GNet Solutions » GNU/Linux Administration

• Table of contents
• Setting Up The Synergy Server on Arch
• Setting Up The Synergy Client on Ubuntu
• Setting Up The Synergy Client on Arch
  • Synergy With Systemd
• Resources

I use Arch Linux for my primary workstation OS, however I also have Ubuntu derivative workstations that I occasionally need to access. To make life easier I have one workstation that only has a monitor and network connection and I share my mouse and keyboard from my Arch laptop to with my other Ubuntu-based workstation using synergy. This is a guide to set up sharing a mouse and keyboard on Arch Linux with an Ubuntu client using synergy.

NOTE: This guide has DNS records for workstation1 (Arch) and workstation2 (Ubuntu); if DNS is unavailable, then add IP addresses for the workstations in /etc/hosts.

Setting Up The Synergy Server on Arch¶

• Install synergy:
  

  sudo pacman -S synergy
  

• Create a new configuration file:
  

  sudo cp /etc/synergy.conf.example /etc/synergy.conf
  

• Edit the synergy server config file:
  

  sudo nano /etc/synergy.conf
  

  • And modify the config accordingly:
    

    section: screens
            # Define two screen hosts named workstation1 and workstation2
            workstation1:
            workstation2:
    end
    
    section: links
            # Set workstation2 above workstation1
            workstation1:
                    up    = workstation2
    
            # Set workstation1 below workstation2
            workstation2:
                    down  = workstation1
    end
    

• Test the server in the foreground, you can run the following command instead:
  

  synergys -f
  ^C
  

• The synergy server process needs to attach to your user's X session, which means it needs to run as your user. Enable it as the appropriate user:
  

  systemctl enable synergys@user
  systemctl start synergys@user
  

Setting Up The Synergy Client on Ubuntu¶

• Install synergy:
  

  sudo apt-get install synergy
  

• My system is setup to automatically log in, so I added a simple start up application by going to System -> Preferences -> Startup Applications and click Add:
  • Name: Synergy Client
  • Command: /usr/bin/synergyc -f workstation1
  • Comment: Connect to workstation1 keyboard/mouse
  • Save

Setting Up The Synergy Client on Arch¶

• Connect to the synergy server manually:
  

  synergyc workstation1
  

Synergy With Systemd¶

• To start the Synergy client with systemd, create a service file:
  

  vi /etc/systemd/system/synergyc@.service
  

  • And add the following:
    

    [Unit]
    Description=Synergy Client Daemon
    After=network.target
    
    [Service]
    EnvironmentFile=/etc/conf.d/synergyc.conf
    ExecStart=/usr/bin/synergyc --no-daemon --debug ${DEBUGLEVEL:-INFO} ${SERVERALIAS}
    User=%i
    
    [Install]
    WantedBy=multi-user.target
    

• And optionally a config file:
  

  vi /etc/conf.d/synergyc.conf
  

  • And add the following:
    

    DEBUGLEVEL=WARNING
    SERVERALIAS=workstation1
    

• To start the service for your user,
  

  systemctl start synergyc@user
  

Resources¶

• https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Synergy
• http://askubuntu.com/questions/15212/start-synergy-on-boot