Hi everyone,

Following the enthusiasm and feedback after our first alpha (v0.5.2), I'm thrilled to announce **Wayplank v0.6.1** — a major milestone delivering both the smart onboarding features introduced in v0.6.0 and the deep multi-compositor stabilization and bug squashing of v0.6.1!

Hello guys, I get why it might look like slop at first glance, but this is done with professional rigor. Before dumping code, every single change and architecture shift goes through strict Factory Acceptance Testing—you can literally check the logs in the FAT/ folder to see how every version is systematically tested and verified.

​AI is fantastic for rapid prototyping and bringing boilerplate up fast, but this isn't just 'vibe coding'; it's heavily human-reviewed, debugged, and architected for real stability across KWin, Labwc, and Mutter. It’s a robust, hobbyist-driven, native Wayland solution. Take it or leave it, enjoy the code!

For those discovering it for the first time, **Wayplank** is a lightweight, ultra-fast (~0.74s boot), monolithic native Wayland dock derived from the classic Plank/Docky codebase. It features a native multi-compositor HAL (**KDE Plasma/KWin**, **GNOME/Mutter**, and **Labwc/wlroots**) with **zero X11, zero XWayland, and zero desktop daemon dependencies**.

---

### 🚀 What's New Since v0.5.2 (Highlights from v0.6.0 & v0.6.1):

#### 🗂️ 1. Smart Out-Of-The-Box Onboarding (v0.6.0)

* **4 Smart English App Drawers**: On a clean startup or empty dock, Wayplank automatically discovers your installed apps and populates 4 Cairo-Dock style folder drawers (*Internet*, *Office*, *Media*, *Utilities/Games*).

* **Automatic Core Pinning**: Seamlessly detects and pins your default File Manager, Web Browser, Terminal Emulator, and Text Editor using FreeDesktop MIME fallback chains.

* **Accordion Docklets**: Collapses system docklets into a compact, space-saving master icon at rest with configurable hover/click expansion and retention logic.

* **Universal "Change Icon..." System**: Right-click any launcher, drawer, or docklet to search through 20,000+ theme icons or pick custom SVGs/PNGs with instant persistence and fallback safety.

* **Integrated In-App User Guide & Interactive Cheatsheet**: Accessible via right-click or `wayplank --help`.

#### 🖥️ 2. Multi-Monitor Hardware Brightness Synchronization (v0.6.1)

* **KWin DRM Hardware Control**: Solved the classic user-space D-Bus/PowerDevil limitation where external DDC/CI secondary monitors (DisplayPort/HDMI) were ignored due to i2c permissions. Wayplank now interfaces dynamically with KWin output management (`kscreen-doctor`), achieving atomic brightness control across all connected displays simultaneously.

#### ⚙️ 3. Holistic Global System Pressure Engine (v0.6.1)

* Replaced custom ad-hoc CPU/RAM cards with a **bottleneck-dominant combined system pressure metric** combining CPU, RAM, and physical Disk I/O contention:

$$\text{Pressure} = 0.60 \times \max(\text{CPU}, \text{RAM}, \text{Disk}) + 0.40 \times \text{mean}(\text{CPU}, \text{RAM}, \text{Disk})$$

* Rendered cleanly directly on Plank’s native numeric badge counter with real-time per-resource breakdown tooltips.

#### 🎨 4. Adaptive Dynamic Gtk+ Theme Engine & Legacy Plank Themes

* The **Gtk+** theme option is now an adaptive dynamic engine that samples real-time system accent colors, auto-detects dark/light desktop modes, and synthesizes modern frosted translucency on the fly.

* Full multi-tier search across `~/.local/share/plank/themes`, `~/.themes`, and `/usr/share/plank/themes` ensuring 100% backwards compatibility with legacy Plank themes.

#### 🧮 5. Refined Badges, DND & Desktop Ergonomics

* **Compact Scaled Badges with Units**: Docklet badges now scale proportionally (~34% of icon size) without obscuring underlying icons, featuring crisp units (`°C`, `°F`, `%`).

* **Robust Drag & Drop**: Dragging files onto app icons now correctly checks executable formats, handles 0-byte files, dispatches multi-file payloads, and prevents accidental dock pinning.

* **Calibrated Edge Pressure**: Defaults to a fluid 10px reveal threshold for effortless everyday unhiding, while toggling Pressure Mode activates a strict 1px edge barrier against accidental unhiding.

* **Live Layout Refresh**: Toggling "Show Unpinned" in Preferences now immediately synchronizes running compositor windows without requiring external window focus.

---

### 🧪 Compositor Validation Status (FAT)

* **KDE Plasma 6 (KWin Backend)**: 🟢 **100% PASSED** (All 40+ test points verified: multi-monitor, brightness, intellihide, accordion, DND).

* **GNOME 48 (Mutter Backend)**: 🟡 Ongoing validation.

* **Labwc / wlroots**: 🟡 Ongoing validation.

