mirror of
https://github.com/niri-wm/niri.git
synced 2026-06-22 02:01:55 +07:00
Ivan Molodetskikh
160 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
160 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
X11 is very cursed, so built-in Xwayland support is not planned at the moment.
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However, there are multiple solutions to running X11 apps in niri.
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## Using xwayland-satellite
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[xwayland-satellite] implements rootless Xwayland in a separate application, without the host compositor's involvement.
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It makes X11 windows appear as normal windows, just like a native Xwayland integration.
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xwayland-satellite works well with most applications: Steam, games, Discord, even more exotic things like Ardour with wine Windows VST plugins.
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However, X11 apps that want to position windows or bars at specific screen coordinates won't behave correctly.
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> [!NOTE]
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> In the next release, niri will have [built-in xwayland-satellite integration](./Configuration:-Miscellaneous.md#xwayland-satellite).
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> You can try it by installing git versions of both niri and xwayland-satellite.
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> With no further configuration, niri will create X11 sockets, then when an X11 client connects, automatically start xwayland-satellite.
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>
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> This matches how other compositors run Xwayland (but in niri's case, it's xwayland-satellite rather than Xwayland itself).
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> It also makes X11 apps work fine in `spawn-at-startup` and in XDG autostart.
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Install it from your package manager, or build it according to instructions from its README, then run the `xwayland-satellite` binary.
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Look for a log message like: `Connected to Xwayland on :0`.
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Now you can start X11 applications on this X11 DISPLAY:
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```
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env DISPLAY=:0 flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam
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```
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You can also automatically run it at startup, and set `DISPLAY` by default for all apps by adding it to the [`environment`](./Configuration:-Miscellaneous.md#environment) section of the niri config:
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```kdl
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spawn-at-startup "xwayland-satellite"
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// Or, if you built it by hand:
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// spawn-at-startup "~/path/to/code/target/release/xwayland-satellite"
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environment {
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DISPLAY ":0"
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}
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```
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> [!NOTE]
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> If the `:0` DISPLAY is already taken (for example, by some other Xwayland server like `xwayland-run`), `xwayland-satellite` will try the next DISPLAY numbers in order: `:1`, `:2`, etc. and tell you which one it used in its output.
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> Then, you will need to use that DISPLAY number for the `env` command or for the niri [`environment`](./Configuration:-Miscellaneous.md#environment) section.
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>
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> You can also force a specific DISPLAY number like so: `xwayland-satellite :12` will start on `DISPLAY=:12`.
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## Using the labwc Wayland compositor
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[Labwc](https://github.com/labwc/labwc) is a traditional stacking Wayland compositor with Xwayland.
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You can run it as a window, then run X11 apps inside.
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1. Install labwc from your distribution packages.
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1. Run it inside niri with the `labwc` command.
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It will open as a new window.
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1. Run an X11 application on the X11 DISPLAY that it provides, e.g. `env DISPLAY=:0 glxgears`
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## Directly running Xwayland in rootful mode
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This method involves invoking XWayland directly and running it as its own window, it also requires an extra X11 window manager running inside it.
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Here's how you do it:
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1. Run `Xwayland` (just the binary on its own without flags).
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This will spawn a black window which you can resize and fullscreen (with Mod+Shift+F) for convenience.
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On older Xwayland versions the window will be screen-sized and non-resizable.
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1. Run some X11 window manager in there, e.g. `env DISPLAY=:0 i3`.
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This way you can manage X11 windows inside the Xwayland instance.
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1. Run an X11 application there, e.g. `env DISPLAY=:0 flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam`.
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With fullscreen game inside a fullscreen Xwayland you get pretty much a normal gaming experience.
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> [!TIP]
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> If you don't run an X11 window manager, Xwayland will close and re-open its window every time all X11 windows close and a new one opens.
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> To prevent this, start an X11 WM inside as mentioned above, or open some other long-running X11 window.
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One caveat is that currently rootful Xwayland doesn't seem to share clipboard with the compositor.
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For textual data you can do it manually using [wl-clipboard](https://github.com/bugaevc/wl-clipboard), for example:
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- `env DISPLAY=:0 xsel -ob | wl-copy` to copy from Xwayland to niri clipboard
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- `wl-paste -n | env DISPLAY=:0 xsel -ib` to copy from niri to Xwayland clipboard
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You can also bind these to hotkeys if you want:
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```
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binds {
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Mod+Shift+C { spawn "sh" "-c" "env DISPLAY=:0 xsel -ob | wl-copy"; }
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Mod+Shift+V { spawn "sh" "-c" "wl-paste -n | env DISPLAY=:0 xsel -ib"; }
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}
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```
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## Using xwayland-run to run Xwayland
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[xwayland-run] is a helper utility to run an X11 client within a dedicated Xwayland rootful server.
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It takes care of starting Xwayland, setting the X11 DISPLAY environment variable, setting up xauth and running the specified X11 client using the newly started Xwayland instance.
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When the X11 client terminates, xwayland-run will automatically close the dedicated Xwayland server.
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It works like this:
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```
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xwayland-run <Xwayland arguments> -- your-x11-app <X11 app arguments>
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```
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For example:
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```
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xwayland-run -geometry 800x600 -fullscreen -- wine wingame.exe
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```
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## Using the Cage Wayland compositor
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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.
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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.
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To use Cage you need to:
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1. Install `cage`, it should be in most repositories.
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2. Run `cage -- /path/to/application` and enjoy your X11 program on niri.
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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:
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```ini
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[Desktop Entry]
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Type=Application
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Name=Spotify
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GenericName=Online music streaming service
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Comment=Access all of your favorite music
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Icon=com.spotify.Client
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Exec=cage -- flatpak run com.spotify.Client
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Terminal=false
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```
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## Using gamescope
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You can use [gamescope](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope) to run X11 games and even Steam itself.
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Similar to Cage, gamescope will only show a single, topmost window, so it's not very suitable to running regular apps.
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But you can run Steam in gamescope and then start some game from Steam just fine.
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```
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gamescope -- flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam
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```
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To run gamescope fullscreen, you can pass flags that set the necessary resolution, and a flag that starts it in fullscreen mode:
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```
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gamescope -W 2560 -H 1440 -w 2560 -h 1440 -f -- flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam
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```
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> [!NOTE]
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> If Steam terminates abnormally while running in gamescope, it seems that subsequent gamescope invocations will sometimes fail to start it properly.
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> If this happens, run Steam inside a rootful Xwayland as described above, then exit it normally, and then you will be able to use gamescope again.
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[xwayland-run]: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/ofourdan/xwayland-run
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[xwayland-satellite]: https://github.com/Supreeeme/xwayland-satellite
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