4 months ago
- Wayland is the successor to X11/Xorg for Linux graphics stack, started in 2008 but remained unusable for the author until recent efforts.
- Historical context: Early Wayland support was limited, with major applications like Firefox and Chrome slow to adopt, and driver issues, especially with nVidia.
- Modern Linux distributions are increasingly adopting Wayland as the default, pressuring users to switch despite lingering issues.
- Hardware and driver support: nVidia's late adoption of GBM and explicit sync support in Sway 1.11 (2025) were crucial steps forward.
- 8K monitor support: TILE property issues and right-half black screen problems were debugged with Claude Code, leading to a workaround.
- Software setup on NixOS: Configuration for Wayland/Sway, GNOME, and necessary packages like foot terminal and wtype for keyboard input.
- Desktop environment transition: Sway as a Wayland-compatible i3 alternative, with configuration adjustments and encountered issues like laggy mouse cursor.
- GTK and font issues: Scaling and rendering differences between X11 and Wayland, requiring adjustments in settings.
- Screen locking: Differences between i3lock and swaylock, with Wayland's design requiring a different approach to DPMS and screen locking.
- Terminal emulator: Transition from URxvt to foot, noting differences in behavior and rendering.
- Text editor: Emacs' limited Wayland support, with pgtk version offering native support but with rendering and latency issues.
- Browser: Chrome's hardware acceleration issues and workspace restoration problems in Sway.
- Screen sharing: Initial limitations in Wayland/Sway, with improvements in Sway 1.12 allowing window-specific sharing but with resolution issues.
- Scaling glitches: Issues with window content jumping or blurring during focus changes, likely due to scaling factor adjustments.
- Notifications and pickers: dunst and rofi work well on Wayland, with some adjustments needed for tools like grim for screenshots.
- Conclusion: Despite progress, Wayland/Sway introduces new issues and regressions compared to the stable X11/i3 setup, making the author hesitant to fully switch.