Linux VDD
Available on GitHub Free for personal use

VirtualDrivers for Linux

Add a monitor that isn't there.

Linux Virtual Display Driver is a small GTK3 app that creates virtual displays on X11 at any resolution and refresh rate — for VR, OBS, Sunshine and any desktop-sharing software. It works through xrandr: AMD and Intel need no setup, and NVIDIA gets a guided one-time setup.

Get it on GitHub How it works
AMD · Intel · NVIDIA X11 / Xorg Python + GTK3 No kernel module
The public GitHub repository VirtualDrivers/Linux-Virtual-Display-Driver: a linux_vdd folder, LICENSE, README.md, install.sh, uninstall.sh and vdd.py, with an About panel that reads: Add virtual monitors to your Linux device! Works with VR, OBS, Sunshine, and/or any desktop sharing software.
Real capture · github.com · Sept 2026 The whole project is Python and shell script. No kernel code, nothing to compile.

How it works

Four steps, all xrandr.

Despite the name, nothing here runs in the kernel. The app finds an output your GPU driver already exposes but isn't using — VIRTUAL1, DP-2, HDMI-2 and the like — and switches it on with a video mode it works out itself. To the X server, that's one more monitor.

  1. Compute a modeline

    A pure-Python implementation of VESA CVT v1.2, with optional reduced blanking. No dependency on the cvt binary.

  2. Create the mode

    xrandr --newmode registers the timing with the X server.

  3. Attach it to a free output

    xrandr --addmode adds the mode to a disconnected output, picked for you or chosen from a list.

  4. Switch it on, in place

    xrandr --output … --mode … enables it right of, left of, above or below a monitor you already have, or mirroring it.

What actually runs

No magic. Three commands.

Ask for 2560 × 1440 at 120 Hz with reduced blanking and the app runs the three commands below. The modeline in the first one came straight out of its own CVT code: one Python file you can read on GitHub.

Removing a display reverses it: the output is turned off and the mode deleted again with --delmode and --rmmode.

GitHub source view of linux_vdd/modeline.py: a CVT modeline generator that implements the VESA CVT v1.2 standard and produces modeline strings compatible with xrandr --newmode
Real capture · linux_vdd/modeline.pyThe timing maths is 207 lines of plain Python. The file tree shows the rest of the app.
# 2560 × 1440 at 120 Hz, reduced blanking, right of DP-1xrandr --newmode 2560x1440_120.06 498.0 2560 2608 2640 2720 1440 1443 1448 1525 +HSync -VSyncxrandr --addmode HDMI-2 2560x1440_120.06xrandr --output HDMI-2 --mode 2560x1440_120.06 --right-of DP-1

Output names are examples; yours come from xrandr.

In the app

Every display, one small window.

A native GTK3 window that follows your system theme. Each virtual display gets a card showing its output, resolution, refresh rate and position, with buttons to edit, disable or remove it.

ResolutionsFull HD, QHD, 4K UHD, ultrawide and super-ultrawide presets, or type your own.

Ten presets, from 1280 × 720 up to 5120 × 1440.

Refresh rates30, 60, 75, 90, 120, 144, 165 or 240 Hz, or a custom rate.

Reduced blanking is one checkbox away, for high refresh rates at lower bandwidth.

PlacementRight of, left of, above or below any active monitor, or mirroring it.

Each choice maps straight onto xrandr's own --right-of, --left-of, --above, --below and --same-as.

ControlEdit, disable, re-enable or remove each display on its own, or remove them all at once.

Disable keeps a display in your list; Enable brings it back with one click.

MemoryYour displays are remembered between sessions.

The list is saved to ~/.config/linux-vdd/displays.json; anything that went inactive waits there for Enable.

At a glanceA status bar shows your GPU, session type, virtual displays and free outputs.

Press Ctrl+N to add a display.

GPU support

AMD and Intel need no setup. NVIDIA takes one restart.

The app identifies your GPU vendor with lspci and takes the matching path.

AMDxrandr, directly. No setup; disconnected HDMI and DisplayPort outputs should appear on their own.
Intelxrandr, directly. No setup; look for the VIRTUAL1 and VIRTUAL2 outputs.
NVIDIAAn Xorg config file plus xrandr: a one-time setup, then a session restart.
No free output?Install xf86-video-dummy for a dummy output, or load the evdi kernel module (sudo modprobe evdi). Both are separate projects.

NVIDIA, explained

Why NVIDIA needs a restart.

NVIDIA's proprietary driver won't add modes to a disconnected output while X is running. So the setup dialog has you pick one output per virtual display you want (for example HDMI-0), then writes a small Xorg config that tells the driver to treat those outputs as connected. It takes effect the next time you log in.

