VNC and File Sharing

Instructions gleaned from Adafruit and 4DC5, but customized for my own setup.

Installing VNC

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install tightvncserver
$ vncserver :1

It will ask you to enter an 8-character password the first time you run it. You can test by connecting a VNC client like Screens.

Screens settings

• Name: Tiki Nook
• Address or Hostname: tikinook.local
• Port: 5901
• Operating System: Linux
• Authentication type: VNC Password
• Password: ••••••••

Running VNCServer at Startup

$ cd /home/pi
$ cd .config
$ mkdir autostart
$ cd autostart
$ nano tightvnc.desktop

In nano, type the contents of the file:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=TightVNC
Exec=vncserver :1
StartupNotify=false

Type ^X then Y to save the changes.

Mac Screen sharing and File Sharing

File Sharing and Bonjour

$ sudo apt-get install netatalk

From your Mac, in the Finder, hit ⌘K. Enter afp://192.168.10.14 (using the IP address of your Pi).

I am not sure if this is strictly necessary, or if it does trigger some default data for file sharing?

On the RPi:

$ sudo apt-get install avahi-daemon
$ sudo update-rc.d avahi-daemon defaults
$ sudo nano /etc/avahi/services/afpd.service

In nano, type out (or paste in) this XML data:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone='no'?><!--*-nxml-*-->
<!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd">
<service-group>
    <name replace-wildcards="yes">%h</name>
    <service>
        <type>_afpovertcp._tcp</type>
        <port>548</port>
    </service>
</service-group>

Then save (^X then Y) and back on the command line:

$ sudo /etc/init.d/avahi-daemon restart

You should now be able to see the Pi in the Finder sidebar.

Setting up vncserver

We've already installed it, but we need to set up the service to be seen by Bonjour. This will create the script that will launch the server.

$ cd /etc/init.d
$ sudo nano tightvncserver

The contents of the file:

#!/bin/bash
# /etc/init.d/tightvncserver
#

# Carry out specific functions when asked to by the system
case "$1" in
start)
    su pi -c '/usr/bin/vncserver -geometry 1200x900'
    echo "Starting VNC server "
    ;;
stop)
    pkill vncserver
    echo "VNC Server has been stopped (didn't double check though)"
    ;;
*)
    echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/blah {start|stop}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

exit 0

Save and exit.

$ sudo chmod +x tightvncserver
$ sudo pkill Xtightvnc
$ ps aux | grep vnc

Check that the VNC server is not running. (How? Should it not show in the list at all?)

$ sudo /etc/init.d/tightvncserver start
$ cd /etc/init.d
$ sudo update-rc.d tightvncserver defaults

Broadcast vncserver using Bonjour

$ sudo nano /etc/avahi/services/rfb.service

File contents:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone='no'?>
<!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd">
<service-group>
  <name replace-wildcards="yes">%h</name>
  <service>
    <type>_rfb._tcp</type>
    <port>5901</port>
  </service>
</service-group>

Then run:

$ sudo /etc/init.d/avahi-daemon restart

Now you should be able to see the Screen Share option for the RPi in your Finder sidebar.