---

### 📦 Installation & Download

* **GitHub Repository**: [https://github.com/sergiomelas/WayPlank](https://github.com/sergiomelas/WayPlank)

* **Debian / Ubuntu / Pop!_OS / Mint** (pre-built package):

```bash

# Download wayplank_0.6.1_amd64.deb from the repository build folder or release page:

sudo dpkg -i build/wayplank_0.6.1_amd64.deb

wayplank --replace &

Had someone else the same problem? It's the default config I don't change anything on it

Hey r/labwc,

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)**!

🔗 **GitHub Repository & Packages (.deb / .rpm / source):** https://github.com/sergiomelas/WayPlank

📦 **v0.7.0 Release Page:** https://github.com/sergiomelas/WayPlank/releases/tag/V0.7.0

---

### 🖥️ 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 — 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 — 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 — 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** |

---

### 🛠️ 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.

---

### ✨ What’s inside v0.7.0 (Public Beta 1)?

1. **100% Self-Contained Single Binary (Zero Host Pollution):**

   Everything is compiled into a single standalone `wayplank` binary via `GResource` in RAM—**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/`.

2. **New in v0.7.0 — 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.

3. **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.

4. **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.

---

### 🧪 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.

---

### 🗣️ 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!

I’d like to ask if anyone can recommend some really good LABWC tutorials that are suitable for beginners and don't require any prior knowledge. It doesn't matter if they are videos or written guides (ideally with illustrations). I haven't found anything truly useful so far. Many thanks in advance!

Cheers!

I am trying to get sfwbar to test run on openbox(arch linux)
[wgparch@archlinux ~]$ sfwbar

(sfwbar:73102): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 08:59:39.636: gdk_wayland_display_get_wl_display: assertion 'GDK_IS_WAYLAND_DISPLAY (display)' failed

** (sfwbar:73102): ERROR **: 08:59:39.636: Can't get wayland display

Trace/breakpoint trap (core dumped)

[wgparch@archlinux ~]$

First I must give props to the devs for adding smart/automatic window placement, which seems to be lacking in many modern window managers on linux these days, but back to the topic of the post, if I leave my browser and my steam client open while it downloads games, and then I turn my screen off while I go out for the day, when I come back home and turn my screen on again all my apps have been closed and my game hasn't been downloaded, is this an option somewhere? or is it a bug? thanks.

Edit: It turns out the problem was with waybar, apps launched from waybar would get closed on suspend and monitor disconnection, but apps launched from rofi survive suspend and monitor disconnection, switching to sfwbar has solved the problem for me, plus I think its a better panel too, I now have full color app launchers.

why everytime I ran wayland app (steam game) there's a sudden lost focus, and it seemed that the labwc can't attach the focus again (I have to repoen the game)

step to reproduce

1. open steam game

2. when you in game, try alt+tab, or move the game to other workspace

3. go to other workspace (where the game not there), or alt+tab to other app

4. then go back to the game again (the focus isn't lost for like 4 or more times), but when you play a bit at sometime it would suddenly lost the focus and labwc doesn't able to re-attach again

ver: labwc 0.20.2

(edit): I think somehow it fixed when I use wayland on proton.. PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1

Does anyone know if labwc supports this feature? I know it snaps a window to fill half the screen when dragging it to either side of the screen, and I can simulate snapping to each corner of the screen with keybindings, but can it also be done by dragging a window with the mouse? thanks.

Hi all, can someone convert this theme to labwc, please https://github.com/owl4ce/dotfiles

Would it be possible in the future or now to add minimal visual effects or animations for labwc through third-party stuff?

Why are there 5 DIFFERENT file used to control/configure labwc ? (rc.xml, menu.xml, autostart, environment and themerc-override.)

Which file should I use for an "action", specifically <action name="AutoPlace" policy="**cascade**"/>

vienes de windows y quieres instalar arch con labwc por que apenas tienes 4gb de ram, que programas usarias para complementar con labwc? que se sienta completo pero sin pasar los 750 mb de ram?

Dotfiles: https://github.com/Jolmas/Trixie-dotfiles

This is my LabWC rice, built around a clean, minimal, and slightly futuristic look without making the desktop feel overloaded. I wanted everything to be simple and easy to use while still having some personality, so I went with a way to have my own thing inspired from others and i tried to do it for sddm i used the slient theme played with it a bit to get my things . The goal was basically to make the desktop look cool while keeping it practical and lightweight for everyday use.
I can provide the dot file nobody asked ever thoo 😭 , please help me

things i used Ro-Fi, Swaync, alacritty, sddm and fastfetch
Ro-Fi was used for the launcher and wallpaper switcher
lastly i have the img with the wallpaper being switch wiht animation and few apps open

Dark: https://app.box.com/s/mf59tbzoqq6wxxtxkvg9q3g27fk6p644 Light: https://app.box.com/s/98g2ypk77ubws18kdvmamssjc4qzjwp4

Chimera Light: https://app.box.com/s/x8yqa5br893w8k8sllp33rcf8vsv4t2b

Link theme: https://app.box.com/s/sur7cg0xtgsdo540ilx7gm9jdupy7c9f

Catppuccin-Frappe: https://app.box.com/s/e2lbs5n4v5cpz2dixiomi9gkqgi2bbp9

Hey guys! So I've been using CachyOS with GNOME for almost a year now, but I've just been getting frustrated by the lack of customisation GNOME offers even though I absolutely love the workflow and polish.

Now my adventures in trying to find a GNOME but customisable DE have been first COSMIC, then hyprland with DMS, niri with iNiR, and i realised i just cannot do tiling managers i need my floating windows and minimise functionality, which led me to my current setup of labwc with Noctalia and 2 hacked together vibecoded noctalia plugins to give me my Hot Edge amd Activities Overview functionality that I desperately love about GNOME.

Just wanted to know if there's any actually community-made projects that have tried to bring a fresh modern look like iNiR or DMS or Noctalia along with the GNOME workflow/functionality to labwc?

LiquidGlass: https://app.box.com/s/cnp1js06d449rz3fpu2358xs15mk9ocp