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[http://swaywm.org Sway] is a tiling [[Wayland]] compositor. It's a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager.
[https://swaywm.org Sway] is a tiling [[Wayland]] compositor and a drop-in replacement for the [[i3wm |i3 window manager]]. It works with your existing i3 configuration and supports most of i3's features, plus a few extras.


== Prerequisites ==
== Prerequisites ==


First, install & configure eudev:
* Internet [[Configure_Networking#Connectivity_testing|connectivity]], unless the packages have been pre-fetched into a local cache.
* Install appropriate [[Graphics driver]] drivers for your hardware. Without graphics drivers [[#Video Driver Issues|errors]] are likely to occur.
* A [[Setting_up_a_new_user#Creating_a_new_user|non-root user account]].
* The [[Repositories#Managing_repositories|community repositories must be enabled]].
* Set up [[eudev]].
* Wayland compositors need raw access to input and output devices, typically mediated by a [[seat manager]]. Either [[seatd]] or [[elogind]] work fine, but installing both leads to conflicts.
{{Tip|Except for the first two [[#Prerequisites|prerequisites]], all of the others are automatically handled if the desktop is [[#Setup-desktop|installed using the following setup-desktop]] script.}}
 
== Setup-desktop ==
 
The [[setup-desktop]] command automates the Sway desktop installation with [[eudev]] and [[elogind]].
 
{{cmd|# setup-desktop sway}} 
 
Proceed to the [[Sway#Starting Sway|Starting Sway]] section, as no [[Display manager|display manager]] is being installed nor configured by the script that would boot into a graphical login screen.
 
== Manual Installation ==
 
The installation steps below allow you to pick and choose various components for your Sway desktop.
 
=== Install Fonts ===
 
Install [https://dejavu-fonts.github.io/ DejaVu] fonts ({{Pkg|font-dejavu}}), which have good [https://home.unicode.org/ Unicode] coverage:
 
{{cmd|# apk add font-dejavu}} 
=== Install Sway ===
 
{{cmd|# apk add sway \
    xwayland            \ # if you need the xserver
    foot                \ # default terminal emulator. Modify $term in config for a different one.
    wmenu                \ # default Wayland native menu for choosing program and screensharing monitor
    swaylock swaylockd  \ # lockscreen tool
    swaybg              \ # display wallpaper
    grim                \ # screenshot tool
    wl-clipboard        \ # clipboard management
    i3status            \ # simple status bar
    swayidle              # idle management (DPMS) daemon
}}
 
For complimentary software alternatives, see [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/Useful-add-ons-for-sway Sway's wiki] or [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/List_of_software_for_Wayland Gentoo's wiki].
 
== Configuration ==
 
=== Sway config file ===
 
Copy the default Sway configuration file to {{Path|~/.config/sway/config}} so that it can be customized as per each user's choices:
 
{{cmd|$ mkdir -p ~/.config/sway
$ cp /etc/sway/config ~/.config/sway/}}
 
Read through it to learn the default keybindings. Refer to the [[Sway customization guide|Sway customization guide]] as well as the [[#See also|See also]] section for Tips on customizing this config file. Sway's configuration is mostly backward compatible with that of [[I3wm|i3]]'s, and if you are looking for a solution for a specific issue, you could try checking whether it hasn't been provided for the i3 window manager.
 
For additional information, start at <code>man 5 sway</code> and read the [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki upstream wiki].
 
=== PipeWire and Screensharing ===
 
The Sway compositor has no involvement with audio playback. In order for screensharing to work, [[PipeWire]] is required. Therefore, installing [[PipeWire#Installation|PipeWire]] is recommended for audio playback too.
 
Since v3.22, Alpine Linux provides the necessary scripts to start PipeWire as a [[OpenRC#user services|user service]] in OpenRC.
 
From a screensharing perspective, applications are split into two categories:-
 
* Those which use the native Wayland [https://wayland.app/protocols/wlr-screencopy-unstable-v1 wlr-screencopy] protocol
* Those which use the API from Flatpak's <code>xdg-desktop-portal</code> (this portal is also used by native non-Flatpak applications).
 
Applications in the first group require no additional setup. Applications in the second group (which include Firefox and Chromium) require setting up ''xdg portals'' in addition to [[PipeWire#Installation|PipeWire]].
 
