XQuartz

XQuartz enables macOS to run X11-based applications over ssh -X — the SSH dash X option to forward GUI apps , allowing remote Unix GUI programs to display locally. It’s commonly used for tools like MATLAB, RStudio, and VMD—essential for rendering scientific graphs, simulations, and 3D molecular structures.

You can use ssh -X — in the macOS Terminal with XQuartz open in the standard macOS Terminal to forward GUI apps, as long as XQuartz is installed and running in the background — required for remote GUI apps to show .

Install XQuartz on macOS via Homebrew:

brew install --cask xquartz

Guide: XQuartz & SSH -X (macOS)

X11 forwarding using XQuartz to run remote Linux/Unix GUI apps on macOS.

Launch XQuartz from Applications or with:

open -a XQuartz

In XQuartz, open Preferences → Security and enable:

☑ Allow connections from network clients

Allow local access to the X11 display:

xhost +localhost

Connect to the remote machine with X11 forwarding:

ssh -X user@remote-host

Confirm your display variable is set by XQuartz:

echo $DISPLAY

Expected output format (will vary):

/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.XYZ/org.macosforge.xquartz:0