I’m trying to get OpenAI Gym environment visualization working in Google Colab on my MacBook. I’m using some StarAI implementation that was mentioned in other posts here.
When I run my code, I keep getting this error message that says “xdpyinfo was not found, X start can not be checked! Please install xdpyinfo!” from the abstractdisplay.py file.
I searched PyPI but couldn’t find any package called xdpyinfo. Does anyone know what this dependency actually is and the proper way to get it installed in the Colab environment? The rendering completely fails without it and I can’t figure out the right installation method.
xdpyinfo isn’t a Python package - it’s a system utility that comes with X11. You can’t install it with pip in Colab. Run !apt-get update && apt-get install -y x11-utils instead. This gets you xdpyinfo plus other X11 tools. But for OpenAI Gym rendering in Colab, you’ll also need a virtual display. I run !apt-get install -y xvfb then start the virtual framebuffer before initializing gym. These system packages should fix your rendering issues without any PyPI installs.
i had the same issue! xdpyinfo isn’t on pip, pretty frustrating. just do !apt update && apt install -y x11-utils, then add from pyvirtualdisplay import Display and display = Display(visible=0, size=(1400, 900)).start() b4 importing gym. makes life easier!
Had this same issue last month with a reinforcement learning project. Here’s what fixed it for me - restart your runtime after installing X11 utilities. Run !apt-get install x11-utils, then restart. That killed the xdpyinfo error completely. Gym environments detected the display setup fine after that, no virtual display config needed. Way easier than wrestling with Xvfb processes, especially if you’re running multiple notebooks.
The xdpyinfo error is quite common in headless setups like Colab, as it lacks a physical display needed for OpenAI Gym visualizations. Instead of fiddling with various packages, install the full X11 utilities by running !apt install x11-utils xvfb. Additionally, it’s crucial to configure the display environment correctly. Make sure to set DISPLAY=:1 and start Xvfb using !Xvfb :1 -screen 0 1024x768x24 & before executing your gym code. Remember, initialize the virtual display first, as Gym checks for display capabilities during its import.