The package manager will automatically ensure all needed packages are installed. Since Docker builds container images using regular Linux distributions, it's possible to install any application. See: Use Canonical's Multipass to display Linux GUI applications on macOS desktop A Docker image for a Linux GUI application It is also possible to implement this using Canonical's Multipass environment which makes it easy to run Ubuntu virtual machines on Mac OS X or on Windows. Suitable authentication and permissions suitable for the Linux app that's running inside the Docker container.An X11 display server on a macOS computer.A docker container with the desired Linux GUI application installed.Because X11 allows an X11 application to display on any X11 display server, all that's needed is Since the Docker container is a Linux environment the GUI subsystem is X11. We can set up a Docker container with that application. In this case the desire is to run an X11 application on Linux - one which isn't supported by either MacPorts or Homebrew.

In other words, the X11 GUI architecture generalized the connection between application and graphics display, allowing both to run on any computer connected to the Internet, and for the graphics interaction to run across the Internet.

The X11 architecture allows an application to run on a distant computer, and be displayed on another computer, in addition to the typical case where the application is displayed on its local computer.

The architecture is different from both Windows and Mac OS X GUI environments. Since the 1980's the Unix/Linux/FreeBSD/etc ecosystem has used the X11 windowing system to display GUI applications. We need to start with a little bit of background.

Windows docker on mac with gui