  • /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/99-linux-vdd.conf: ConnectedMonitor, a CustomEDID for each virtual output, and relaxed mode validation.
  • /usr/share/linux-vdd/virtual-edid.bin: a 128-byte EDID for a monitor named “VDD Virtual”, covering 24–240 Hz up to 4K.
  • On systems with GDM it also writes the login screen's monitors.xml, so the greeter stays on your real display.
  • Your password is asked for through pkexec. Menu › Remove NVIDIA Config takes it all out again.
GitHub source view of the _nvidia_generate_conf function: an xorg.conf.d Device section for the nvidia driver with ConnectedMonitor, CustomEDID, ModeValidation and AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration options
Real capture · display_manager.py, lines 604–628The exact template the app writes for NVIDIA. Every line of it is readable on GitHub.

Install

Run it from the folder, or install it.

There's no packaged release yet: you run it straight from the source. The installer checks for its dependencies and installs any that are missing with apt, pacman, dnf or zypper.

SessionLinux with an X11 (Xorg) session
PythonPython 3.10 or newer
GTKPyGObject with GTK 3
Toolsxrandr (x11-xserver-utils on Debian and Ubuntu)
PasswordOnly when it writes system files: the NVIDIA setup, and the login-screen layout on GDM systems
Quick start 
git clone https://github.com/VirtualDrivers/Linux-Virtual-Display-Driver.gitcd Linux-Virtual-Display-Driverpython3 vdd.py
System-wide 
chmod +x install.shsudo ./install.sh

Installs to /opt/linux-vdd, adds a linux-vdd command and an app-menu entry. sudo ./uninstall.sh removes it and keeps your saved displays.

Status — honestly

Version 1.0.0. Useful, and still young.

The project began in December 2024 as an experimental script. At the end of March 2026 it was rewritten as the native GTK3 app described here. There's no tagged release yet, and a handful of issues are open.

In version 1.0.0

  • Create, edit, enable, disable and remove virtual displays through xrandr.
  • A guided NVIDIA setup that writes the Xorg config and virtual EDID, and removes them again.
  • Virtual outputs already listed in its NVIDIA config are picked up and shown in the list.
  • On GDM systems it updates the login screen's layout, so the greeter stays on your physical display.
  • A system-wide installer and uninstaller for apt, pacman, dnf and zypper systems.

Known limits

  • X11 only. The app needs an Xorg session.
  • No packaged release: run it from source or with install.sh.
  • An open issue reports the NVIDIA setup not taking effect after logging out and back in, on Linux Mint 22.3 and Ubuntu 26.04 (#3).
  • The login-screen fix covers GDM only; other display managers aren't changed.
  • It needs a spare output. If your GPU driver exposes none, you'll need xf86-video-dummy or evdi.

Bugs and questions go to the issue tracker on GitHub.

The VirtualDrivers family

Part of VirtualDrivers.

Linux VDD is the Linux member of VirtualDrivers, the GitHub organisation behind the Windows Virtual Display Driver.

Virtual Display Driver

The Windows 10/11 original: an indirect display driver that adds virtual monitors for VR, OBS, Sunshine and desktop sharing.

Windows 10/1110,000+ GitHub stars

Virtual Drivers for macOS

The VirtualDrivers idea on the Mac, with a page of its own.

macOSComing soon

VirtualDrivers on GitHub

The organisation's public repositories, including display and audio drivers for Windows, the control and installer tools, and this Linux app.

github.com/VirtualDrivers

Questions people actually ask

FAQ

Is this actually a driver?

Not in the kernel sense. The name matches its Windows sibling, but Linux VDD is a Python app that configures the X server with xrandr, plus an Xorg config file on NVIDIA. It doesn't install a kernel module. If your GPU exposes no spare output, the README points to xf86-video-dummy or the evdi kernel module, which are separate projects.

Does it work on Wayland?

It's built for X11. The requirements call for an Xorg session, and every step goes through xrandr, which manages X outputs.

Will OBS, Sunshine or my VR app see it?

That's what it's for: the README lists VR, OBS, Sunshine and any desktop-sharing software. A virtual display is an ordinary X output, so it shows up alongside your other monitors.

Why do I have to log out on NVIDIA?

NVIDIA's proprietary driver won't add modes to a disconnected output at runtime. The setup writes an Xorg config telling the driver to treat your chosen outputs as connected, and Xorg only reads that when your session starts. After that, new virtual displays appear straight away.

How do I undo everything?

Remove All Displays in the menu turns off and removes every virtual display in the app's list. On NVIDIA, Remove NVIDIA Config deletes the Xorg file and the EDID; restart your session afterwards. sudo ./uninstall.sh removes the app, and your saved list stays in ~/.config/linux-vdd/ until you delete it.

Is it free?

For personal, educational and non-commercial use, yes, under GPLv3. Commercial use (in a product, a paid service or a business deployment) needs a separate licence from the copyright holder; ask through VirtualDrivers on GitHub. The LICENSE has the details.

Is there a Windows or Mac version?

Windows has the original Virtual Display Driver. For the Mac, Virtual Drivers for macOS is coming soon. Linux VDD itself runs on Linux only.

Get it

Clone it, run it, add a display.

Free for personal use. You need an X11 session, Python, GTK 3 and xrandr, and most desktop Linux distributions already have them.

Get it on GitHub On Windows? Virtual Display Driver
git clone https://github.com/VirtualDrivers/Linux-Virtual-Display-Driver.git