dwl is a compact, hackable compositor for Wayland based on [wlroots](https://github.com/swaywm/wlroots).  It is intended to fill the same space in the Wayland world that dwm does in X11, primarily in terms of philosophy, and secondarily in terms of functionality.  Like dwm, dwl is:

dwl is a compact, hackable compositor for Wayland based on [wlroots](https://github.com/swaywm/wlroots). It is intended to fill the same space in the Wayland world that dwm does in X11, primarily in terms of philosophy, and secondarily in terms of functionality. Like dwm, dwl is:

- One C source file (or a very small number) configurable via `config.h`
- Limited to a maximum number of SLOC (to be determined)

- One C source file configurable via `config.h`

dwl is not meant to provide every feature under the sun.  Instead, like dwm, it sticks to features which are necessary, simple, and straightforward to implement given the base on which it is built.  Since wlroots provides a number of features that are more complicated to accomplish with Xlib and select extensions, dwl can be in some ways more featureful than dwm *while remaining just as simple.*  Intended default features are:

dwl is not meant to provide every feature under the sun. Instead, like dwm, it sticks to features which are necessary, simple, and straightforward to implement given the base on which it is built. Implemented default features are:

- Any features provided by dwm/Xlib: simple window borders, tags, keybindings, client rules, mouse move/resize (see below for why the built-in status bar is a possible exception)

- Any features provided by dwm/Xlib: simple window borders, tags, keybindings, client rules, mouse move/resize. The built-in status bar is an exception to avoid taking a dependency on FreeType or Pango and increasing the SLOC

- Wayland protocols needed for daily life in the tiling world: at a minimum, xdg-shell and layer-shell (for bars/menus).  Protocols trivially provided by wlroots may also be added.

- Various Wayland protocols

- Basic yes/no damage tracking to avoid needless redraws (if it can be done simply and has an impact on power consumption)

Other features under consideration are:

Features yet to be implemented are:

- Additional Wayland compositor protocols which are trivially provided by wlroots or can be conditionally included via `config.h` settings (e.g. screen capture)
- External bar support instead of a built-in status bar, to avoid taking a dependency on FreeType or Pango
- Buffering of input when spawning a client so you don't have to wait for the window (use `wl_client_get_credentials` to get the PID) - would this require passing through something like dmenu?  Extension protocol?
- More in-depth damage region tracking

- Write a dwl-status protocol that bars can implement to show tags. You can already use Waybar or yambar, but without tag information
- Implement the input-inhibitor protocol to support screen lockers
- Implement the idle-inhibit protocol which the lets application such as mpv disable idle monitoring, and distribute it as a patch
- Layer shell popups (used by Waybar)
- Basic yes/no damage tracking to avoid needless redraws
- More in-depth damage region tracking (this should be worth it according to https://mozillagfx.wordpress.com/2019/10/22/dramatically-reduced-power-usage-in-firefox-70-on-macos-with-core-animation/)
- Implement the text-input and input-method protocols to support IME once ibus implements input-method v2 (see https://github.com/ibus/ibus/pull/2256 and https://github.com/djpohly/dwl/pull/12)
- Implement urgent/attention/focus-request once it's part of the xdg-shell protocol (https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/9)

dwl has only two dependencies: wlroots (git version currently required) and wayland-protocols.  Simply install these and run `make`.

dwl has only two dependencies: wlroots 0.12 and wayland-protocols. Simply install these and run `sudo make install`.

To enable XWayland, you should also install xorg-xwayland and uncomment its flag in `config.mk`.

All configuration is done by editing `config.h` and recompiling, in the same manner as dwm.  There is no way to separately restart the window manager in Wayland without restarting the entire display server, so any changes will take effect the next time dwl is executed.

All configuration is done by editing `config.h` and recompiling, in the same manner as dwm. There is no way to separately restart the window manager in Wayland without restarting the entire display server, so any changes will take effect the next time dwl is executed.

dwl can be run as-is, with no arguments. In an existing Wayland or X11 session, this will open a window to act as a virtual display.  When run from a TTY, the Wayland server will take over the entire virtual terminal.  Clients started by dwl will have `WAYLAND_DISPLAY` set in their environment, and other clients can be started from outside the session by setting this variable accordingly.

dwl can be run as-is, with no arguments. In an existing Wayland, this will open a window to act as a virtual display. When run from a TTY, the Wayland server will take over the entire virtual terminal. Clients started by dwl will have `WAYLAND_DISPLAY` set in their environment, and other clients can be started from outside the session by setting this variable accordingly.

You can also specify a startup program using the `-s` option.  The argument to this option will be run at startup as a shell command (using `sh -c`) and can serve a similar function to `.xinitrc`: starting a service manager or other startup applications.  Unlike `.xinitrc`, the display server will not shut down when this process terminates.  Instead, as dwl is shutting down, it will send this process a SIGTERM and wait for it to terminate (if it hasn't already).  This makes it ideal not only for initialization but also for execing into a user-level service manager like s6 or `systemd --user`.

You can also specify a startup program using the `-s` option. The argument to this option will be run at startup as a shell command (using `sh -c`) and can serve a similar function to `.xinitrc`: starting a service manager or other startup applications. Unlike `.xinitrc`, the display server will not shut down when this process terminates. Instead, as dwl is shutting down, it will send this process a SIGTERM and wait for it to terminate (if it hasn't already). This makes it ideal not only for initialization but also for execing into a user-level service manager like s6 or `systemd --user`.

## Replacements for X applications

## Known limitations and issues

You can find a [list of Wayland applications on the sway wiki](https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/i3-Migration-Guide).

dwl is a work in progress, and it has not yet reached its feature goals in a number of ways:

## IRC channel

- A window's texture is scaled for its "home" monitor only (noticeable when window sits across a monitor boundary)
- XWayland support is new and could use testing
- Urgent/attention/focus-request ([not yet supported](https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/9) by xdg-shell protocol)
- Statusbar support (built-in or external)
- Damage tracking

dwl's IRC channel is #dwl on irc.freenode.net.

dwl began by extending the TinyWL example provided (CC0) by the sway/wlroots developers.  This was made possible in many cases by looking at how sway accomplished something, then trying to do the same in as suckless a way as possible.  Speaking of which, many thanks to suckless.org and the dwm developers and community for the inspiration.

dwl began by extending the TinyWL example provided (CC0) by the sway/wlroots developers. This was made possible in many cases by looking at how sway accomplished something, then trying to do the same in as suckless a way as possible.
Many thanks to suckless.org and the dwm developers and community for the inspiration, and to Devin J. Pohly for creating dwl.