Is xquartz really necessary?

[pdelfino]

Hi,

First, I would like to congratulate you on your job here. It is great, congratulations! In addition, I was surprised by how fast the maintenance was done, since Version 2.2.1 was updated just in time.

Second, I would like to ask you something. I am not much familiar with Docker. I have started learning about it a few weeks ago. In addition, I have almost zero familiarity with Apple/macOS (I have been using Linux for a long time).

One thing that intrigues me is the use of xQuartz. Since you have docker, is xQuartz really necessary? Why Docker alone is not enough for the job?

[deddu]

Thanks, and it is a great question. I’ve been ruminating this for a bit, but sadly yes. As far as I understand, xquartz it’s necessary for now. Docker does not bundle an xserver, as the expectation is to use it mostly headless. There’s an https://github.com/mviereck/x11docker project, that would be fantastic but it does not support MacOS.

I would think that there are other solutions although this is not really my area of expertise. I am open to hear any suggestions.

the only other thing I can think of is to go dig into how apps like Inkscape solve this, and then bundle all into an home brew formula. At which point though wouldn’t need docker. Relates to issue #3

[pdelfino]

Thank you for the reply! :)

Not sure if I should close this issue. I will let it up to you to decide :wink: