What is TigerVNC used for?

TigerVNC is a high-performance, cross-platform VNC client and server that lets you use graphical applications on remote machines over a network. It is a good fit for accessing a Linux desktop remotely and administering graphical applications on servers.

Is TigerVNC open source?

Yes. TigerVNC is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at TigerVNC/tigervnc and is written mainly in C++.

Yes. TigerVNC is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host TigerVNC?

Yes. TigerVNC can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is TigerVNC an alternative to?

TigerVNC is an open-source alternative to TeamViewer, AnyDesk, Splashtop and Chrome Remote Desktop. Other open-source alternatives to TeamViewer include Remmina, KasmVNC and Apache Guacamole.

Is TigerVNC actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to TigerVNC was on 25 September 2026, and the latest release is v1.16.2, published on 26 March 2026. The project has 7.5k stars on GitHub.

TigerVNC: open-source alternative to TeamViewer, AnyDesk

About TigerVNC

TigerVNC is a platform-independent VNC (Virtual Network Computing) implementation. VNC is a client and server system that lets users start and work with graphical applications running on remote machines. It is intended for people who administer or use remote desktops and servers.

The project aims for performance high enough to run 3D and video applications, while keeping a common look and feel and reusing components across the platforms it supports. It adds extensions for stronger authentication methods and TLS encryption. TigerVNC was originally based on the unreleased VNC 4 branch of TightVNC.

The software is written in C++ and licensed under GPL-2.0. Releases include the source code, a standalone Linux binary, a Windows installer and a universal Mac binary, and many distributions package it, among them Fedora, openSUSE, FreeBSD, Arch Linux, RHEL and SLE. The project runs announcement, user and development mailing lists.

Key features

VNC client and server in one project
Performance suited to 3D and video applications
TLS encryption extensions
Advanced authentication methods
Binaries for Linux, Windows and macOS

Good fit for

→Accessing a Linux desktop remotely
→Administering graphical applications on servers

Built with: C++
Tags: vnc; remote-desktop; remote-access; tls; cross-platform; cpp; linux; server

TigerVNC: questions and answers

What is TigerVNC used for?: TigerVNC is a high-performance, cross-platform VNC client and server that lets you use graphical applications on remote machines over a network. It is a good fit for accessing a Linux desktop remotely and administering graphical applications on servers.
Is TigerVNC open source?: Yes. TigerVNC is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at TigerVNC/tigervnc and is written mainly in C++.
Is TigerVNC free?: Yes. TigerVNC is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host TigerVNC?: Yes. TigerVNC can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is TigerVNC an alternative to?: TigerVNC is an open-source alternative to TeamViewer, AnyDesk, Splashtop and Chrome Remote Desktop. Other open-source alternatives to TeamViewer include Remmina, KasmVNC and Apache Guacamole.
Is TigerVNC actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to TigerVNC was on 25 September 2026, and the latest release is v1.16.2, published on 26 March 2026. The project has 7.5k stars on GitHub.