{{Cmd|# apk add xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-wlr}}
 
If you are using a <code>dbus-run-session</code> wrapper to launch Sway, you will also need to set D-Bus variables in order for the portal and for [[#PipeWire and Screensharing|screensharing]] features to work;  add the following line to the beginning of Sway's {{Path|config}} file:
 
exec dbus-update-activation-environment WAYLAND_DISPLAY DISPLAY XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP SWAYSOCK I3SOCK XCURSOR_SIZE XCURSOR_THEME
 
The {{ic|XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP}} environment variable may be set by various methods, including:-
* by amending its mention in that {{ic|dbus-update-activation-environment}} line, editing it to specify {{ic|XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP{{=}}sway}} ; or
* by exporting it from within an applicable environment configuration file, such as:
 
:{{Cat| $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/.profile|<nowiki>
export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway
</nowiki>}}
 
:However, this method is not universal, as it would require resetting the {{ic|XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP}} variable for any different desktop/compositor/window manager that may be launched afterwards, possibly by employing a launcher similar to the wrapper script alternative described for '''Sway''' [[Sway#Automatically_Launch_Sway_on_tty1|below]];  or
* by being set automatically by the display manager, as is commonplace, but none is supplied by '''Sway'''.
 
=== Screen Lock and suspend-to-RAM ===
 
{{Tip| For a seat manager-agnostic and DE-/WM-agnostic tool, consider installing the {{Pkg|zzz}} utility, available in the [[Repositories#Community|community]] repository, or the {{Pkg|powerctl}} utility from the [[Repositories#Testing|testing]] repository, in order to manage suspend and hibernation.}}
 
For usage of the <Code>loginctl suspend</Code> command, see [[Elogind]].
 
To put the system to sleep after 600 seconds, use:
 
exec swayidle -w timeout 600 'doas /usr/bin/powerctl mem'
 
Do not lock the screen if program is running in full screen:
 
==== Idle inhibition ====
 
for_window [app_id="^.*"] inhibit_idle fullscreen
 
{{Todo|The option below, related to <Code>wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit</Code>, needs to be tested. If you find the option below to be working, please remove this Todo.}}
 
If you do not want to lock the screen while media is being played through [[PipeWire]], then install the {{pkg|wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit}} package, and add the following to Sway's {{Path|config}} file:
 
exec wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit
 
Make changes to the {{Path|~/.config/wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit/config.toml}} configuration file or to whichever configuration file you may have referenced instead through the <Code> --config <PATH></Code>, if required, as per the [https://github.com/rafaelrc7/wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit?tab=readme-ov-file#config project's website].
 
=== Elogind and swayidle ===
 
<code>swayidle</code> has integration with <code>elogind</code>, and it can handle ''before-sleep'' events.
 
If using <code>swayidle before-sleep</code>, then there will be a race condition, so that when you resume the computer from ''suspend'', the screen will show the contents of the unlocked screen for a second before showing the actual lock screen.  This can be a privacy concern.
 
To solve this issue, do the following.
 
Create the <code>/etc/elogind/system-sleep/10-swaylock.sh</code> file, and then add the following script to this file:
{{Cat|/etc/elogind/system-sleep/10-swaylock.sh|<nowiki>
#!/bin/sh
if [ "${1}" == "pre" ]; then
  touch /tmp/swaylock-sleep
  sleep 1
fi
</nowiki>}}
 
Then set it to executable.
 
Later, once Sway is installed, add the following line to its {{Path|config}} file:
 
exec touch /tmp/swaylock-sleep && inotifyd swaylock /tmp/swaylock-sleep
 
With this line, the screen will be promptly locked before ''suspend-to-RAM'' starts.
 
=== Brightness Control ===
 
Refer to [[Backlight]] for information on brightness control.
 
=== Output Scaling for High Resolution Displays ===
 
Without further configuration, program interfaces may be too small to use on high resolution displays.
 
Sway supports the per-display configuration of:-
 
* fractional (e.g. 1.5x);  and
* integer scaling (e.g. 2x)
 
However, fractional scaling is discouraged due both to the performance impact and to the blurry output it produces. In this case, where 1x scaling is too small and 2x scaling is too large, program-specific GTK/QT-based toolkit scaling is recommended.  See [[Sway#Toolkit Scaling|See below]].
 
==== Scaling with wdisplays ====
 
To enable Sway scaling, the user can first preview different scaling factors with the {{Pkg|wdisplays}} package.  Note the output name (''eDP-1'', ''LVDS-1'') and try apply scaling factors such as 1 and 2.  To make changes permanent, add the following line, completed with your settings, to Sway's {{Path|config}} file.


<pre>
<pre>
# apk add eudev
output <name> scale <factor>
# setup-udev
</pre>
</pre>


Then install graphics drivers appropriate to your system:
==== Toolkit Scaling ====
 
To use toolkit scaling, say, at x2, add the following, for instance, to your {{Path|~/.profile}}:  
 
# for GTK-based programs such as firefox and emacs:
export GDK_DPI_SCALE{{=}}2
 
# for QT-based programs
export QT_WAYLAND_FORCE_DPI{{=}}"physical"
# or if still too small, use a custom DPI
export QT_WAYLAND_FORCE_DPI{{=}}192 # 2x scaling
export QT_QPA_PLATFORM{{=}}"wayland-egl"


<pre>
=== Notification Daemon ===
# apk add mesa-dri-gallium  # gallium
# apk add mesa-dri-classic  # or classic
# apk add mesa-dri-nouveau  # for nvidia users
</pre>


The following links contain guides for setting up the video stack.
[[mako]] is a lightweight notification daemon that works seamlessly with Sway.  


* [[Intel Video]]
=== Screenshots ===
* [[Radeon Video]]


Add yourself to the input and video groups:
A simple tool that works well under Wayland is {{pkg|grimshot}}. Example keybindings:-


<pre>
<pre>
# adduser $USER input
bindsym Print exec grimshot copy area
# adduser $USER video
bindsym Shift+Print exec grimshot copy screen
bindsym Control+Print exec grimshot save area ~/Pictures/$(date +%d-%m-%Y-%H-%M-%S).png
bindsym Control+Shift+Print exec grimshot save screen ~/Pictures/$(date +%d-%m-%Y-%H-%M-%S).png
</pre>
</pre>


You have to log out and back in for this to take effect.  
See Sway's [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/Useful-add-ons-for-sway wiki article] for a listing of further screenshot tools.
 
=== Make Clipboard Content Persistent ===


Install some TTF fonts:
By default, the clipboard content does not persist after terminating the program: if you copy some text from Firefox and then exit Firefox, then the copied text is also lost.
 
Install {{Pkg|clipman}} from the community repo, and then add the following to Sway's {{Path|config}} file:


<pre>
<pre>
# apk add ttf-dejavu
exec wl-paste --type text/plain --watch clipman store --histpath="~/.local/state/clipman-primary.json"
bindsym $mod+h exec clipman pick --tool wofi --histpath="~/.local/state/clipman-primary.json"
</pre>
</pre>


Since sway 1.6.1 (more specifically, since wlroots 0.14), you need to set up libseat backend if you wish to run sway directly (without nesting it in another wayland compositor). To do that, [[Enable Community Repository|enable the community repository]] and choose one of the following methods:
=== Firefox Picture-in-Picture Mode/Floating Windows ===


<dl>
Add this to your Sway configuration file (modify the numeric values to suit your needs and your display):


<dt>Option 1: seatd daemon (recommended)</dt>
<dd>
<pre>
<pre>
# apk add seatd
for_window [app_id="firefox" title="^Picture-in-Picture$"] floating enable, move position 877 450, sticky enable, border none
# rc-update add seatd
# rc-service seatd start
# adduser $USER seat
</pre>
</pre>


If you are already logged in as a $USER, you will need to relogin.
=== Start with NumLock Enabled ===
</dd>


<dt>Option 2: seatd-launch</dt>
Add the following to your Sway {{Path|config}} file:
<dd>
 
<pre>
input type:keyboard xkb_numlock enabled
# apk add seatd-launch
 
</pre>
=== Change mouse cursor theme and size ===


When starting sway, you will need to prefix invocation with <code>seatd-launch</code>. 
Add to your Sway {{Path|config}} file:
Note: <code>seatd-launch</code> is a suid binary, so it might be wise to use one of the other methods from a security perspective.
</dd>


<dt>Option 3: elogind daemon</dt>
seat seat0 xcursor_theme my_cursor_theme my_cursor_size
<dd>


<pre>
For example, set a mouse cursor using the '''GNOME Adwaita''' theme:
# apk add elogind polkit-elogind
# rc-update add elogind
# rc-service elogind start
</pre>


Using <code>elogind</code> will automatically set the necessary permissions, so you can skip adding groups like <code>seat</code> and <code>video</code>
seat seat0 xcursor_theme Adwaita 16


</dd>
You can inspect their values with <code>echo $XCURSOR_SIZE</code> and <code>echo $XCURSOR_THEME</code>. If reloading your configuration does not result in change, try logging out and in.


