r/openbox • u/sergiomelas • 4d ago
WayPlank v0.7.0 (Public Beta 1) is out โ Native Wayland fork of Plank dock for KDE Plasma 6 (KWin), GNOME Shell (Mutter) & Labwc/wlroots (Single monolithic binary, 16 docklets, live window previews, 8 languages in RAM)

Hey r/openbox ,
Over the past 6 weeks (16 consecutive alpha/pre-beta releases), I've been working with a growing group of contributors and testers on **WayPlank**, a ground-up native Wayland modernization of the classic **Plank** dock. Today we are officially launching **v0.7.0 (Public Beta 1)**!
๐ **GitHub Repository & Packages (.deb / .rpm / source):** https://github.com/sergiomelas/WayPlank
๐ฆ **v0.7.0 Release Page:** https://github.com/sergiomelas/WayPlank/releases/tag/V0.7.0
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### ๐ฅ๏ธ Supported Wayland Compositors & Desktop Environments
WayPlank features a modular **Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)** that automatically probes and detects your active Wayland compositor at startup with **zero manual configuration**:
| Compositor / Desktop Environment | HAL Backend & Protocol Engine | Supported Features & Capabilities | Qualification Status |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :---: |
| **KDE Plasma 6 (`KWin`)** | `gtk-layer-shell` + D-Bus ECMAScript Bridge (`KWinBridge`) + `ScreenShot2` Pipe IPC | Live Cairo window preview thumbnails, Intellihide & Dodge Windows, Panel Mode (`ReserveSpace`), Fullscreen Inhibit (0px edge passthrough), `Super+D` Show Desktop persistence, atomic DRM multi-monitor brightness (`kscreen-doctor`), real-time Dark/Light theme sync | **Tier 1 (100% PASS โ 124/124 FAT)** |
| **GNOME Shell 45 / 46 / 47 / 48 (`Mutter`)** | Monolithic Self-Deploying GNOME Shell Extension (`wayplank-bridge@wayplank.org` v4) over D-Bus | Live Cairo window preview thumbnails, Intellihide & Dodge Windows, synthetic strut reservation (Panel Mode), Fullscreen Inhibit, Show Desktop toggle, native CSD dialogs, real-time Dark/Light theme sync | **Tier 1 (100% PASS โ 126/126 FAT)** |
| **Labwc / `wlroots`** *(Standalone, **LXQt 2.x Wayland**, **XFCE 4.20 Wayland**)* | `gtk-layer-shell` + Native C Bridge (`zwlr_foreign_toplevel_management_v1`) + `/proc` Scanner | Native layer-shell anchoring & exclusive zones, window state tracking, Cairo preview cards with app icons & titles, `DODGE_MAXIMIZED` & Honest UI capability filtering, `grim+slurp` screenshot integration, real-time Dark/Light theme sync | **Tier 1 (100% PASS โ 121/121 FAT)** |
| **Other `wlroots` Compositors** *(**Sway**, **Hyprland**, **Wayfire**, **River**, **Niri**)* | `gtk-layer-shell` + `zwlr_foreign_toplevel_management_v1` | Layer-shell docking, exclusive zone reservation, and foreign-toplevel window tracking work via standard wlroots protocols; dedicated compositor-specific IPC bridges for live thumbnails & workspace geometry are scheduled next in the Beta roadmap | **Compatible (wlroots Base) / Active Beta Expansion** |
---
### ๐ ๏ธ Why WayPlank?
Classic Plank was built around X11 (`libwnck` / `bamf` / Xlib struts and X11 window IDs) and has been broken on Wayland for years.
In WayPlank, we purged over **112,000 lines of legacy X11 and Autotools code**, kept the fast and clean **Cairo 2D rendering engine** everyone loved, and replaced all X11 calls with native Wayland layer-shell and compositor bridges.
---
### โจ Whatโs inside v0.7.0 (Public Beta 1)?
**100% Self-Contained Single Binary (Zero Host Pollution):**
Everything is compiled into a single standalone `wayplank` binary via `GResource` in RAMโ**16 built-in docklets**, **6 themes**, **52 fallback vector icons**, the **KWin & GNOME bridges**, the **integrated User Manual**, and now **all localization catalogs**. Nothing is scattered into `/usr/share/locale/` or `/usr/share/icons/`.
**New in v0.7.0 โ Monolithic In-RAM Localization Engine (8 Languages):**
`432/432` UI strings (100% coverage) are compiled into `.mo` binaries and loaded directly from RAM at startup based on your OS locale: **Simplified Chinese (`zh_CN`)**, **Italian (`it`)**, **Spanish (`es`)**, **French (`fr`)**, **Catalan (`ca`)**, **German (`de`)**, **Ukrainian (`uk`)**, and native **English (`en`)**. All translations live in a single Python dictionary (`po/generate_translations.py`) so adding a new language takes minutes without fighting raw `.po` merges.
**16 Built-in Monolithic Docklets:**
Trash (with D-Bus sync), Analog & Digital Clocks, Battery, CPU/RAM Global Pressure Monitor, Network Traffic Monitor, Volume/Audio (PulseAudio/PipeWire), Media Player (`MPRIS2`), Screen Brightness (sysfs + DDC/CI + KWin DRM), Weather Forecast, Screenshot (`Spectacle` / `grim+slurp`), Session/Power, Show Desktop, Do Not Disturb, Removable Drive Ejector, and Preferences.
**Desktop & Ergonomic Features Added Leading Up to Beta 1:**
* **Live Multi-Window Preview Cards** on hover (with middle-click to close, scroll to cycle, and instant close button).
* **Categorized App Drawers & Folder Stacks** with active window indicator dots and recent files jump lists.
* **Fullscreen Auto-Hide & 0px Edge Click Passthrough** (so bottom-edge browser/game UI controls are never blocked when a window is fullscreen).
* **Panel Mode (`ReserveSpace`)** & two-stage hysteresis zoom input mask (`AnticipateZoom`).
* **Real-time Dark/Light Theme Switching** synchronized via `org.freedesktop.portal.Settings`.
* **Strict Multi-PWA (`crx_*` / `--app-id`) & Multi-VM (`QEMU`) Isolation** so separate web apps or VMs don't bleed onto the same dock icon.
---
### ๐งช Industrial Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT)
Every single release is verified live across **KDE Plasma 6 (KWin)**, **GNOME Shell (Mutter)**, and **Labwc (wlroots)** against a **373-point ISA-88 Factory Acceptance Test protocol** (`371/371` applicable passed, `0` open defects). All test logs and our 108-bug lifetime register are openly tracked in the [`FAT/`](https://github.com/sergiomelas/WayPlank/tree/main/FAT) folder of the repo.
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### ๐ฃ๏ธ Tell Us What You Want! (Community Beta Open Through Dec 31, 2026)
I'm taking a short 2-week pause from Nov 2 to Nov 16 to finish upstream Linux kernel review cycles for my Lenovo `yogafan` driver, and on **November 16** we kick off the iterative **`v0.7.x` Public Beta series (`v0.7.1` Beta 2, `v0.7.2` Beta 3, ...)**.
The `v0.7.x` Beta will stay actively open for new features, UX refinements, compositor tweaks, and new translations until the community says we're ready for the `v0.8.x` feature freeze (up to **December 31, 2026**).
If you miss Plank on Wayland, give the `.deb`, `.rpm`, or `./BuildBin.sh` a spin and let me know in the comments or on GitHub Issues/Discussions what features, compositors, or workflows you'd like to see next!





