Will Ubuntu Mate boot to desktop without a monitor plugged in?

I run UM18.04 on my main laptop, and would like to replace my remote PC OS with the same.

The remote PC is a server but with a GUI, as I use it as a remote desktop machine for when I need to complete various tasks when I am out the home but need to be on the network.

I have found that any distro with XFCE will boot to a desktop with no monitor, albeit at a lower than desired resolution. Does anyone know if Mate will do the same before I wipe my server and try it?

It depends on the hardware … most headless systems boot to desktop at 1024x768 resolution. But … you can use xrandr to define higher resolution. There are also ‘dummy plugs’ that connect to VGA, DVI, or HDMI ports and ‘pretend’ there is a monitor connected and are able to boot a system to higher resolutions (1920x1200).

Thankyou. But it will boot to desktop with no monitor?

yes, it will boot to desktop. Set it up to autologin the user, enable ssh and then you can access your system via ssh. If you want to access the gui, you need to look at vnc server/client or other methods.

Many thanks, thats great.