Advantages of Wayland over X11

[GatorsFan]

Strange because I'm also on Debian 12 with KDE but I had problems.
Drag & Drop bookmarks in Firefox does not work for instance.

Try this -
1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste urlb and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.urlbar.trimURLs preference to switch it from true to false.

now close and reopen Firefox - this worked for me

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Try this -
1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste urlb and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.urlbar.trimURLs preference to switch it from true to false.

now close and reopen Firefox - this worked for me

Thanks for hint, I'll try this as soon as xwayland 24.1 appears in backports, but ATM I can't log-in to wayland post #55 because don't want to pollute my system with trixie packages.

 

[dos2unix]

I wrote the OP 2 years ago -- a lot has changed since then.

[Claude.Ai]
The X11 Era Is Over — And That's a Good Thing

I know, I know. You've heard it before. "Wayland isn't ready." "Just use X11, it works." I said the same things. For years. But we're not in 2019 anymore, and the landscape has shifted dramatically enough that it's time to have an honest conversation.

THE DOMINOES ARE FALLING — FAST

GNOME 50, released this month, has completely removed the X11 backend. Not deprecated. Not hidden behind a flag. Gone. KDE Plasma 6.8, due late 2026/early 2027, follows the same path. Budgie already made the jump. LXQt is working toward it. Fedora 43 and 44 are Wayland-only by default. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ships GNOME 50 — Wayland only — and that's the base that Mint, Pop!_OS, and a dozen other distros build on. The distributions aren't doing this to be difficult. They're doing it because the math finally works.

BUT IS IT ACTUALLY BETTER?

Let me give you some numbers. In my own testing, Wayland scores roughly 30-39% higher in glmark2 benchmarks compared to X11 on the same hardware. It uses less RAM. It has a smaller footprint. And on AMD/Radeon hardware especially, the gap keeps widening with every kernel release.

That last point deserves its own section.

THE KERNEL AND WAYLAND — BETTER TOGETHER

This is where a lot of the Wayland conversation gets shortchanged. People talk about Wayland as if it exists in isolation, but the real story is what happens when a modern kernel and Wayland's compositor model work together. Under X11's layered architecture, kernel-level graphics improvements get partially wasted — the display pipeline has too many intermediary steps to fully take advantage of them. Wayland's direct compositor model lets those improvements flow through unobstructed, end to end. The kernel and Wayland aren't just parallel improvements. They're multipliers of each other.

Linux 6.19, shipping in Fedora 44 right now, introduces the DRM Color Pipeline API. That's the kernel-level foundation for hardware-accelerated HDR — not shader-faked HDR, real HDR processed by your display hardware. Variable Refresh Rate works properly at the protocol level. fsync — the futex-based synchronization mechanism that reduces CPU stall time waiting on GPU frame delivery — works as intended under Wayland in a way it simply cannot under X11.

Linux 7.0, currently in release candidate, takes this further. It brings user queues for RDNA 3+ hardware — direct GPU job submission that bypasses kernel driver overhead entirely, reducing latency and improving efficiency in a way that Wayland's architecture can fully exploit. X11 would bottleneck these gains before they ever reached your display. Wayland doesn't.

And AMD's open-source consolidation story is now complete. AMDVLK was discontinued in May 2025, and the entire AMD graphics stack — from the kernel AMDGPU driver through Mesa RADV — is now unified, open, and actively maintained across every AMD generation from 14-year-old GCN 1.0 cards all the way to RDNA 4. That means the same modern driver infrastructure, the same Vulkan support, the same ongoing improvements — regardless of whether you're running a Radeon HD 7950 or an RX 9070. Linux 6.19 proved this in practice: old GCN 1.0 and 1.1 cards that spent two decades on the legacy Radeon DRM driver are now on AMDGPU by default, with RADV Vulkan support out of the box, and benchmarks showing up to 30-40% performance improvements on that ancient hardware. That's not a special case. That's what a unified, actively maintained open-source stack looks like when it matures.

GNOME 50 AND MUTTER — THE DISPLAY STACK FINALLY GROWS UP

GNOME 50 ships with a significantly overhauled Mutter compositor, and the improvements are worth calling out specifically because several of them directly address the objections that kept people on X11.

VRR is now stable — not experimental, not "enable at your own risk." Stable.

Fractional scaling finally goes beyond the binary 100% or 200% choice that has frustrated HiDPI users for years, with proper steps at 125%, 150%, and 175%. If you've been running a 1440p or 4K laptop screen and squinting at 100% or dealing with oversized everything at 200%, this one change alone makes GNOME 50 worth the upgrade.

