WebDesktopGL Framework Turns Web Sites into Desktop Apps on Astra Linux via Chromium
WebDesktopGL is a new open-source framework that allows developers to run web sites as native desktop applications on Astra Linux and other Linux distributions by leveraging a local Chromium instance.
The project was created after an information system based on an existing web platform had to be delivered under strict licensing constraints that forbade the use of unlicensed software. Instead of adopting Electron, the author built a custom solution using Bash scripts, a recompiled VirtualGL, and a local copy of ungoogled-chromium.
Technical Implementation
The framework supports both X11 and Wayland sessions. On X11 it can launch Chromium inside an Xephyr virtual display with GPU acceleration provided by the modified VirtualGL build. Clipboard synchronization between the host and the virtual display is handled by xclip.
Two main launch scripts are included:
- InfoDoc.sh – full version that creates an isolated Xephyr session, applies window icon and title via the custom xdotool_xseticon utility, and enables GPU acceleration where available.
- InfoDoc_light.sh – simplified version that runs Chromium directly without a virtual display, making it suitable for remote deployment over scp.
The repository also contains the source for xdotool_xseticon, example animated icons, and a demo web application featuring a 3D scene, PDF viewer based on pdf.js, and image viewer supporting common formats.
Installation is automated by Install_bash_WebDesktopGL.sh, which installs build dependencies, compiles VirtualGL and the icon utility, and unpacks the bundled Chromium archive. The framework has been verified on Ubuntu 24.04 (KDE), Ubuntu 22.04 (KDE), and Astra Linux 1.8.
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