NixOS Wiki

Sway: Difference between revisions

← Older edit
Visual
imported>Alberand
m Add short note for newebies - what kanshi is? I was confused if I need it. And fixed missing quote.
Axka (talk | contribs)
20 edits
m nix->NixOS
 
(45 intermediate revisions by 29 users not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
[https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/i3-Migration-Guide i3 migration guide]
[https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/i3-Migration-Guide i3 migration guide]


== Installation ==
== Setup ==
You can install Sway by enabling it in NixOS directly, or by using [[Home Manager]]. Note that if you enable Sway using NixOS (via <code>programs.sway.enable = true;</code> in <code>configuration.nix</code>), your Home Manager configurations for Sway will be ignored.
You can install Sway by enabling it in NixOS directly, or by using [[Home Manager]], or both.


=== Using NixOS ===
=== Using NixOS ===
Here is a minimal configuration (without [[Home Manager]]) where everything you would expect (like screen sharing and gtk themes) work:
Here is a minimal configuration:
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
{ config, pkgs, lib, ... }:
{ config, pkgs, lib, ... }:
let
  # bash script to let dbus know about important env variables and
  # propagate them to relevent services run at the end of sway config
  # see
  # https://github.com/emersion/xdg-desktop-portal-wlr/wiki/"It-doesn't-work"-Troubleshooting-Checklist
  # note: this is pretty much the same as  /etc/sway/config.d/nixos.conf but also restarts 
  # some user services to make sure they have the correct environment variables
  dbus-sway-environment = pkgs.writeTextFile {
    name = "dbus-sway-environment";
    destination = "/bin/dbus-sway-environment";
    executable = true;
    text = ''
  dbus-update-activation-environment --systemd WAYLAND_DISPLAY XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway
  systemctl --user stop pipewire pipewire-media-session xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-wlr
  systemctl --user start pipewire pipewire-media-session xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-wlr
      '';
  };
  # currently, there is some friction between sway and gtk:
  # https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/GTK-3-settings-on-Wayland
  # the suggested way to set gtk settings is with gsettings
  # for gsettings to work, we need to tell it where the schemas are
  # using the XDG_DATA_DIR environment variable
  # run at the end of sway config
  configure-gtk = pkgs.writeTextFile {
      name = "configure-gtk";
      destination = "/bin/configure-gtk";
      executable = true;
      text = let
        schema = pkgs.gsettings-desktop-schemas;
        datadir = "${schema}/share/gsettings-schemas/${schema.name}";
      in ''
        export XDG_DATA_DIRS=${datadir}:$XDG_DATA_DIRS
        gnome_schema=org.gnome.desktop.interface
        gsettings set $gnome_schema gtk-theme 'Dracula'
        '';
  };
in
{
{
   environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
   environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    alacritty # gpu accelerated terminal
    sway
    dbus-sway-environment
    configure-gtk
    wayland
    glib # gsettings
    dracula-theme # gtk theme
    gnome3.adwaita-icon-theme  # default gnome cursors
    swaylock
    swayidle
     grim # screenshot functionality
     grim # screenshot functionality
     slurp # screenshot functionality
     slurp # screenshot functionality
     wl-clipboard # wl-copy and wl-paste for copy/paste from stdin / stdout
     wl-clipboard # wl-copy and wl-paste for copy/paste from stdin / stdout
    bemenu # wayland clone of dmenu
     mako # notification system developed by swaywm maintainer
     mako # notification system developed by swaywm maintainer
   ];
   ];


  # Enable the gnome-keyring secrets vault.
  # Will be exposed through DBus to programs willing to store secrets.
  services.gnome.gnome-keyring.enable = true;


  services.pipewire = {
   # enable Sway window manager
    enable = true;
    alsa.enable = true;
    pulse.enable = true;
  };
 
