virtualgl ☆

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Description:
3D without boundaries

Type: Cask | Latest Version: 3.1.4@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: opengl remote-desktop 3d-graphics gpu visualization

Install: brew install --cask virtualgl

About:
VirtualGL is an open-source toolkit that enables high-performance 3D applications to be rendered remotely on a server and displayed locally. It intercepts OpenGL commands and redirects them to a server-side GPU, streaming the resulting pixels to the client. This allows users to run complex 3D software on powerful back-end hardware from a lightweight client machine.

Key Features:

Transparent application redirection without source code modification
Efficient image streaming using advanced compression techniques
Full support for OpenGL and GLX extensions
Integrates with VirtualGL Faker for seamless operation

Use Cases:

Running CAD or scientific visualization software remotely
Enabling GPU-accelerated applications on virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

Alternatives:

X11 Forwarding – Simpler to set up but lacks hardware acceleration, resulting in poor performance for 3D workloads.
NoMachine NX – A full remote desktop solution that includes 3D acceleration but is a heavier, more monolithic system.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Dec 24, 2023 9:24am	3.1	0	VERSION_BUMP	9c677338