, run the following command to build an Arch Linux package of the RealVNC VNC Viewer app:
$ makepkg -s
An Arch Linux package of the RealVNC VNC Viewer app is being built. It may take a few seconds to complete.
At this point, an Arch Linux package of the RealVNC VNC Viewer app should be built.
A new Arch Linux package file realvnc-vnc-viewer-6.20.529-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst should be generated.
$ ls -lh
To install the newly generated Arch Linux package realvnc-vnc-viewer-6.20.529-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst, run the following command:
$ sudo pacman -U realvnc-vnc-viewer-6.20.529-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
To confirm the installation, press Y and then press
RealVNC VNC Viewer should be installed.
Installing VNC Viewer on Manjaro 21:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is not available in the official package repository of Manjaro 21. But, it is available in the Arch User Repository (AUR). So, you can download and install RealVNC VNC Viewer on your Manjaro 21 Linux distribution from the Arch User Repository (AUR).
First, update the Pacman package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo pacman -Sy
The Pacman package repository cache should be updated.
Install Git and other build tools from the official Manjaro 21 package repository as follows:
$ sudo pacman -S git fakeroot binutils
To confirm the installation, press Y and then press
The Pacman package manager should download and install all the required packages. It may take a few seconds to complete.
At this point, Git and all the required build tools should be installed.
Navigate to the ~/Downloads/ directory as follows:
$ cd ~/Downloads
Clone the RealVNC VNC Viewer's Git AUR repository with the following command:
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/realvnc-vnc-viewer.git
The AUR repository of the RealVNC VNC Viewer should be cloned.
A new directory realvnc-vnc-viewer/ should be created in the ~/Downloads/ directory, as you can see in the screenshot below.
$ ls -lh
Navigate to the newly created directory realvnc-vnc-viewer/ as follows:
$ cd realvnc-vnc-viewer/
Now, run the following command to build a Manjaro 21 package of the RealVNC VNC Viewer app:
$ makepkg -s
A Manjaro 21 package of the RealVNC VNC Viewer app is being built. It may take a few seconds to complete.
At this point, a Manjaro 21 package of the RealVNC VNC Viewer app should be built.
A new Manjaro 21 package file realvnc-vnc-viewer-6.20.529-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst should be generated.
$ ls -lh
To install the newly generated Manjaro 21 package realvnc-vnc-viewer-6.20.529-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst, run the following command:
$ sudo pacman -U realvnc-vnc-viewer-6.20.529-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
To confirm the installation, press Y and then press
RealVNC VNC Viewer should be installed.
Installing VNC Viewer on Raspberry Pi OS:
RealVNC VNC Viewer is available in the official package repository of Raspberry Pi OS - The official operating system for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. So, you can easily install it on your Raspberry Pi OS.
First, update the APT package repository cache with the following command:
$ sudo apt update
The APT package repository cache should be updated.
To install RealVNC VNC Viewer, run the following command:
$ sudo apt install realvnc-vnc-viewer -y
The APT package manager will download RealVNC VNC Viewer from the internet. It may take a few seconds to complete.
Once the package is downloaded, the APT package manager will install RealVNC VNC Viewer. It may take a few seconds to complete.
At this point, RealVNC VNC Viewer should be installed.
Using VNC Viewer to Connect to Remote Computers:
Once RealVNC VNC Viewer is installed, you can start VNC Viewer from your desired Linux distribution from the Application Menu.
Check the I have read and accept these terms and conditions checkbox and click on OK as marked in the screenshot below.
Click on GOT IT as marked in the screenshot below.
VNC Viewer should be ready to connect to remote computers.
To connect to a remote computer, type in the hostname or IP address of the remote computer you want to connect to and press
Click on Continue.
You will be asked to type in the login username and password of the remote computer.
Type in the login username and password of the remote computer you want to connect to and click on OK as marked in the screenshot below.
You should be connected to the remote computer.
Conclusion:
This article shows you how to install RealVNC VNC Viewer on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Debian 10, Linux Mint 20, CentOS/RHEL 8, Fedora 33, Fedora 34, Arch Linux, Manjaro 21, and Raspberry Pi OS. I have also shown you how to start RealVNC VNC Viewer and connect to a remote computer with RealVNC VNC Viewer.