</dl>
{{Note|Wayland allows for client-side cursors. It is possible that applications do not evaluate the values of <code>$XCURSOR_SIZE</code> and <code>$XCURSOR_THEME</code>.}}


== Installation ==
=== Custom Keyboard Layout ===


We can now install sway:
To use a custom keyboard layout, just use:


<pre>
<pre>
# apk add sway sway-doc
input type:keyboard {
# apk add                \ # Install optional dependencies:
  xkb_file /path/to/my/custom/layout
    xwayland            \ # recommended for compatibility reasons
}
    foot                \ # default terminal emulator
    dmenu                \ # default application launcher
    swaylock            \ # lockscreen tool
    swayidle              # idle management (DPMS) daemon
</pre>
</pre>


== Running Sway ==
=== Flatpaks ===


To run sway, first set XDG_RUNTIME_DIR to a suitable location (e.g. create a .run folder in your home directory and set it to ~/.run). Then run sway from the Linux console (dbus-launch is used because pipewire needs it, it is included in dbus-x11 and you may omit it):
{{main|Flatpak}}


As mentioned in [[Flatpak#Portals|Flatpak]] page, install the minimal required portal related packages i.e {{pkg|xdg-desktop-portal}}, {{pkg|xdg-desktop-portal-gtk}} and {{pkg|xdg-desktop-portal-wlr}}. After installing the packages, add the following to the ''autostart'' section in your Sway {{Path|config}} file to avoid [[Flatpak#GDBus_Error|GDBus errors]].
<pre>
<pre>
$ XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=~/.run dbus-launch sway
exec /usr/libexec/xdg-desktop-portal
exec /usr/libexec/xdg-desktop-portal-gtk
exec /usr/libexec/xdg-desktop-portal-wlr
</pre>
</pre>


(if you run sway with seatd-launch, you will need to use <code>$ XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=~/.run dbus-launch seatd-launch sway</code>)
These startup instructions are only needed, if these are not started automatically via other means.


You can also create a simple alias in your shell rc file (e.g. .zshrc), like:
== Starting Sway ==
<pre>
 
alias swayinit="XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=~/.run dbus-launch seatd-launch sway"
=== Manually Launch Sway ===
</pre>
 
You can launch Sway manually by issuing the <Code>sway</Code> command from a TTY.


See the [https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Wayland Wayland] page for a permanent configuration
{{Cmd|$ sway}}


{{Note|
{{Tip|When using [[Wayland]], for [[PipeWire]] and screensharing to work in Firefox and Chromium, a [[D-Bus]] is required. In the absence of a [[OpenRC#User_services|user service manager]], consider running <Code>sway</Code> with <code>dbus-run-session</code>, a convenient wrapper that will explicitly export the path of the session bus.{{Cmd|$ dbus-run-session sway}}
swaylock needs to be able to read your <code>/etc/shadow</code> file to be able to validate your password
}}
}}


== Configuration and Usage ==
=== Automatically Launch Sway on tty1 ===
 
Adding the following lines to {{Path|~/.profile}} or to its equivalent will ensure that <Code>sway</Code> launches automatically, with a D-Bus, ''only'' from ''tty1''.  This is handy for troubleshooting, because if the Sway configuration ever falters, one could troubleshoot by logging into a different TTY (''tty2''-''tty6''), and your startup script then will not attempt to launch the faulty Sway environment from there also.
{{Cat| ~/.profile|<nowiki>
...
 
if [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
    exec dbus-run-session sway
fi
...</nowiki>}}


An example config is provided at <code>/etc/sway/config</code>. Copy it to <code>~/.config/sway/config</code> and read through it to learn the default keybindings.
=== Using a Wrapper Script to Launch Sway ===


You might want to have gaps between windows, in which case add:
Instead of using {{Path|~/.profile}} or its equivalent file, a [https://man.sr.ht/~kennylevinsen/greetd/#how-to-set-xdg_session_typewayland wrapper script] can be placed at {{Path|/usr/local/bin/sway-run}}. This script can be used to launch <Code>sway</Code> from either a TTY or by [[greetd]], a lightweight [[Display manager|display manager]], as follows: {{Cat|/usr/local/bin/sway-run|<nowiki>#!/bin/sh
<pre>
# Session
inner_gaps 20
export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland
outer_gaps 20
export XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=sway
</pre>
export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway
(replace 20 with the amount of pixels you want to be used for gaps) in your sway config.
 
