Table of Contents

sway

2025-02-04
#linux #config #dotfiles #desktop

sway is currently the most stable wayland compositor I have ever used. It's a drop-in replacement to i3.

Setup

Software

Here is the list of software I use with sway to run a functionning desktop:

sway
swaylock
foot
waybar
fuzzel
mako
micro
yazi
aerc

Quick install

Here is an opinionated barebones list of basic programs you will need to run sway. For a full overview of tools and software I use, there is a list in the dotfiles entry of the wiki.

sudo pacman -S sway swayidle swaylock swaybg \
foot waybar fuzzel mako wlsunset wl-clipboard \

Sources

archlinux
gentoo wiki

Troubleshooting

Common Issues with Screen Locking and Power Management

When configuring swayidle for automatic screen locking and display power management, certain syntax errors can prevent proper functionality.

Problematic Configuration

exec swayidle -w \
    timeout 600 'waylock -fork-on-lock'\       
    timeout 900 'swaymsg "output * power off"'\
    resume 'swaymsg "output * dpms on"'\
    before-sleep 'waylock'

Issues:

waylock -fork-on-lock uses an invalid flag that doesn't exist
Mixing power off with dpms on creates inconsistent commands

Corrected Configuration

exec swayidle -w \
    timeout 600 'waylock' \
    timeout 900 'swaymsg "output * power off"' \
    resume 'swaymsg "output * power on"' \
    before-sleep 'waylock'

Power vs DPMS Commands

Modern approach (recommended):

swaymsg "output * power off/on" - Uses current Wayland protocols

Legacy approach (still works):

swaymsg "output * dpms off/on" - Based on older X11 DPMS standards

Both achieve the same result, but power commands are preferred for new configurations as they use modern Wayland-native protocols and are more future-proof.

foot-server socket not starting after reboot (Sway)

Symptom: foot-server.socket is enabled but foot-server.service never starts after reboot. graphical-session.target remains inactive.

Root cause: foot-server.service depends on graphical-session.target, which can only be activated by a registered compositor service — not manually. Sway doesn't register itself with systemd by default.

Fix:

Create a sway session target: ~/.config/systemd/user/sway-session.target

[Unit]
Description=Sway compositor session
BindsTo=graphical-session.target
Wants=graphical-session-pre.target
After=graphical-session-pre.target

Add to ~/.config/sway/config:

exec systemctl --user import-environment WAYLAND_DISPLAY DISPLAY SWAYSOCK
exec systemctl --user start sway-session.target

Override foot-server's session dependency: ~/.config/systemd/user/foot-server.service.d/override.conf
```
[Unit]
PartOf=sway-session.target
After=sway-session.target
```

Reload and apply:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user start sway-session.target

↑ top