On the color and HDR front, Mutter 50 adds SDR-native color mode for wide color gamut displays. This addresses the long-standing complaint about SDR content looking washed out or incorrectly processed on WCG monitors — it was one of those subtle but maddening issues that sent people back to X11. HDR screen sharing now works properly, with PipeWire streams advertising HDR formats correctly. Wayland color management v2 protocol support is in. Tone mapping behavior with HDR has been corrected.

For NVIDIA users specifically — and this matters because NVIDIA resistance has been one of the biggest sources of Wayland skepticism — Mutter 50 includes targeted workarounds for NVIDIA driver quirks that reduce blocked time per frame from milliseconds to microseconds. Secondary GPU rendering now uses FBOs rather than EGL surfaces, which also enables 10-bit per channel scanout buffers on NVIDIA hardware. Real-world testing on distributions shipping GNOME 50 with current kernels shows 10-20% FPS improvements on RTX hardware compared to the previous GNOME and kernel combination. That's not a Wayland penalty anymore. That's a Wayland advantage.

I'm running Fedora 44 beta with GNOME 50 right now. The fractional scaling works. The display stack improvements are real. This isn't theoretical.

WHAT ABOUT THE LEGITIMATE OBJECTIONS?

I'm not going to pretend there aren't any, because there are — or were.

NVIDIA? Addressed above. The gap has closed substantially, and GNOME 50 plus current drivers is a genuinely different experience than what NVIDIA users hit two years ago.

Remote desktop? This one has actually flipped from a weakness to a strength. Both GNOME and KDE now ship native RDP support built directly into the desktop — no third-party packages required. GNOME Remote Desktop handles both user-present screen sharing and headless remote login with GDM integration. KDE's KRdp is accessible right from System Settings, Networking, Remote Desktop. Standard RDP clients including Windows mstsc connect to both. If you've been relying on the standalone xrdp package specifically, that project does not yet have full Wayland support and you'll want to evaluate the native DE solution, but for the vast majority of remote desktop use cases the native implementation is already there and works well.

SSH X forwarding? Still a valid concern for sysadmins running remote GUI applications over SSH. XWayland handles legacy X11 apps transparently, and Waypipe provides similar functionality for Wayland-native applications. It's not identical to ssh -X but the gap is narrower than it used to be.

Automation scripts using xrandr, xdotool, and similar tools? Wayland equivalents exist: wl-copy and wl-paste, ydotool, kscreen-doctor, kdotool. Yes, you may need to update some scripts. That's a one-time migration cost, not a permanent limitation.

Legacy apps? XWayland runs them transparently. Most users never notice the difference.

THE SECURITY ARGUMENT NOBODY TALKS ABOUT ENOUGH

X11 has a fundamental architectural flaw that cannot be patched: any application can read keyboard input and screen content from any other application. That's not a bug. That's how it was designed in 1984. Three critical X.Org vulnerabilities were disclosed in early 2025 — some dating back over 20 years — and they'll keep coming because the architecture invites them. Keyloggers, screenshot capture by malicious apps, cursor hijacking — these are structural risks under X11, not implementation bugs. Wayland isolates every application from every other application at the protocol level. That's not a feature. That's the correct design.

THE BOTTOM LINE

If Wayland had a cost, this would be a harder argument. But it doesn't. Better performance. Lower resource usage. Real hardware-accelerated HDR. Proper VRR. fsync. Stable fractional scaling. SDR-native color mode. A 10-20% NVIDIA performance improvement in GNOME 50. Direct GPU job submission in kernel 7.0. A unified, modern, actively developed AMD driver stack spanning four decades of hardware. Native RDP built into your desktop. Improved security by design.

And the major desktop environments are removing the choice anyway — not out of ideology, but because maintaining two display backends indefinitely was holding back development for everyone.

The train has left the station. The question isn't whether to get on board. It's whether you'd rather step on voluntarily or get dragged along later.

For those still on the fence: your LTS distro still has X11 for now. Use that time to test. Run both sessions. Compare. But go in with honest eyes — because what you'll likely find is that the thing you've been avoiding has quietly become the better option.

 

[kc1di]

Been using wayland on all my KDE installs over the last year and so far no major problems. There are a couple of dev trying to keep X11 going with projects such as Xlibre but not sure they will gain much traction.

Xlibre

x11libre.net

but unless major DE us it it won't last.

 

[Condobloke]

I am not about to throw my hands in the air and exclaim ""Wayland !!??,,,. Not for me !!...

