VNC

VNC over SSH on iPhone, iPad and Mac

By Aime Tech Media Limited · AnyPane

Direct VNC is not encrypted. Prefer VNC over SSH so the desktop, including its password and screen data, travels inside the SSH session.

Choose a tunnel

Create a VNC connection with the desktop’s address and port. Apple Screen Sharing / MS-Logon also requires a username. Set a password when the desktop requires one.

Under SSH Tunnel, choose an SSH connection. That connection protects the VNC session even when its terminal pane is not open. Leave the picker on No SSH tunnel only if you accept a direct connection. VeNCrypt and TLS are not supported.

If the VNC server listens on the SSH server’s loopback, use 127.0.0.1 and the desktop’s port as the VNC address. Use another address only when the SSH server can reach that host. Do not publish the VNC port on the public internet for this setup.

Example: VNC on the SSH server

If your VNC server listens on 127.0.0.1:5901 on the same computer as the SSH server, set the VNC address to 127.0.0.1, port to 5901, and select that computer’s saved SSH connection under SSH Tunnel. Use the port your VNC server actually listens on; 5901 is only an example.

Here, 127.0.0.1 refers to the SSH server, not your iPhone, iPad or Mac. The SSH tunnel encrypts traffic between your device and the SSH server. If VNC runs on a different host, the onward connection from the SSH server to that host is not protected by this tunnel.

Put it in the workspace

Add the VNC connection to a workspace. On iPad and Mac, keep the terminal and desktop visible together and rearrange up to four panes. On iPhone, one pane is active at a time; switch with the pane tabs, never a split view.

If SSH works but the desktop does not

Check that the VNC service is running and reachable from the SSH server at the configured address and port, and that SSH TCP forwarding is permitted. VNC authentication is separate from SSH authentication: check the desktop’s password and any required username. Do not fix a failed tunnel by exposing the VNC port to the public internet.

Limits

AnyPane is not an RDP client and does not record the session or play remote audio. Reconnection is manual. iPhone and iPad may interrupt a connection in the background. Minimum systems: iOS/iPadOS 17 and macOS 15.

Use one SSH jump host →
Open a local port forward →
Check connection requirements →

For iPhone, iPad and Mac.