 
  # xdg-desktop-portal works by exposing a series of D-Bus interfaces
  # known as portals under a well-known name
  # (org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop) and object path
  # (/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop).
  # The portal interfaces include APIs for file access, opening URIs,
  # printing and others.
  services.dbus.enable = true;
  xdg.portal = {
    enable = true;
    wlr.enable = true;
    # gtk portal needed to make gtk apps happy
    extraPortals = [ pkgs.xdg-desktop-portal-gtk ];
    gtkUsePortal = true;
  };
 
   # enable sway window manager
   programs.sway = {
   programs.sway = {
     enable = true;
     enable = true;
Line 99: Line 27:
   };
   };
}
}
</syntaxhighlight>
</syntaxhighlight>By default, the Sway module in NixOS comes with a set of extra packages, including the <code>foot</code> terminal, <code>swayidle</code>, <code>swaylock</code>, and <code>wmenu</code>, which can be configured under  <code>[https://search.nixos.org/options?show=programs.sway.extraPackages programs.sway.extraPackages]</code> option. You may also want to include <code>wl-clipboard</code> for clipboard functionality and <code>slurp</code> for screenshot region selection. Additionally, for a more customizable bar implementation than <code>sway-bar</code>, <code>waybar</code> can be enabled with <code>programs.waybar.enable</code>.


and here are the relevent things you should add to your sway config:
The default Sway configuration is simlinked to <code>/etc/sway/config</code> and <code>/etc/sway/config.d/nixos.conf</code>. The latter file contains dbus and systemd configuration that is critical to using apps that depend on XDG desktop portals with Sway, and should be included in any custom configuration files.
 
{{file|sway config|bash|
 
set $menu bemenu-run
 
# screenshots
bindsym $mod+c exec grim  -g "$(slurp)" /tmp/$(date +'%H:%M:%S.png')
 
 
exec dbus-sway-environment
exec configure-gtk
 
}}


A few general comments:
A few general comments:
* There is some friction between GTK theming and sway. Currently the sway developers suggest using gsettings to set gtk theme attributes as described here [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/GTK-3-settings-on-Wayland]. There is currently a plan to allow GTK theme attributes to be set directly in the sway config.
* There is some friction between GTK theming and Sway. Currently the Sway developers suggest using gsettings to set gtk theme attributes as described here [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/GTK-3-settings-on-Wayland]. There is currently a plan to allow GTK theme attributes to be set directly in the Sway config.
* Running sway as a systemd user service is not recommended [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/Systemd-integration#running-sway-itself-as-a---user-service] [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/5160]
* Running Sway as a systemd user service is not recommended [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/Systemd-integration#running-sway-itself-as-a---user-service] [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/5160]
* This wiki page was gutted and rewritten in June 2022. See [https://discourse.nixos.org/t/some-lose-ends-for-sway-on-nixos-which-we-should-fix/17728] for the related discussion.


=== Using Home Manager ===
=== Using Home Manager ===
To set up Sway using [[Home Manager]], first you must enable [[Polkit]] in your nix configuration:
To set up Sway using [[Home Manager]], first you must enable [[Polkit]] in your NixOS configuration:
{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
security.polkit.enable = true;
security.polkit.enable = true;
Line 131: Line 45:
   wayland.windowManager.sway = {
   wayland.windowManager.sway = {
     enable = true;
     enable = true;
    wrapperFeatures.gtk = true; # Fixes common issues with GTK 3 apps
     config = rec {
     config = rec {
       modifier = "Mod4";
       modifier = "Mod4";
Line 139: Line 54:
         {command = "firefox";}
         {command = "firefox";}
       ];
       ];
    };
   };
   };
</syntaxhighlight>
</syntaxhighlight>


See [https://rycee.gitlab.io/home-manager/options.html#opt-wayland.windowManager.sway.enable Home Manager's Options for Sway] for a complete list of configuration options.
See [https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/options.xhtml#opt-wayland.windowManager.sway.enable Home Manager's Options for Sway] for a complete list of configuration options.
 