# Wayland stuff
export MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1
export QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland
export SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland
export _JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1
 
# Launch Sway with a D-Bus server
exec dbus-run-session sway "$@" </nowiki>}}
 
Make the file executable:
{{Cmd|# chmod +x /usr/local/bin/sway-run}}
 
== Troubleshooting ==
 
If you encounter any issues, try running <Code>sway -Vc /etc/sway/config</Code>. It will run <Code>sway</Code> with the default config file and set the output to be more verbose. It is generally a good idea to track your configuration files with ''git'' (if and when you use a remote repository for them, keep it private, for security reasons).
 
To capture the Sway error log in a file for troubleshooting, replace <code>sway</code> in your startup file by:
 
sway -d 2> ~/sway_error.log
 
Alternatively, you can also issue the below command from TTY.
 
{{Cmd|$ sway -d 2> ~/sway_error.log}}
 
=== Video Driver Issues ===
 
After installing Sway, and while launching it for the first time, a lack of appropriate [[#Install Graphics Drivers|video drivers]] may cause various error messages such as:
 
* "unable to create backend"
* "Failed to create renderer"
 
Install the necessary drivers in order for your [[#Install Graphics Drivers|graphics card]] to work with Sway.
 
=== XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is not set in the environment. Aborting ===
 
If [[seatd]] is used instead of [[elogind]], the error message '''XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is not set in the environment. Aborting''' might be encountered.
 
Ensure that the mandatory steps outlined in the [[Seatd]] wiki page are completed in order to set the [[XDG_RUNTIME_DIR]] variable.
 
=== No backend was able to open a seat ===
 
If no [[seat manager]] is available, then the error below will appear.
 
<Pre>
[libseat] [libseat/libseat.c:73] libseat_open_seat : No backend was able to open a seat
[backend/session/libseat.c:102] Unable to create seat : Function not implemented
[backend/backend.c:303] Failed to open any DRM device
[sway/server.c:49] Unable to create backend
</Pre>
 
Ensure that either [[Elogind]] or [[Seatd]] is properly configured and running.
 
=== Firefox (Flatpak) and/or GTK Apps ===
 
==== Disappearing Cursor ====
 
You may need to get an icon pack and possibly a theme from [https://www.pling.com/browse?cat=107&ord=latest Pling store] and set <code>GTK_THEME</code> environmental variable. Alternatively, one could install an [https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=*-icon-theme&branch=edge&repo=&arch=x86_64&origin=&flagged=&maintainer= icon theme] package for all users.
 
==== Missing file picker/cannot download ====
 
Go to ''about:config'' and set <code>widget.use-xdg-desktop-portal.file-picker</code> to 0.
 
=== Nvidia Issues ===
 
{{Draft|This section is partly outdated and could benefit from contributions in view of Nvidia's [https://docs.nvidia.com/drive/drive-os-5.2.3.0L/drive-os/index.html#page/DRIVE_OS_Linux_SDK_Development_Guide/Windows%20Systems/window_system_wayland.html current support] of Wayland. Help is encouraged.}}
{{Main|NVIDIA}}
As of Dec 31 2022, [https://developer.nvidia.com/docs/drive/drive-os/latest/linux/sdk/common/topics/window_system_stub/Gnome-WaylandDesktopShellSupport136.html Nvidia still doesn't fully support Wayland]. Therefore, the possible solutions are as outlined in the link, or setting your <Code>WLR_BACKENDS</Code> environmental variables to <code>drm,libinput</code> or <code>x11</code> (add {{Pkg|libinput}} here as well if you cannot use your mouse and keyboard after starting Sway). The latter also works for AMD/ATI cards ('''make sure to install {{Pkg|libinput}} first''').


You might have two monitors, and you might want to set their position, so here's an example of how to do it:
== See also ==
<pre>
output eDP-1 mode 1920x1080@60Hz
output eDP-1 position 1920,0
output DP-1 position 0,0
output DP-1 mode 1920x1080@120Hz
</pre>
In this case, eDP-1 is the internal laptop monitor running at 60Hz and DP-1 is the external monitor running at 120Hz. The position of the laptop monitor is where the external monitor's width ends, so if the display is 1920 pixels wide and it is on the left, the laptop's monitor would be on the right, so it's width would start at the end of the second monitor's width, so at 1920. Replace the eDP-1 and DP-1 outputs with your own ones, and to change resolution and refresh rate, change the mode according to your parameters.


