Problems with first attempts at using noVNC.

[Crypto Fool]

I'm struggling to get noVNC working for the first time.  I'm attempting to get it working under Alma Linux.  I'm following the "Quick start" instructions found in the README.md file at the root of the noVNC Github repo:

Here's what I'm doing:

    $ mkdir novnc

    $ cd novnc

    $ wget https://github.com/novnc/noVNC/archive/refs/tags/v1.6.0.tar.gz

    $ tar -xzf v1.6.0.tar.gz

   $ sh noVNC-1.6.0/utils/novnc_proxy --vnc localhost:5925 --listen 0.0.0.0:6025

Which produces this:

  Warning: could not find self.pem
  No installed websockify, attempting to clone websockify...
  Cloning into '/home/fetch/novnc/noVNC-1.6.0/utils/websockify'...
  remote: Enumerating objects: 4627, done.
  remote: Counting objects: 100% (157/157), done.
  remote: Compressing objects: 100% (88/88), done.
  remote: Total 4627 (delta 105), reused 69 (delta 69), pack-reused 4470 (from 4)
  Receiving objects: 100% (4627/4627), 4.73 MiB | 6.09 MiB/s, done.
  Resolving deltas: 100% (3014/3014), done.
  Using local websockify at /home/fetch/novnc/noVNC-1.6.0/utils/websockify/run
  Starting webserver and WebSockets proxy on host 0.0.0.0 port 6025
  /home/fetch/novnc/noVNC-1.6.0/utils/websockify/websockify/websocket.py:31: UserWarning: no 'numpy' module, HyBi protocol will be slower
    warnings.warn("no 'numpy' module, HyBi protocol will be slower")
  WebSocket server settings:
    - Listen on 0.0.0.0:6025
    - Web server. Web root: /home/fetch/novnc/noVNC-1.6.0
    - No SSL/TLS support (no cert file)
    - proxying from 0.0.0.0:6025 to localhost:5925

  Navigate to this URL:

      http://0.0.0.0:6025/vnc.html?host=0.0.0.0&port=6025

  Press Ctrl-C to exit

When I then navigate to http://<server ip>:6025/vnc.html, I get this:

    noVNC encountered an error:

    Uncaught TypeError: crypto.randomUUID is not a function
    chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:573633
TypeError: crypto.randomUUID is not a function at chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:573633 at chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:598954 at chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:598958

I also see a banner at the top of the resulting window that says:

    Running without HTTPS is not recommended. Crashes or other issues are likely.

So first off, how do I reconcile this error message about HTTPS with the fact that I am simply performing the steps provided to me on the first page of noVNC's documentation?  Is there some bit of configuration that I have missed that would cause the novnc_proxy script to produce a site protected with HTTPS?  I've never heard of the lack of HTTPS being blamed for flakey behavior.  That seems strange.  I'm working on an internal tool, and have no particular reason to be concerned about protecting the connections made to noVNC.

Second, can someone tell me how to get past this error about crypto.randomUUID?

[Crypto Fool]

When I run this same test on my Mac, it works.  So my problem must be due to Alma Linux.  Alma s the predecessor to CentOS.  It's a modern open source release of the Red Hat distro.  I know very little about Node.js, so I'm struggling to know where to go from here.

[Crypto Fool]

An advancement...my problem is "solved".  I was showing a colleague the problem I was having.  She tried reproducing the problem, and the system worked for her.  I tried creating an Incognito browser window, and the app started working.  So the problem was obviously something about the current state of the original browser tab i was using.

If anyone has any idea why I had this problem, I'm curious what was going on.

And I'd still like to better understand the comment about using HTTPS vs HTTP.

Be well y'all!

S

[Pierre Ossman]

On 28/03/2025 18:05, Crypto Fool wrote:
>
> chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:573633
> TypeError: crypto.randomUUID is not a function at
> chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:573633
> at
> chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:598954
> at
> chrome-extension://dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap/injectedScript.bundle.js:2:598958
>

The crash is in some extension you have installed. It is likely it has
nothing to do with noVNC. I assume "dmkamcknogkgcdfhhbddcghachkejeap"
identifies it, but I'm afraid I don't know how to map that to a more
normal name.

Regards,
--
Pierre Ossman Software Development
Cendio AB https://cendio.com
Teknikringen 8 https://twitter.com/ThinLinc
583 30 Linköping https://facebook.com/ThinLinc
Phone: +46-13-214600

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?