That reaction would be akin to the time it was suggested to me to 'try Linux" .... If I had declined, I would not be typing this now./...and I would not have experienced many mostly happy, sometimes frustrating, years of LINUX. (since ~ 2013)

With my current mindset, I cannot imagine the intervening time without Linux. There is that word, again.....Mindset.
My mindset back in 2013 was such that I tried Linux. And tried and tried. And here I am. Happy as a pig in poo.


Wayland, is not a four letter word. It has attracted significant investment (both In $ and time) from industry giants like Firefox/flameshot etc etc.......you want to know more?......search for NOTE:The open source projects on this list are ordered by number of github stars.The number of mentions indicates repo mentiontions in the last 12 Months orsince we started tracking (Dec 2020).....the list is quite long, and is getting longer.
Some Linux applications to consider investing in for Wayland support include Firefox, Chrome, Emacs, and various compositors like Sway and KDE's KWin. Additionally, tools like Gammastep for screen color adjustment and clipboard managers like Cliphist are also worth exploring.
michael.stapelberg.ch GitHub

Recommended Linux Applications for Wayland Support​

Investing in applications that support Wayland is essential as it becomes the default display system for many Linux distributions. Here’s a list of notable applications and tools to consider:

Web Browsers​

Application	Description
Firefox	A popular web browser with ongoing Wayland support improvements.
Chrome	Another widely used browser that is adapting to Wayland. (This also draws in all the browsers that are based on Firefox and Chrome

Text Editors​

Application	Description
Emacs	A powerful text editor that supports Wayland, enhancing coding and text manipulation.

Compositors​

Application	Description
Sway	A tiling window manager designed for Wayland, ideal for users who prefer keyboard-driven workflows.
KWin	The KDE window manager that supports Wayland, providing a rich desktop experience.

Utilities​

Application	Description
Gammastep	A tool for adjusting screen color temperature based on the time of day, compatible with Wayland.
Cliphist	A clipboard manager that supports Wayland, allowing for better clipboard management.

These applications are not only functional but also contribute to a smoother transition to the Wayland ecosystem, making them worthwhile investments for users looking to enhance their Linux experience.
avaloniaui.net GitHub

Explore More, etc etc​

""

Such a significant change is not dissimilar to switching from windows to Linux



from : https://www.phoronix.com/news/Firefox-Change-Wayland-Release
Written by Michael Larabel in Mozilla on 13 November 2023 at 08:11 PM EST. 46 Comments

Guardrails have been in place where the Firefox browser has enabled Wayland by default (when running on recent GTK versions) but as of today that code has been removed... Firefox will try to move forward with stable releases where Wayland will ship by default!

Mozilla Bug 1752398 to "ship the Wayland backend to release" has been closed this evening! After the ticket was open for the past two years, it's now deemed ready to hopefully ship enabled for Firefox 121!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Flameshot ....screenshot tool....available pretty much everywhere.

AI :

Flameshot and Wayland Support​

Flameshot does have experimental support for Wayland, but users have encountered various issues when using it in both GNOME and KDE environments.

Common Issues​

• Screenshot Capture Failures: Many users report that Flameshot fails to capture screenshots on Wayland, displaying errors such as "Unable to capture screen."
• Shortcut Problems: Users have experienced difficulties with keyboard shortcuts not triggering Flameshot as expected.
• Permission Requests: On GNOME, users may be prompted to grant permission for Flameshot to capture the screen, which can lead to confusion if denied.

Recommendations for Users​

To improve functionality and address issues, consider the following:

• Check for Updates: Ensure you are using the latest version of Flameshot, as updates may resolve existing bugs.
• Install Required Packages: For better integration with Wayland, install xdg-desktop-portal and its corresponding backend for your desktop environment (e.g., xdg-desktop-portal-gnome for GNOME).
• Set Environment Variables: Users have found success by setting environment variables like QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland when launching Flameshot.

Conclusion​

While Flameshot offers experimental support for Wayland, users should be prepared for potential issues and follow recommended steps to enhance their experience.
Arch Linux discourse.nixos.org

end AI +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

From GitHub :

Full Wayland Support · Issue #4017 · flameshot-org/flameshot

Hi Flameshot developers, this is not a bug, but a doubt I have. Let me explain Flameshot is a VERY valuable tool I use with my team of developers for work. It is SO important, mainly because of the...

github.com

So, cast your collective minds back to ~ 2013 and remember the issues, the stuff that caused serious head scratching.......

Do you seriously expect Linux to stay where it is?....to Stagnate?

Linux MUST move on. Wayland is just one of the steps.