For additional information, start at <code>man 5 sway</code> and read the [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki upstream FAQ].
* [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/ Sway Wiki]
* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Sway Archwiki]
* [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Sway Gentoo Wiki]
* [https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Sway PostmarketOS Wiki]


[[Category:Desktop]]
[[Category:Compositor]]

Latest revision as of 04:14, 15 October 2025

Sway is a tiling Wayland compositor and a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager. It works with your existing i3 configuration and supports most of i3's features, plus a few extras.

Prerequisites

Tip: Except for the first two prerequisites, all of the others are automatically handled if the desktop is installed using the following setup-desktop script.

Setup-desktop

The setup-desktop command automates the Sway desktop installation with eudev and elogind.

# setup-desktop sway

Proceed to the Starting Sway section, as no display manager is being installed nor configured by the script that would boot into a graphical login screen.

Manual Installation

The installation steps below allow you to pick and choose various components for your Sway desktop.

Install Fonts

Install DejaVu fonts (font-dejavu), which have good Unicode coverage:

# apk add font-dejavu

Install Sway

# apk add sway \ xwayland \ # if you need the xserver foot \ # default terminal emulator. Modify $term in config for a different one. wmenu \ # default Wayland native menu for choosing program and screensharing monitor swaylock swaylockd \ # lockscreen tool swaybg \ # display wallpaper grim \ # screenshot tool wl-clipboard \ # clipboard management i3status \ # simple status bar swayidle # idle management (DPMS) daemon

For complimentary software alternatives, see Sway's wiki or Gentoo's wiki.

Configuration

Sway config file

Copy the default Sway configuration file to ~/.config/sway/config so that it can be customized as per each user's choices:

$ mkdir -p ~/.config/sway $ cp /etc/sway/config ~/.config/sway/

Read through it to learn the default keybindings. Refer to the Sway customization guide as well as the See also section for Tips on customizing this config file. Sway's configuration is mostly backward compatible with that of i3's, and if you are looking for a solution for a specific issue, you could try checking whether it hasn't been provided for the i3 window manager.

For additional information, start at man 5 sway and read the upstream wiki.

PipeWire and Screensharing

The Sway compositor has no involvement with audio playback. In order for screensharing to work, PipeWire is required. Therefore, installing PipeWire is recommended for audio playback too.

Since v3.22, Alpine Linux provides the necessary scripts to start PipeWire as a user service in OpenRC.

From a screensharing perspective, applications are split into two categories:-

  • Those which use the native Wayland wlr-screencopy protocol
  • Those which use the API from Flatpak's xdg-desktop-portal (this portal is also used by native non-Flatpak applications).

Applications in the first group require no additional setup. Applications in the second group (which include Firefox and Chromium) require setting up xdg portals in addition to PipeWire.

# apk add xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-wlr

If you are using a dbus-run-session wrapper to launch Sway, you will also need to set D-Bus variables in order for the portal and for screensharing features to work; add the following line to the beginning of Sway's config file: 

exec dbus-update-activation-environment WAYLAND_DISPLAY DISPLAY XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP SWAYSOCK I3SOCK XCURSOR_SIZE XCURSOR_THEME

The XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP environment variable may be set by various methods, including:-

  • by amending its mention in that dbus-update-activation-environment line, editing it to specify XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway ; or
  • by exporting it from within an applicable environment configuration file, such as:

Contents of $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/.profile

export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway
However, this method is not universal, as it would require resetting the XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP variable for any different desktop/compositor/window manager that may be launched afterwards, possibly by employing a launcher similar to the wrapper script alternative described for Sway below; or
  • by being set automatically by the display manager, as is commonplace, but none is supplied by Sway.

Screen Lock and suspend-to-RAM

Tip: For a seat manager-agnostic and DE-/WM-agnostic tool, consider installing the zzz utility, available in the community repository, or the powerctl utility from the testing repository, in order to manage suspend and hibernation.

For usage of the loginctl suspend command, see Elogind.

To put the system to sleep after 600 seconds, use: 

exec swayidle -w timeout 600 'doas /usr/bin/powerctl mem'

Do not lock the screen if program is running in full screen:

Idle inhibition

for_window [app_id="^.*"] inhibit_idle fullscreen
Todo: The option below, related to wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit, needs to be tested. If you find the option below to be working, please remove this Todo.


