diff --git a/src/servers/sidecar/vnc/vnc-manager.ts b/src/servers/sidecar/vnc/vnc-manager.ts
index 3d5c690c..590077f7 100644
--- a/src/servers/sidecar/vnc/vnc-manager.ts
+++ b/src/servers/sidecar/vnc/vnc-manager.ts
@@ -1,23 +1,53 @@
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readdirSync, statSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import type { VncStartParams, VncSessionInfo } from '../protocol';
 import { getOwnerHomeDir } from '@@/data-path';
 
 // Mirrors the physical display instead of spawning a virtual desktop per user, so the
-// browser shows the same session as the screen. There is exactly one :0, hence one
-// shared mirror — the first caller's VNC password is the one it answers with.
-const MIRROR_DISPLAY = ':0';
-const MIRROR_DISPLAY_NUM = 0;
+// browser shows the same session as the screen. There is one seat, hence one shared
+// mirror — the first caller's VNC password is the one it answers with.
 const MIRROR_PORT = 5900;
 const READY_TIMEOUT_MS = 5000;
 // Above this framebuffer width the stream is halved; at or below it, pixels are served 1:1.
 const SCALE_ABOVE_WIDTH = 2560;
 
-// x11vnc reads :0's cookie from the logged-in user's X authority, so no root is needed. Where that
-// cookie lives depends on the display manager: GDM (Ubuntu GNOME on Xorg) keeps it in the per-session
-// dir /run/user/<uid>/gdm/Xauthority; LightDM (or a manual startx) uses the classic ~/.Xauthority. Try
-// the GDM path first, then fall back. While the greeter owns :0 the user's cookie doesn't exist yet and
-// mirroring fails until someone is logged in.
+// The display number is NOT fixed. Under LightDM the user session got :0, so this was hardcoded to it.
+// GDM gives :0 to its own greeter and starts the user's Xorg with -displayfd, letting the kernel pick —
+// in practice :1. Hardcoding :0 made the mirror fail with "Can't open display" on every GNOME machine.
+//
+// Find it by socket ownership instead: /tmp/.X11-unix/X<n> is owned by whoever runs that X server, so
+// the one owned by us is the owner's session and any other is the greeter's. Fall back to the lowest
+// socket (covers a root-run Xorg, as LightDM did) and finally to :0 so behaviour never gets worse than
+// the constant it replaced.
+function resolveDisplayNum(): number {
+  const uid = typeof process.getuid === 'function' ? process.getuid() : null;
+  let sockets: number[] = [];
+  try {
+    sockets = readdirSync('/tmp/.X11-unix')
+      .filter((n) => /^X\d+$/.test(n))
+      .map((n) => Number(n.slice(1)))
+      .sort((a, b) => a - b);
+  } catch {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  if (uid != null) {
+    const own = sockets.find((n) => {
+      try {
+        return statSync(`/tmp/.X11-unix/X${n}`).uid === uid;
+      } catch {
+        return false;
+      }
+    });
+    if (own !== undefined) return own;
+  }
+  return sockets[0] ?? 0;
+}
+
+// x11vnc reads the display's cookie from the logged-in user's X authority, so no root is needed. Where
+// that cookie lives depends on the display manager: GDM (Ubuntu GNOME on Xorg) keeps it in the
+// per-session dir /run/user/<uid>/gdm/Xauthority; LightDM (or a manual startx) uses the classic
+// ~/.Xauthority. Try the GDM path first, then fall back. While the greeter owns the seat the user's
+// cookie doesn't exist yet and mirroring fails until someone is logged in.
 function resolveXauthority(): string | null {
   const uid = typeof process.getuid === 'function' ? process.getuid() : null;
   const candidates = [
@@ -90,12 +120,12 @@ export async function ensureVncPassword(homeDir: string): Promise<{ password: st
   return { password, passwdFile };
 }
 
-// Width of :0's framebuffer, or null when it cannot be read (xrandr missing, X not up). Callers
-// treat null as "don't scale" — serving too many pixels beats serving an unreadable thumbnail.
-function getFramebufferWidth(xauthority: string): number | null {
+// Width of the mirrored display's framebuffer, or null when it cannot be read (xrandr missing, X not
+// up). Callers treat null as "don't scale" — serving too many pixels beats an unreadable thumbnail.
+function getFramebufferWidth(xauthority: string, display: string): number | null {
   const proc = Bun.spawnSync({
     cmd: ['xrandr', '--current'],
-    env: { ...process.env, DISPLAY: MIRROR_DISPLAY, XAUTHORITY: xauthority },
+    env: { ...process.env, DISPLAY: display, XAUTHORITY: xauthority },
     stdout: 'pipe',
     stderr: 'ignore',
   });
@@ -137,26 +167,29 @@ export async function startSession(params: VncStartParams): Promise<{ port: numb
   const homeDir = getOwnerHomeDir(params.email);
   const { passwdFile } = await ensureVncPassword(homeDir);
 
+  const displayNum = resolveDisplayNum();
+  const display = `:${displayNum}`;
+
   const xauthority = resolveXauthority();
   if (!xauthority) {
-    throw new Error(`No X authority found (GDM or ~/.Xauthority) — nobody is logged in on ${MIRROR_DISPLAY}`);
+    throw new Error(`No X authority found (GDM or ~/.Xauthority) — nobody is logged in on ${display}`);
   }
 
   // Halving a 4K framebuffer keeps the stream sane over the tailnet, but the same 0.5 applied to a
   // small screen is just lost detail — and with no monitor plugged in, X falls back to something
   // tiny (800x480 here), which halves to an unreadable 400x240. Scale only when there is genuinely
   // too much to send.
-  const width = getFramebufferWidth(xauthority);
+  const width = getFramebufferWidth(xauthority, display);
   const scale = width !== null && width > SCALE_ABOVE_WIDTH ? ['-scale', '0.5'] : [];
   if (width !== null) {
-    console.log(`[vnc] :0 framebuffer is ${width}px wide — ${scale.length ? 'scaling to 50%' : 'serving 1:1'}`);
+    console.log(`[vnc] ${display} framebuffer is ${width}px wide — ${scale.length ? 'scaling to 50%' : 'serving 1:1'}`);
   }
 
   const proc = Bun.spawn({
     cmd: [
       'x11vnc',
       '-display',
-      MIRROR_DISPLAY,
+      display,
       '-auth',
       xauthority,
       '-rfbport',
@@ -202,13 +235,13 @@ export async function startSession(params: VncStartParams): Promise<{ port: numb
   mirror = {
     email: params.email,
     username: params.username ?? '',
-    display: MIRROR_DISPLAY_NUM,
+    display: displayNum,
     port: MIRROR_PORT,
     pid: proc.pid,
   };
-  console.log(`[vnc] mirroring ${MIRROR_DISPLAY} on port ${MIRROR_PORT} (pid ${proc.pid})`);
+  console.log(`[vnc] mirroring ${display} on port ${MIRROR_PORT} (pid ${proc.pid})`);
 
-  return { port: MIRROR_PORT, display: MIRROR_DISPLAY_NUM };
+  return { port: MIRROR_PORT, display: displayNum };
 }
 
 export function stopSession(_email: string): void {
@@ -220,7 +253,7 @@ export function stopSession(_email: string): void {
     // already dead
   }
 
-  console.log(`[vnc] stopped mirror of ${MIRROR_DISPLAY} (pid ${mirror.pid})`);
+  console.log(`[vnc] stopped mirror of :${mirror.display} (pid ${mirror.pid})`);
   mirror = null;
 }