You might need to active dbus manually from .zshrc to use i.e: dunst, see [https://discourse.nixos.org/t/dunst-crashes-if-run-as-service/27671/2 Dunst crashes if run as service]
 
{{Note|
It's recommended to enable a [[Secret Service]] provider, like GNOME Keyring:
{{file|home.nix|nix|<nowiki>
services.gnome-keyring.enable = true;
</nowiki>}}
}}
 
=== Systemd services ===
Kanshi is an output configuration daemon. As explained above, we don't run Sway itself as a systemd service. There are auxiliary daemons that we do want to run as systemd services, for example Kanshi [https://sr.ht/~emersion/kanshi/], which implements monitor hot swapping. It would be enabled as follows:
{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
  # kanshi systemd service
  systemd.user.services.kanshi = {
    description = "kanshi daemon";
    environment = {
      WAYLAND_DISPLAY="wayland-1";
      DISPLAY = ":0";
    };
    serviceConfig = {
      Type = "simple";
      ExecStart = ''${pkgs.kanshi}/bin/kanshi -c kanshi_config_file'';
    };
  };
</nowiki>}}
 
{{file|sway config|bash|
# give Sway a little time to startup before starting kanshi.
exec sleep 5; systemctl --user start kanshi.service
}}
When you launch Sway, the systemd service is started.
 
=== Using greeter ===
Installing a greeter based on [https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=unstable&show=services.greetd.settings&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=greetd greetd] is the most straightforward way to launch Sway.
 
Tuigreet does not even need a separate compositor to launch.
 
{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
services.greetd = {                                                     
  enable = true;                                                       
  settings = {                                                         
    default_session = {                                                 
      command = "${pkgs.greetd.tuigreet}/bin/tuigreet --time --cmd sway";
      user = "greeter";                                                 
    };                                                                 
  };                                                                   
};                                                                     
</nowiki>}}
 
== Configuration ==
Sway can be configured for specific users using Home-Manager or manually through configuration files. Default is <code>/etc/sway/config</code> and custom user configuration in <code>~/.config/sway/config</code>.
 
=== Keyboard layout ===
Changing layout for all keyboards to German (de)<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
input * xkb_layout "de"
</syntaxhighlight>
 
=== High-DPI scaling ===
Changing scale for all screens to factor 1.5<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
output * scale 1.5
</syntaxhighlight>


=== Brightness and volume ===
=== Brightness and volume ===
If you are on a laptop, you can set up brightness and volume function keys as follows:
You can set up brightness and volume function keys as follows by binding the key codes to their corresponding commands in your sway config. The following configurations accomplish this using <code>light</code> and <code>pulseaudio</code>:
{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
users.users.yourusername.extraGroups = [ "video" ];
users.users.yourusername.extraGroups = [ "video" ];
programs.light.enable = true;
programs.light.enable = true;
 
environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.pulseaudio ];
</nowiki>}}
</nowiki>}}


Line 164: Line 142:
}}
}}


=== Systemd services ===
== Troubleshooting ==
Kanshi is output configuration daemon. As explained above, we don't run sway itself as a systemd service. There are auxiliary daemons that we do want to run as systemd services, for example Kanshi [https://sr.ht/~emersion/kanshi/], which implements monitor hot swapping. It would be enabled as follows:
 
{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
=== Cursor is too tiny on HiDPI displays ===
  # kanshi systemd service
 
   systemd.user.services.kanshi = {
Using [[Home Manager]] try configuring a general mouse cursor size and theme
     description = "kanshi daemon";
 
     serviceConfig = {
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix>
       Type = "simple";
 
       ExecStart = ''${pkgs.kanshi}/bin/kanshi -c kanshi_config_file'';
home-manager.users.myUser = {
 
    home.pointerCursor = {
      name = "Adwaita";
      package = pkgs.gnome.adwaita-icon-theme;
      size = 24;
      x11 = {
        enable = true;
        defaultCursor = "Adwaita";
      };
    };
 
};
</syntaxhighlight>
 
Replace <code>myUser</code> with your user running the graphical environment.
 