If you do not want to lock the screen while media is being played through PipeWire, then install the wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit package, and add the following to Sway's config file: 

exec wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit

Make changes to the ~/.config/wayland-pipewire-idle-inhibit/config.toml configuration file or to whichever configuration file you may have referenced instead through the --config <PATH>, if required, as per the project's website.

Elogind and swayidle

swayidle has integration with elogind, and it can handle before-sleep events.

If using swayidle before-sleep, then there will be a race condition, so that when you resume the computer from suspend, the screen will show the contents of the unlocked screen for a second before showing the actual lock screen. This can be a privacy concern.

To solve this issue, do the following.

Create the /etc/elogind/system-sleep/10-swaylock.sh file, and then add the following script to this file:

Contents of /etc/elogind/system-sleep/10-swaylock.sh

#!/bin/sh if [ "${1}" == "pre" ]; then touch /tmp/swaylock-sleep sleep 1 fi

Then set it to executable.

Later, once Sway is installed, add the following line to its config file: 

exec touch /tmp/swaylock-sleep && inotifyd swaylock /tmp/swaylock-sleep

With this line, the screen will be promptly locked before suspend-to-RAM starts.

Brightness Control

Refer to Backlight for information on brightness control.

Output Scaling for High Resolution Displays

Without further configuration, program interfaces may be too small to use on high resolution displays.

Sway supports the per-display configuration of:-

  • fractional (e.g. 1.5x); and
  • integer scaling (e.g. 2x)

However, fractional scaling is discouraged due both to the performance impact and to the blurry output it produces. In this case, where 1x scaling is too small and 2x scaling is too large, program-specific GTK/QT-based toolkit scaling is recommended. See See below.

Scaling with wdisplays

To enable Sway scaling, the user can first preview different scaling factors with the wdisplays package. Note the output name (eDP-1, LVDS-1) and try apply scaling factors such as 1 and 2. To make changes permanent, add the following line, completed with your settings, to Sway's config file. 

output <name> scale <factor>

Toolkit Scaling

To use toolkit scaling, say, at x2, add the following, for instance, to your ~/.profile: 

# for GTK-based programs such as firefox and emacs:
export GDK_DPI_SCALE=2

# for QT-based programs
export QT_WAYLAND_FORCE_DPI="physical"
# or if still too small, use a custom DPI
export QT_WAYLAND_FORCE_DPI=192 # 2x scaling
export QT_QPA_PLATFORM="wayland-egl"

Notification Daemon

mako is a lightweight notification daemon that works seamlessly with Sway.

Screenshots

A simple tool that works well under Wayland is grimshot. Example keybindings:- 

bindsym Print exec grimshot copy area
bindsym Shift+Print exec grimshot copy screen
bindsym Control+Print exec grimshot save area ~/Pictures/$(date +%d-%m-%Y-%H-%M-%S).png
bindsym Control+Shift+Print exec grimshot save screen ~/Pictures/$(date +%d-%m-%Y-%H-%M-%S).png

See Sway's wiki article for a listing of further screenshot tools.

Make Clipboard Content Persistent

By default, the clipboard content does not persist after terminating the program: if you copy some text from Firefox and then exit Firefox, then the copied text is also lost.

Install clipman from the community repo, and then add the following to Sway's config file: 

exec wl-paste --type text/plain --watch clipman store --histpath="~/.local/state/clipman-primary.json"
bindsym $mod+h exec clipman pick --tool wofi --histpath="~/.local/state/clipman-primary.json"

Firefox Picture-in-Picture Mode/Floating Windows

Add this to your Sway configuration file (modify the numeric values to suit your needs and your display): 

for_window [app_id="firefox" title="^Picture-in-Picture$"] floating enable, move position 877 450, sticky enable, border none

Start with NumLock Enabled

Add the following to your Sway config file: 

input type:keyboard xkb_numlock enabled

Change mouse cursor theme and size

Add to your Sway config file: 

seat seat0 xcursor_theme my_cursor_theme my_cursor_size

For example, set a mouse cursor using the GNOME Adwaita theme: 

seat seat0 xcursor_theme Adwaita 16

You can inspect their values with echo $XCURSOR_SIZE and echo $XCURSOR_THEME. If reloading your configuration does not result in change, try logging out and in.

Note: Wayland allows for client-side cursors. It is possible that applications do not evaluate the values of $XCURSOR_SIZE and $XCURSOR_THEME.

