How to install and set up TigerVNC on Raspberry Pi 3 without a monitor

  • Hi. I'm new to this, and I'm trying to install TigerVNC on my Raspberry Pi 3 which is running LibreElec. My ultimate goal is to be able to view and control my Raspberry Pi's GUI using my Mac to finish the configuration of LibreElec and then connect my Raspberry Pi to a projector using the HDMI cable to play movies. I have no standalone monitor, which is why I'm trying to do this setup using VNC.

    I followed these instructions but changed the url to what I found on this VNC Releases page. The steps I did were:

    1. I connected to my Raspberry Pi via SSH from my Mac
    2. Changed directory to ~/.kodi/addons
    3. wget v1.10.1.zip
    4. unzip v1.10.1.zip
    5. rm v1.10.1.zip
    6. reboot
    7. reconnected to my Raspberry Pi via SSH from my Mac again, after reboot
    8. typed "vncconfig", got "-sh: vncconfig: not found"
    9. typed "vncserver", got "-sh: vncserver: not found"

    I wasn't sure exactly which directory the tigervnc-1.10.1 folder should be in, so I copied it into both of these directories: "~/.kodi/addons" and "~/.kodi/addons/packages"

    Here's SSH output showing the tigervnc-1.10.1 directory in each of those directories.

    Where do I go from here to be able to run the VNC server from my Raspberry Pi?

    Am I supposed to be using a binary from Version tigervnc/1.10.1 - tigervnc ? If so, I really have no idea which one to use for LibreElec.

    The other thing I tried was , from this post, changing my user agent in Firefox on my Mac and downloading http://addons.libreelec.tv/8.2/Generic/x86_64/addons.xml.gz

    I searched for "vnc", and the only relevant bit of XML code was below, which did not (as far as I can see) show the url of a zip file for tigervnc.

    Edited 3 times, last by mrengy: clarified ultimate goal (July 5, 2020 at 5:37 AM).

    • Official Post

    Add "ssh" to cmdline.txt and the SSH service is forced on at boot. Now connect Ethernet to the RPi and the HDMI cable to the projector. Find an app called "Discovery" in the macOS app store (see Tildesoft) as this shows Bonjour devices and makes finding the IP address of the RPi and it's SSH service simple (look under SFTP). SSH into the RPi and run "kodi-remote" and you have a basic commandline remote control for the GUI to control the GUI with. You can also use numerous mobile phone remote apps to control Kodi. Installing and trying to use a VNC server is one of the most awkward ways I can think of to control things.