Move wiki into the main repository

2026-06-22 02:01:55 +07:00 · 2024-03-25 21:13:36 +04:00
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+X11 is very cursed, so built-in Xwayland support is not planned at the moment.
+However, there are multiple solutions to running X11 apps in niri.
+
+## Directly running Xwayland in rootful mode
+This method involves invoking XWayland directly and running it as its own window, it also requires an extra X11 window manager running inside it.
+
+![Xwayland running in rootful mode.](https://github.com/YaLTeR/niri/assets/1794388/b64e96c4-a0bb-4316-94a0-ff445d4c7da7)
+
+Here's how you do it:
+
+1. Run `Xwayland` (just the binary on its own without flags).
+This will spawn a black window which you can resize and fullscreen (with Mod+Shift+F) for convenience.
+On older Xwayland versions the window will be screen-sized and non-resizable.
+1. Run some X11 window manager in there, e.g. `env DISPLAY=:0 i3`.
+This way you can manage X11 windows inside the Xwayland instance.
+1. Run an X11 application there, e.g. `env DISPLAY=:0 flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam`.
+
+With fullscreen game inside a fullscreen Xwayland you get pretty much a normal gaming experience.
+
+One caveat is that currently rootful Xwayland doesn't seem to share clipboard with the compositor.
+For textual data you can do it manually using [wl-clipboard](https://github.com/bugaevc/wl-clipboard), for example:
+
+- `env DISPLAY=:0 xsel -ob | wl-copy` to copy from Xwayland to niri clipboard
+- `wl-paste | env DISPLAY=:0 xsel -ib` to copy from niri to Xwayland clipboard
+
+## Using the Cage Wayland compositor
+
+It is also possible to run the X11 application in [Cage](https://github.com/cage-kiosk/cage), which runs a nested Wayland session which also supports Xwayland, where the X11 application can run in.
+
+Compared to the Xwayland rootful method, this does not require running an extra X11 window manager, and can be used with one command `cage -- /path/to/application`. However, it can also cause issues if multiple windows are launched inside Cage, since Cage is meant to be used in kiosks, every new window will be automatically full-screened and take over the previously opened window.
+
+To use Cage you need to:
+
+1. Install `cage`, it should be in most repositories.
+2. Run `cage -- /path/to/application` and enjoy your X11 program on niri.
+
+Optionally one can also modify the desktop entry for the application and add the `cage --` prefix to the `Exec` property. The Spotify Flatpak for example would look something like this:
+
+```ini
+[Desktop Entry]
+Type=Application
+Name=Spotify
+GenericName=Online music streaming service
+Comment=Access all of your favorite music
+Icon=com.spotify.Client
+Exec=cage -- flatpak run com.spotify.Client
+Terminal=false
+```