Custom Keyboard Layout

To use a custom keyboard layout, just use: 

input type:keyboard {
  xkb_file /path/to/my/custom/layout
}

Flatpaks

Main article: Flatpak

As mentioned in Flatpak page, install the minimal required portal related packages i.e xdg-desktop-portal, xdg-desktop-portal-gtk and xdg-desktop-portal-wlr. After installing the packages, add the following to the autostart section in your Sway config file to avoid GDBus errors. 

exec /usr/libexec/xdg-desktop-portal
exec /usr/libexec/xdg-desktop-portal-gtk
exec /usr/libexec/xdg-desktop-portal-wlr

These startup instructions are only needed, if these are not started automatically via other means.

Starting Sway

Manually Launch Sway

You can launch Sway manually by issuing the sway command from a TTY.

$ sway

Tip: When using Wayland, for PipeWire and screensharing to work in Firefox and Chromium, a D-Bus is required. In the absence of a user service manager, consider running sway with dbus-run-session, a convenient wrapper that will explicitly export the path of the session bus.

$ dbus-run-session sway

Automatically Launch Sway on tty1

Adding the following lines to ~/.profile or to its equivalent will ensure that sway launches automatically, with a D-Bus, only from tty1. This is handy for troubleshooting, because if the Sway configuration ever falters, one could troubleshoot by logging into a different TTY (tty2-tty6), and your startup script then will not attempt to launch the faulty Sway environment from there also.

Contents of ~/.profile

... if [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then exec dbus-run-session sway fi ...

Using a Wrapper Script to Launch Sway

Instead of using ~/.profile or its equivalent file, a wrapper script can be placed at /usr/local/bin/sway-run. This script can be used to launch sway from either a TTY or by greetd, a lightweight display manager, as follows:

Contents of /usr/local/bin/sway-run

#!/bin/sh # Session export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland export XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=sway export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway # Wayland stuff export MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 export QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland export SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland export _JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 # Launch Sway with a D-Bus server exec dbus-run-session sway "$@"

Make the file executable:

# chmod +x /usr/local/bin/sway-run

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues, try running sway -Vc /etc/sway/config. It will run sway with the default config file and set the output to be more verbose. It is generally a good idea to track your configuration files with git (if and when you use a remote repository for them, keep it private, for security reasons).

To capture the Sway error log in a file for troubleshooting, replace sway in your startup file by: 

sway -d 2> ~/sway_error.log

Alternatively, you can also issue the below command from TTY.

$ sway -d 2> ~/sway_error.log

Video Driver Issues

After installing Sway, and while launching it for the first time, a lack of appropriate video drivers may cause various error messages such as:

  • "unable to create backend"
  • "Failed to create renderer"

Install the necessary drivers in order for your graphics card to work with Sway.

XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is not set in the environment. Aborting

If seatd is used instead of elogind, the error message XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is not set in the environment. Aborting might be encountered.

Ensure that the mandatory steps outlined in the Seatd wiki page are completed in order to set the XDG_RUNTIME_DIR variable.

No backend was able to open a seat

If no seat manager is available, then the error below will appear. 

[libseat] [libseat/libseat.c:73] libseat_open_seat : No backend was able to open a seat
[backend/session/libseat.c:102] Unable to create seat : Function not implemented
[backend/backend.c:303] Failed to open any DRM device
[sway/server.c:49] Unable to create backend

Ensure that either Elogind or Seatd is properly configured and running.

Firefox (Flatpak) and/or GTK Apps

Disappearing Cursor

You may need to get an icon pack and possibly a theme from Pling store and set GTK_THEME environmental variable. Alternatively, one could install an icon theme package for all users.

Missing file picker/cannot download

Go to about:config and set widget.use-xdg-desktop-portal.file-picker to 0.

Nvidia Issues

This material is work-in-progress ...

This section is partly outdated and could benefit from contributions in view of Nvidia's current support of Wayland. Help is encouraged.
(Last edited by Prabuanand on 15 Oct 2025.)


Main article: NVIDIA

As of Dec 31 2022, Nvidia still doesn't fully support Wayland. Therefore, the possible solutions are as outlined in the link, or setting your WLR_BACKENDS environmental variables to drm,libinput or x11 (add libinput here as well if you cannot use your mouse and keyboard after starting Sway). The latter also works for AMD/ATI cards (make sure to install libinput first).

See also

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