# Can't open MRtrix GUI from unix command prompt

**URL:** <https://community.mrtrix.org/t/cant-open-mrtrix-gui-from-unix-command-prompt/4906>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [May 23, 2021, 8:07am UTC](https://community.mrtrix.org/t/cant-open-mrtrix-gui-from-unix-command-prompt/4906 "2021-05-23T08:07:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![xboxhatr](https://community.mrtrix.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/x/b487fb/32.png) [@xboxhatr](https://community.mrtrix.org/u/xboxhatr)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 8:07am UTC](https://community.mrtrix.org/t/cant-open-mrtrix-gui-from-unix-command-prompt/4906/1 "2021-05-23T08:07:22Z")

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When I try to run Mrtrix on my unix virtual ecosystem, I am getting the following error:  
 ![image](https://community.mrtrix.org/uploads/default/original/2X/8/8720e3198f3c138a3d65abc0fcbf4631b7499aa4.png)

please help!

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**Author:** ![maxpietsch](https://community.mrtrix.org/user_avatar/community.mrtrix.org/maxpietsch/32/25_2.png) [@maxpietsch](https://community.mrtrix.org/u/maxpietsch)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 7:52am UTC](https://community.mrtrix.org/t/cant-open-mrtrix-gui-from-unix-command-prompt/4906/2 "2021-05-24T07:52:30Z")

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If this is a remote connection, have a look at this wiki post: [Remote display issues](https://community.mrtrix.org/t/remote-display-issues/2547)

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**Author:** ![xboxhatr](https://community.mrtrix.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/x/b487fb/32.png) [@xboxhatr](https://community.mrtrix.org/u/xboxhatr)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 11:58am UTC](https://community.mrtrix.org/t/cant-open-mrtrix-gui-from-unix-command-prompt/4906/3 "2021-05-24T11:58:46Z")

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Hi Max,

I tried installing mesa on my remote connection and running mrview, but it is not working. Could you possibly provide a step-by-step instruction on how to get MRtrix to work on a windows machine with Ubuntu remote connection? Thanks!

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**Author:** ![jdtournier](https://community.mrtrix.org/user_avatar/community.mrtrix.org/jdtournier/32/2594_2.png) [@jdtournier](https://community.mrtrix.org/u/jdtournier)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://community.mrtrix.org/t/cant-open-mrtrix-gui-from-unix-command-prompt/4906/4 "2021-05-24T16:09:25Z")

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I’m afraid this is a tricky one to get working. The only reliable way of getting `mrview` to work on Windows currently is to use `MSYS2`, as [recommended in our installation page](https://www.mrtrix.org/download/windows-msys2/). But you [can get mrview to (mostly) work via WSL and/or remotely](https://community.mrtrix.org/t/wsl-mrview-could-not-connect-to-any-x-display/4775/4), though it will require a lot of trial and error, and is not something that we can provide support for at the moment, unfortunately.
