Xwayland 26.1.0 rc1

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Wayland’s growing dominance on Linux desktops, and the release of a new XWayland RC, is prompting renewed debate over whether it meaningfully improves on X11 or just breaks long‑standing workflows. Proponents point to HDR, VRR, modern GPU support, better security, and standardized portals for features like screen sharing, while critics highlight buggy compositor implementations, regressions in basic window management, Zoom and gaming issues, and a perceived loss of flexibility compared with X11’s “mechanism over policy” design. Alternatives such as Xlibre attract interest from those dissatisfied with Wayland, but concerns about maintainer behavior, limited contributor diversity, and the sheer momentum behind Wayland leave many viewing X11 and XWayland as legacy paths that will gradually be phased out.

Wayland vs X11: value and philosophy

  • Some see Wayland as necessary for modern needs: HDR, VRR, mixed refresh/DPI, zero‑copy video, tiled GPUs, lower latency and better gaming.
  • Others argue X11 can already do most of this (except HDR) or could with effort, and that its “mechanism over policy” model is more flexible than Wayland’s “policy over mechanism.”
  • Critics call Wayland an “architectural failure” that offloads too much work and fragility to each compositor and client.

Xlibre and attempts to revive X11

  • Xlibre is cited as proof X11 can evolve (HDR, namespaces, seat management, scaling).
  • Supporters claim Xorg was intentionally starved of features to push Wayland and that Xlibre is fixing that.
  • Others strongly criticize the project’s lead for repeated regressions, unnecessary API breaks, poor collaboration, and even extremist politics, casting doubt on the project’s future.

User experience: stability, DEs, and gaming

  • Reports range from “Wayland + KDE/GNOME is rock solid and smoother than X” to “KDE Wayland window management is so broken I had to revert to X11.”
  • Some DEs (e.g., new ones like Cosmic) are acknowledged as immature; issues are often attributed to implementations, not the protocol.
  • Several users say Wayland now works better for gaming (especially with VRR), while others see regressions and stick to X11.

Screen sharing, Zoom, and audio

  • Multiple complaints about Zoom on Wayland/XWayland: crashes, broken screensharing, missing annotation.
  • Others report years of trouble‑free use via the browser on Wayland.
  • Thread emphasizes that modern Wayland workflows rely on standardized portals (xdg‑desktop‑portal), while X11 used ad‑hoc, often fragile capture methods.
  • Some argue Wayland initially shipped without basics like reliable screensharing, causing a long, painful transition.

Portability and BSDs

  • Wayland “is just a protocol,” but maintainers note that Linux‑first libraries make BSD support harder and slower.
  • Both FreeBSD and OpenBSD have Wayland compositors, but keeping them working is extra work.

XWayland’s role and future

  • Many see XWayland as an essential transition layer and even as a de‑facto “rich client library” filling gaps in Wayland APIs.
  • One commenter predicts X11/XWayland support will disappear from major toolkits around ~2030; others hope XWayland remains indefinitely.
  • EGLStream support removal is noted as acceptable now that NVIDIA supports GBM.

Governance, fragmentation, and politics

  • Concerns that every DE writing its own compositor leads to duplicated bugs and slow feature rollout.
  • Disputes over Xorg maintainers’ decisions versus accusations of sabotage.
  • Meta‑complaints about moderation, “cancelling,” and political litmus tests around Xlibre discussions.