repository·master·Indexed 25 days ago
https://github.com/willpower3309/swayfxSwayFX is a fork of the Sway window manager that replaces the standard wlr_renderer with a custom fx_renderer to enable GLES2 visual effects, including blur, shadows, rounded corners, and window dimming. It provides detailed configuration options for window and LayerShell effects, as well as installation guides for Nix, Docker, and manual compilation from source using Meson and Ninja.
If you have Nix installed, you can build and run SwayFX directly from the repository.
To build and run:
nix build
./result/bin/swayTo enter a development shell with all dependencies pre-configured:
nix developnix build
./result/bin/swayOnce the subprojects are configured, use Meson and Ninja to build and install the project. Meson will automatically detect the code in the subprojects/ directory.
meson setup.ninja.sudo ninja install.sudo ldconfig to update the linker cache so the system recognizes the new libraries in /usr/local/lib.# Configure the build
meson setup build/
# Compile
ninja -C build/
# Install
sudo ninja -C build/ install
# Update linker cache
sudo ldconfigBefore building SwayFX, you must install the required development headers and build tools. Debian Trixie requires specific packages for the wlroots 0.19 backend, including libliftoff, libdisplay-info, and liblcms2.
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y \
meson pkg-config cmake git scdoc \
wayland-protocols libwayland-dev libpcre2-dev libjson-c-dev \
libpango1.0-dev libcairo2-dev libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-dev \
libdrm-dev libgbm-dev libinput-dev libseat-dev libxkbcommon-dev \
libxcb-dri3-dev libxcb-present-dev libxcb-res0-dev \
libxcb-render-util0-dev libxcb-ewmh-dev libxcb-icccm4-dev \
libliftoff-dev libdisplay-info-dev liblcms2-dev libpixman-1-dev \
libgles2-mesa-dev hwdata libudev-devTo ensure compatibility with wlroots 0.19.0 and scenefx 0.4.1, use the Meson Subprojects method. This clones specific versions of dependencies into a subprojects directory within the SwayFX source tree, preventing conflicts with system libraries.
Required Versions:
0.5.30.4.1 (Required for wlroots 0.19 support)0.19.0# Create a clean build directory
mkdir -p ~/build
cd ~/build
# 1. Clone SwayFX 0.5.3 (The Window Manager)
git clone https://github.com/WillPower3309/swayfx.git
cd swayfx
git checkout 0.5.3
# 2. Setup Subprojects Directory
mkdir subprojects
cd subprojects
# 3. Clone SceneFX 0.4.1 (The Rendering FX Library)
git clone https://github.com/wlrfx/scenefx.git
cd scenefx
git checkout 0.4.1
cd ..
# 4. Clone Wlroots 0.19.0 (The Wayland Compositor Backend)
git clone https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wlroots/wlroots.git
cd wlroots
git checkout 0.19.0
# Return to source root
cd ../..You can build SwayFX inside a container and then copy the built files to your host system at /usr/local/.
docker compose up --buildsudo bash
while read -r FILE; do
NEW_FILE=/usr/local${FILE#opt}
NEW_DIR=$(dirname "${NEW_FILE}")
[[ -d "${NEW_DIR}" ]] || mkdir -p "${NEW_DIR}"
echo "Creating '${NEW_FILE}'"
cp "${FILE}" "${NEW_FILE}"
done < <(command find opt/ -type f)docker compose up --build
sudo bash
while read -r FILE; do
NEW_FILE=/usr/local${FILE#opt}
NEW_DIR=$(dirname "${NEW_FILE}")
[[ -d "${NEW_DIR}" ]] || mkdir -p "${NEW_DIR}"
echo "Creating '${NEW_FILE}'"
cp "${FILE}" "${NEW_FILE}"
done < <(command find opt/ -type f)To compile SwayFX manually, ensure you have the required dependencies installed (including meson, wlroots, wayland, scenefx, etc.).
Build and Install Steps:
meson build/
ninja -C build/
sudo ninja -C build/ installNote for systems without logind or seatd: You must set the SUID bit on the sway binary to allow it to run correctly:
sudo chmod a+s /usr/local/bin/swaySwayFX will drop root permissions shortly after startup.
meson build/
ninja -C build/
sudo ninja -C build/ installYou can apply visual effects like blur, shadows, and corner radius to specific LayerShell surfaces (e.g., waybar, notifications, or GTK layers).
Identify Layer Namespaces: To find the available namespaces on your system, run:
swaymsg -r -t get_outputs | jq '.[0].layer_shell_surfaces | .[] | .namespace'Note: GTK applications often use the gtk-layer-shell namespace.
Applying Effects via Swaymsg (IPC):
You can only set one effect at a time via swaymsg:
swaymsg layer_effects "waybar" "blur enable"Applying Effects via Config File: You can define a block of effects for a specific namespace in your Sway configuration:
layer_effects "waybar" {
blur enable;
blur_xray enable;
blur_ignore_transparent enable;
shadows enable;
corner_radius 20;
}Available Effects for Layers:
blur <enable|disable>blur_xray <enable|disable>blur_ignore_transparent <enable|disable>shadows <enable|disable>corner_radius <int>reset: Resets/disables all previously applied effects to that layer.SwayFX provides several options to control window blur. You can enable/disable blur and fine-tune its appearance using radius, noise, and color adjustments.
Available Options:
blur enable|disableblur_xray enable|disable: Sets floating windows to blur based on the background rather than the windows beneath them (usually recommended to keep disable).blur_passes <integer 0 - 10>blur_radius <integer 0 - 10>blur_noise <float 0 - 1>blur_brightness <float 0 - 2>blur_contrast <float 0 - 2>blur_saturation <float 0 - 2>The resize command behaves differently depending on whether the window is in a tiled or floating layout.
grow/shrink): Uses ppt (percentage) by default. The amount is calculated based on the dimension of the parent container (or the workspace if no parent is found).set): Allows setting dimensions in px or ppt. If ppt is used, it is converted to pixels based on the parent container's size.grow/shrink): Only supports px (pixels). Attempting to use ppt with floating windows will result in an error: Floating containers cannot use ppt measurements.set): Supports px and ppt. When using ppt, the dimension is calculated as a percentage of the total workspace width/height. When resizing, the window expands or contracts from its center (adjusting x and y coordinates to compensate).SwayFX supports key groups (similar to i3 modes) which allow you to define bindings that only work when a specific group is active. Groups are numbered 1 through 4.
Group<N>: Specifies the group (where N is 1-4).Mode_switch: An alias for Group2 for compatibility.SwayFX allows you to dim inactive windows to improve focus. You can set a global default or apply specific dimming rules to certain windows using criteria.
Available Options:
default_dim_inactive <float 0.0 - 1.0>for_window [CRITERIA_HERE] dim_inactive <float 0.0 - 1.0>dim_inactive_colors.unfocused <hex color> (e.g., #000000FF)dim_inactive_colors.urgent <hex color> (e.g., #900000FF)Swaynag uses a type-based system to define how different notifications (e.g., error) look and behave.
swaynag_types_add_default(types) to populate the initial set of available types.<defaults>, <config>, the specific type definition, and finally <args>.swaynag_type_get(types, name) to retrieve a specific type definition from the types list.