What is ThinLinc

Server-based computing for linux illustration

The modern standard for enterprise Linux: secure, scalable, strategic

ThinLinc is an enterprise-grade Server-Based Computing (SBC) solution that allows organizations to centrally host Linux applications and desktops in the data center or cloud. In an era where licensing models from traditional VDI giants are becoming increasingly unpredictable, ThinLinc offers stability and control. By moving compute power from individual, high-powered workstations to centralized servers, you drastically reduce hardware costs, simplify compliance, and ensure your intellectual property never leaves the server room.

Built for the enterprise

Strategic control and ROI

Secure your assets (IP Protection): Sensitive R&D and enterprise data never reside on end-user devices; only encrypted pixels are sent to the client.
Future-proof infrastructure: Built on open standards to eliminate vendor lock-in, giving you the freedom to switch infrastructure without changing the user experience.
Maximize productivity: Provide your most expensive experts with a seamless "local-feel" experience for demanding workloads (EDA/CAD) from any location.
Financial Efficiency: Extend hardware lifecycles and support BYOD by moving expensive compute out from under the desk and into the data center.

Uncompromising Linux administration

Simplicity at scale: Deploy a professional proof-of-concept in under 15 minutes with a solution that integrates into your existing Linux environment.
Native performance: Optimized for GPU acceleration and intensive computations, featuring active leadership in Wayland support.
No "Black boxes": Familiar architecture built on Unix principles with plain-text configurations and standard log files.
Technical transparency: Benefit from a solution deeply rooted in the community, providing the control and scriptability that DevOps engineers require.

Main open source components illustration

The power of open source, perfected

We don’t reinvent the wheel; we optimize it for global production. ThinLinc integrates industry-standard open-source components into a mature, commercially supported enterprise package.

Enterprise architecture: A robust session broker and load balancer designed to handle thousands of concurrent users.
Standardized security: All traffic is routed through industry-standard SSH tunnels and TLS, fitting perfectly into existing security policies.
Our contribution: As the primary maintainers of core technologies like TigerVNC and noVNC, Cendio ensures the entire ecosystem remains secure and enterprise-ready.

Main open-source components

TigerVNC
noVNC
OpenSSH
CUPS
PulseAudio

Goals, beliefs, and mission illustration

30 years of dedication to the Linux community

Developed in Sweden by Cendio, one of the world’s most experienced Linux specialist companies, ThinLinc is backed by a team that truly understands the ecosystem. We believe in providing transparent, high-quality software at a fair price without complicated licensing models. With over 300 years of combined Linux experience, we are not just a vendor—we are your strategic partner for professional Linux remote access.

Next steps...

How to get started with ThinLinc
Test drive ThinLinc for on-site installation.

Our users
Read about some of our existing customers’ success stories with ThinLinc.

Replace Sun Ray
Read more about how you can move from SunRay to ThinLinc.

Download
Download ThinLinc Server and Client packages.

People say

I found the software to be very light and responsive: it's almost as if I was using the computer locally. I used to copy to my notebook the post-processing outputs of the numerical simulations (videos and images) that I run on the workstation. Now, using ThinLinc, I view such results remotely (videos and images load and run with great performance).

A.B

In terms of feedback, I can say that I have tried VNC (clunky and no sound), MS Remote Desktop (painfully, painfully slow) and Real VNC (how on Earth do you install the license if you use professional subscription?). ThinLinc was easy to set up and just worked extremely well. 85ms is not so far away, and yet the MS client just chokes on it.

B.R.

Thank you for this suggestion. I have been banging my head against the wall for the past few days trying to figure out what was wrong with Debian 11 and VNC. I couldn't ever make it work with anything other than XFCE, and that was with only one account. So, not useful if I need additional users accessing the system. I installed this, and it was set up faster than VNC was!

Sllim126 (Reddit)

ThinLinc is much smoother for the GUI experience over long-distance connections. Even from 2000 miles away ThinLinc provides a good experience, in our past NX can be more choppy. The ThinLinc installer is much nicer too, it’s much better at solving the dependencies on Linux systems. The built-in security in ThinLinc is a huge win, now we don’t have to deal with trying to secure/tunnel the insecure software protocols like VNC.

L. S.

We’re a small life science startup, we have 3-4 scientists who need to remote into two Linux systems via GUI (they’re not command line folks) to test out some scientific programming. I used ThinLinc at my last company and was pleased how much better it was over NX/VNC/etc, and with an easy setup as well. We have the 5-pack license, I’m sure as we hire more folks we’ll need to get more. Thanks and keep up the good work!

L.S.

I must say that I am quite surprised by your product. We have used a lot of different remote desktop solutions in the past (RealVNC, NiceDCV, NoMachine, ...) but all had some issues at one point or the other. I came over ThinLinc only accidentally, but I was smiling all the way though my evaluation. Many things where we thought "it would be nice, if..." are addressed here.

T.G.

So I came across this article looking for help on configuring multiple ports/users for TigerVNC for a training class we are to start. I saw someone spoke about ThinLinc. I went to their website downloaded it, and can't believe how this is not more popular, its utterly a God send for people that need a vnc tool. It's fantastic.

I highly recommend ThinLinc!

rob_morin (Reddit)

Understand how ThinLinc works

Watch the video and get to know what ThinLinc can do for you