=== Missing fonts on Xorg applications ===
 
If fonts for certain languages are missing in Xorg applications (e.g. Japanese fonts don't appear in Discord) even though they're in the system, you can set them as default fonts in your configuration file.
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix>
 
   fonts = {
     packages = with pkgs; [
      noto-fonts
      noto-fonts-cjk
      noto-fonts-emoji
      font-awesome
      source-han-sans
      source-han-sans-japanese
      source-han-serif-japanese
    ];
     fontconfig.defaultFonts = {
       serif = [ "Noto Serif" "Source Han Serif" ];
       sansSerif = [ "Noto Sans" "Source Han Sans" ];
     };
     };
   };
   };
</nowiki>}}


{{file|sway config|bash|
</syntaxhighlight>
# give sway a little time to startup before starting kanshi.
 
exec sleep 5; systemctl --user start kanshi.service
=== Swaylock cannot be unlocked with the correct password ===
}}
 
When you launch sway, the systemd service is started.  
Add the following to your NixOS configuration.
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix>
  security.pam.services.swaylock = {};
</syntaxhighlight>
 
The <code>programs.sway.enable</code> option does this automatically.
 
=== Inferior performance compared to other distributions ===
 
Enabling realtime may improve latency and reduce stuttering, specially in high load scenarios.
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
security.pam.loginLimits = [
  { domain = "@users"; item = "rtprio"; type = "-"; value = 1; }
];
</syntaxhighlight>
 
Enabling this option allows any program run by the "users" group to request real-time priority.
 
=== WLR Error when trying to launch Sway ===
 
When this happens on a new nixos system, enabling opengl in configuration.nix may fix this issue. 
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
hardware.opengl.enable = true;
</syntaxhighlight>
 
=== Touchscreen input bound to the wrong monitor in multi-monitor setups ===
 
See this [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/6590#issue-1021207180 GitHub issue for Sway] and the solution give in [https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/6590#issuecomment-938724355 this response].
 
Using [[Home Manager]] add the following to your Sway configuration:
<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
  wayland.windowManager.sway = {
    [...]
    config = {
      [...]
      input = {
        [...]
        "type:touch" = {
          # Replace touchscreen_output_identifier with the identifier of your touchscreen.
          map_to_output = touchscreen_output_identifier;
        };
      };
    };
  };
</syntaxhighlight>
 
=== GTK apps take an exceptionally long time to start ===
This occurs because GTK apps make blocking calls to freedesktop portals to be displayed. If Sway is not integrated with dbus and systemd, it will not be able to communicate via the <code>org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop</code> portal. To fix this, see the [[Sway#Using NixOS|description]] of default Sway configurations earlier. Adding the following to your sway configuration, if it is not already present, may resolve the issue:
include /etc/sway/config.d/*
 
== Tips and tricks ==
 
=== Toggle monitor modes script ===
Following script toggles screen / monitor modes if executed. It can also be mapped to a specific key in Sway.
 
First add the Flake input required for the script<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
{
  inputs = {
    [...]
    wl-togglescreens.url = "git+https://git.project-insanity.org/onny/wl-togglescreens.git?ref=main";
  };


  outputs = {self, nixpkgs, ...}@inputs: {
    nixosConfigurations.myhost = inputs.nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      system = "x86_64-linux";
      specialArgs.inputs = inputs;
      [...]
</syntaxhighlight>Map the script binary to a specific key<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
{ config, pkgs, lib, inputs, ... }:{
  home-manager.users.onny = {
    programs = {
      [...]
      wayland.windowManager.sway = {
        enable = true;
        config = {
          [...]
          keybindings = lib.mkOptionDefault{
            [...]
            "XF86Display" = "exec ${inputs.wl-togglescreens.packages.x86_64-linux.wl-togglescreens}/bin/wl-togglescreens";
          };
        };
      };
    };
</syntaxhighlight>
[[Category:Window managers]]
[[Category:Window managers]]
[[Category:Applications]]
[[Category:Applications]]
Retrieved from "https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/Sway"