Adjust your mindset.

 

[Condobloke]

Meanwhile, in 2026....Linux Mint is finding its feet

Linux Mint finally fixed its Wayland problem and it’s a game changer

Mint's been holding back for good reason, but here we are!

www.makeuseof.com

Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:

Linux Mint has always been a little stubborn about big changes. While much of the Linux world spent the last few years marching toward Wayland, Mint calmly stayed parked on X11 like someone watching the chaos from a safe distance with a cup of coffee. Not because the developers were ignoring the future, but because their flagship desktop simply wasn’t ready for it. That situation is finally shifting. After years of quiet groundwork, Cinnamon can now run on Wayland, which removes one of the biggest technical barriers Mint has been carrying around.

 

[rado84]

The last time I tried Wayland (in December, I think):
• Some windows didn't have a titlebar (decoration)
• Some windows had a titlebar but the menubar was gone and impossible to bring it out
• No conky bc conky is still looking for its old buddy X server
• No watching movies/tv shows if the output driver is set to XV or anything with X in the name. Movies/tv shows under Wayland are simply a joke in the worst meaning of that word.
• After reboot there's no logging in bc the display manager won't start. GDM, LightDM, SDDM - doesn't matter; no X = no session.

So much for the advantages over the battletested veteran X11...

 

[wendy-lebaron]

12to11

12to11

git.linuxping.win

it looks like a lot of compromises could be made...

 

[nolim]

Posting here some Common Issues with Wayland:

• Google meet virtual effects is not working. Need to add "--disable-gpu-compositing" to work on CPU -
  https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/1qdq4ws/google_meet_virtual_backgrounds_not_working_in
• Multi-Monitor configuration is different when logging from gdm. monitors.xml under /var/lib/gdm3/.config works differently in wayland. Currently I have no solution for that. Maybe switching ports.
• *.desktop files works slightly different

This is slightly annoying discovering those small issues. In the start I thought it is going all well, but there are many differences. This is a major break, but I guess this is worth it and we should dive in, report bugs, support each other to make it better.
I feel now, it is much more mature

 

[Deleted member 197709]

I can't say too much, as I have never used Wayland. What I can say is only my personal outlook.

We all, as Linux users, at least those of us who has used it for many years, kinda grew up with X11 and all it's troubles and fixes and it still works, rather well at least for me. Wayland? I ask myself why, in the sense, why not X11-2, or something that just improves on X11? Yes X11 code, is no doubt outdated and difficult to maintain. So I just look at it as a fork, or rewrite to do all in a better or different way, possible worse way. Just the name Wayland kinna irks me alittle. X11 to me is Linux in a graphical sense. Replacing it, as in being a whole different monster, just seems wrong to me. LOL

I could get a 2026 new truck. It might even be cool! Would it really be better than my 2021 truck? Especially if Chevy decided to change its name from Chevy to Wackydoodle for the new one, but lets you still get a model that is Chevy? Instead of Wackydoodle, why not Chevy-2, updated and improved? What happened to Chevy Kinna thing. hehe

Just a scenario that I hope never happens. LOL

Advantage... Hmmm... Maybe W as in Wayland keeps it closer to the bottom of the etc directory as where we are use to seeing the X11 folder?

Forgive me

 

[osprey]

I can't say too much, as I have never used Wayland. What I can say is only my personal outlook.

We all, as Linux users, at least those of us who has used it for many years, kinda grew up with X11 and all it's troubles and fixes and it still works, rather well at least for me. Wayland? I ask myself why, in the sense, why not X11-2, or something that just improves on X11? Yes X11 code, is no doubt outdated and difficult to maintain. So I just look at it as a fork, or rewrite to do all in a better or different way, possible worse way. Just the name Wayland kinna irks me alittle. X11 to me is Linux in a graphical sense. Replacing it, as in being a whole different monster, just seems wrong to me. LOL

I could get a 2026 new truck. It might even be cool! Would it really be better than my 2021 truck? Especially if Chevy decided to change its name from Chevy to Wackydoodle for the new one, but lets you still get a model that is Chevy? Instead of Wackydoodle, why not Chevy-2, updated and improved? What happened to Chevy Kinna thing. hehe

Just a scenario that I hope never happens. LOL

Advantage... Hmmm... Maybe W as in Wayland keeps it closer to the bottom of the etc directory as where we are use to seeing the X11 folder?

Forgive me

No problem about forgiving raves . There are however, issues of greater significance than the nomenclature. "Wayland" was merely the town that the developer was passing through when the concept of wayland crystalised for him. It's no more significant than that. The concept though was of altogether more significance. Check out the history section in the wikipedia entry on wayland for details.

