Wayfire — Modular and Extensible Wayland Compositor

Introduction

Wayfire is a 3D Wayland compositor built on the wlroots library, drawing inspiration from Compiz for its visual effects while embracing a modern Wayland-native architecture. It features a plugin-based design where nearly all functionality, from window management to desktop effects, is implemented as loadable plugins. This makes Wayfire highly customizable and extensible while keeping the core compositor lean.

What Wayfire Does

• Provides a Wayland compositor with 3D desktop effects including cube rotation, wobbly windows, and expo overview
• Uses a plugin architecture where window management, effects, and input handling are all modular
• Supports stacking, tiling, and custom window management modes through different plugins
• Handles multi-monitor setups with per-output configuration and workspace grids
• Renders smooth animations and transitions using OpenGL-accelerated compositing

Architecture Overview

Wayfire is built in C++ on top of wlroots, which provides the Wayland protocol implementation and hardware abstraction. The compositor core manages the plugin lifecycle, output rendering, and scene graph. Plugins register hooks into the compositor's event system to respond to window events, input, and rendering passes. The rendering pipeline uses OpenGL for compositing and effects, enabling 3D transformations on window surfaces. Configuration is handled through an INI-style file (wayfire.ini) that controls which plugins are loaded and their parameters.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Configuration is stored in ~/.config/wayfire.ini using a simple INI format with sections per plugin
• Plugins are loaded by listing them in the [core] section of the config file
• Individual plugin behavior is configured in named sections matching the plugin name
• The wcm (Wayfire Config Manager) GUI tool provides a graphical interface for editing settings
• Custom plugins can be developed in C++ using the Wayfire plugin API and loaded at runtime

Key Features

• 3D desktop effects reminiscent of Compiz, including cube workspace switcher, wobbly windows, and fire effects
• Plugin-based architecture where all features are modular and can be enabled, disabled, or replaced
• Wayfire Config Manager (wcm) GUI for easy graphical configuration without editing config files
• IPC interface for external tools and scripts to query and control the compositor programmatically
• Active development with support for modern Wayland protocols and wlroots updates

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Sway: i3-compatible tiling Wayland compositor; Wayfire offers stacking mode and 3D visual effects
• Hyprland: Dynamic tiling compositor with animations; Wayfire provides a more plugin-oriented architecture
• KWin: KDE's compositor with desktop effects; Wayfire is independent and lighter weight
• Compiz: The classic 3D compositing WM for X11; Wayfire brings similar effects to Wayland natively
• Mutter: GNOME's compositor; Wayfire is standalone and more customizable through its plugin system

FAQ

Q: Does Wayfire support tiling window management? A: Yes, Wayfire includes tiling plugins that provide automatic and manual tiling layouts alongside the default stacking mode.

Q: Can I run X11 applications in Wayfire? A: Yes, Wayfire supports XWayland for running X11 applications within the Wayland session.

Q: How do I configure Wayfire without editing config files? A: Install wcm (Wayfire Config Manager), which provides a graphical interface for managing all compositor and plugin settings.

Q: Is Wayfire suitable as a daily driver compositor? A: Many users run Wayfire as their primary compositor. It is stable enough for daily use, though plugin compatibility should be verified for your specific needs.

Sources

• Repository: https://github.com/WayfireWM/wayfire
• Documentation: https://github.com/WayfireWM/wayfire/wiki