X11 implementation still does a lot of things that wayland cannot do. Running numerous window managers that can't run on a wayland system is one of them. Network transparency is another. And according to some window manager developers, they'll never issue wayland clones, so when wayland takes over more comprehensively in linux, things will go by the wayside.

The issue between X11 and wayland is however, technical, and it's basically at the technical level that things matter in the X11 versus wayland debate. There's lots online about the technical developments, the drawbacks, the problems, the advantages and disadvantages, but the bottom line on the technical front is that X11 is just in maintenance-only mode so far as development goes and wayland is on a full-steam-ahead trajectory in development. Some details on these matters can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayland_(protocol).

The vast majority of the active core developers of X11 have now actually moved over to the development of wayland. In other words, the development community has largely chosen where the future lies. It's a choice for technical reasons. There is the alternative fork of X11, xlibre, but it's a very small development mired in controversy with an unpredictable and perhaps uncertain future. Wayland, on the other hand, has a predictable path into the future as it's progressively adopted by the major linux distros. From there, it's likely to gradually seep into the lesser known distros over time.

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

I know this might be off-linux topic, but I'm Curious, however. I wonder what would happen to other systems that use or can use X11-based software. I't be interesting seeing apple trying to switch Mac/IOS to Wayland...

The vast majority of the active core developers of X11 have now actually moved over to the development of wayland. In other words, the development community has largely chosen where the future lies. It's a choice for technical reasons. There is the alternative fork of X11, xlibre, but it's a very small development mired in controversy with an unpredictable and perhaps uncertain future.

To get myself back on track, I' have used both X and Wayland in various distros, and both seem to work well in my cases. Can't complain.

 

[Deleted member 197709]

The issue between X11 and wayland is however, technical, and it's basically at the technical level that things matter in the X11 versus wayland debate. There's lots online about the technical developments, the drawbacks, the problems, the advantages and disadvantages, but the bottom line on the technical front is that X11 is just in maintenance-only mode so far as development goes and wayland is on a full-steam-ahead trajectory in development. Some details on these matters can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayland_(protocol).

Oh I certainly understand whats happening and why. The route taken just bugs me a little. Kinna like old Grub to new Grub. It just made sense and was needed for many reasons,

Wayland to me should have started as the new X11 in a testing phase till it started to be better than or more efficient than X11, even if it meant a total rewrite, and stay that way till it made original X11 obsolete. Some distro's offering it as a option as it becomes more usable, kinda thing. As it is now, especially with newcomers to Linux, when asked.. Are you using Wayland or X11? they don't know and need to check to see in various ways.

Obviously since X11 still breaths and performs well, Wayland isn't there yet, or it is, and leaves the linux community confused about which one is running their GUI and why, as both seem to be equally popular depending on the distro installed. It's a very awkward way to upgrade something that's been around since the beginning.

In that sense, until Wayland becomes our only choice with up to date linux distros keeping up with our newer computers, Wayland is still in testing, but is bypassing it due to the route taken, even if better today, with our Linux GUI. It's a frustrating route to take with such an important phase of Linux these days. So why?, is not a question I ask. It's the how it's done. A great endeavour no doubt, totally botched, probably by, "hey, let's do this!" and being too impatient to think it through. The way of the world! LOL

That's just my perspective on it.

I only learned about Wayland when fiddling with Ubuntu 24.04, and had to check to see which I was using after the install. When I saw it was X11, I was relieved, as that was one less new thing going on. I took 10 years off from playing with Linux while being a caregiver, although I had a maintenance free install I used occasionally, that became totally outdated past being supported over that decade. It kept on ticking like the energizer bunny though.

Back then I chose Ubuntu 14, I think just before 16 came out, because I needed something hassle free and solid. It certainly was, for a decade, even with the web. That was my reasoning when I installed 24.04 last year, but Wow! did stuff change!! Nag screen to subscribe, Snap out the yang yang, Gnome Ugh!! Even minimal install was chalk full of bloat. So frustrated me, then I was like Wayland??? What the hell is that?? Nv drives with Uefi, my bios is my mbr now?? What the hell, Ugh?? So much that made me feel clueless. Some good, and a whole lot not so good. Linux future shock LOL

I certainly wasn't a newcomer to Linux, having learned it with fascination in the 90's, but I certainly felt like I was. haha. I decided to dismantle Ubuntu 24.04 just to get back in the groove. I didn't care if I killed it or not. It certainly took a lot of punishment! Impressed me. haha