Appendix A. Wayland Protocol Specification

Table of Contents

wl_display - core global object
wl_registry - global registry object
wl_callback - callback object
wl_compositor - the compositor singleton
wl_shm_pool - a shared memory pool
wl_shm - shared memory support
wl_buffer - content for a wl_surface
wl_data_offer - offer to transfer data
wl_data_source - offer to transfer data
wl_data_device - data transfer device
wl_data_device_manager - data transfer interface
wl_shell - create desktop-style surfaces
wl_shell_surface - desktop-style metadata interface
wl_surface - an onscreen surface
wl_seat - group of input devices
wl_pointer - pointer input device
wl_keyboard - keyboard input device
wl_touch - touchscreen input device
wl_output - compositor output region
wl_region - region interface
wl_subcompositor - sub-surface compositing
wl_subsurface - sub-surface interface to a wl_surface


    Copyright © 2008-2011 Kristian Høgsberg
    Copyright © 2010-2011 Intel Corporation
    Copyright © 2012-2013 Collabora, Ltd.

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wl_display - core global object

The core global object. This is a special singleton object. It is used for internal Wayland protocol features.

Requests provided by wl_display

wl_display::sync - asynchronous roundtrip

callback
id for the new wl_callback - callback object for the sync request

The sync request asks the server to emit the 'done' event on the returned wl_callback object. Since requests are handled in-order and events are delivered in-order, this can be used as a barrier to ensure all previous requests and the resulting events have been handled.

The object returned by this request will be destroyed by the compositor after the callback is fired and as such the client must not attempt to use it after that point.

The callback_data passed in the callback is the event serial.

wl_display::get_registry - get global registry object

registry
id for the new wl_registry - global registry object

This request creates a registry object that allows the client to list and bind the global objects available from the compositor.

It should be noted that the server side resources consumed in response to a get_registry request can only be released when the client disconnects, not when the client side proxy is destroyed. Therefore, clients should invoke get_registry as infrequently as possible to avoid wasting memory.

Events provided by wl_display

wl_display::error - fatal error event

object_id
object - object where the error occurred
code
uint - error code
message
string - error description

The error event is sent out when a fatal (non-recoverable) error has occurred. The object_id argument is the object where the error occurred, most often in response to a request to that object. The code identifies the error and is defined by the object interface. As such, each interface defines its own set of error codes. The message is a brief description of the error, for (debugging) convenience.

wl_display::delete_id - acknowledge object ID deletion

id
uint - deleted object ID

This event is used internally by the object ID management logic. When a client deletes an object that it had created, the server will send this event to acknowledge that it has seen the delete request. When the client receives this event, it will know that it can safely reuse the object ID.

Enums provided by wl_display

wl_display::error - global error values

These errors are global and can be emitted in response to any server request.

invalid_object
0 - server couldn't find object
invalid_method
1 - method doesn't exist on the specified interface or malformed request
no_memory
2 - server is out of memory
implementation
3 - implementation error in compositor

wl_registry - global registry object

The singleton global registry object. The server has a number of global objects that are available to all clients. These objects typically represent an actual object in the server (for example, an input device) or they are singleton objects that provide extension functionality.

When a client creates a registry object, the registry object will emit a global event for each global currently in the registry. Globals come and go as a result of device or monitor hotplugs, reconfiguration or other events, and the registry will send out global and global_remove events to keep the client up to date with the changes. To mark the end of the initial burst of events, the client can use the wl_display.sync request immediately after calling wl_display.get_registry.

A client can bind to a global object by using the bind request. This creates a client-side handle that lets the object emit events to the client and lets the client invoke requests on the object.

Requests provided by wl_registry

wl_registry::bind - bind an object to the display

name
uint - unique numeric name of the object
id
new_id - bounded object

Binds a new, client-created object to the server using the specified name as the identifier.

Events provided by wl_registry

wl_registry::global - announce global object

name
uint - numeric name of the global object
interface
string - interface implemented by the object
version
uint - interface version

Notify the client of global objects.

The event notifies the client that a global object with the given name is now available, and it implements the given version of the given interface.

wl_registry::global_remove - announce removal of global object

name
uint - numeric name of the global object

Notify the client of removed global objects.

This event notifies the client that the global identified by name is no longer available. If the client bound to the global using the bind request, the client should now destroy that object.

The object remains valid and requests to the object will be ignored until the client destroys it, to avoid races between the global going away and a client sending a request to it.

wl_callback - callback object

Clients can handle the 'done' event to get notified when the related request is done.

Note, because wl_callback objects are created from multiple independent factory interfaces, the wl_callback interface is frozen at version 1.

Events provided by wl_callback

wl_callback::done - done event

callback_data
uint - request-specific data for the callback

Notify the client when the related request is done.

wl_compositor - the compositor singleton

A compositor. This object is a singleton global. The compositor is in charge of combining the contents of multiple surfaces into one displayable output.

Requests provided by wl_compositor

wl_compositor::create_surface - create new surface

id
id for the new wl_surface - the new surface

Ask the compositor to create a new surface.

wl_compositor::create_region - create new region

id
id for the new wl_region - the new region

Ask the compositor to create a new region.

wl_shm_pool - a shared memory pool

The wl_shm_pool object encapsulates a piece of memory shared between the compositor and client. Through the wl_shm_pool object, the client can allocate shared memory wl_buffer objects. All objects created through the same pool share the same underlying mapped memory. Reusing the mapped memory avoids the setup/teardown overhead and is useful when interactively resizing a surface or for many small buffers.

Requests provided by wl_shm_pool

wl_shm_pool::create_buffer - create a buffer from the pool

id
id for the new wl_buffer - buffer to create
offset
int - buffer byte offset within the pool
width
int - buffer width, in pixels
height
int - buffer height, in pixels
stride
int - number of bytes from the beginning of one row to the beginning of the next row
format
wl_shm::format (uint) - buffer pixel format

Create a wl_buffer object from the pool.

The buffer is created offset bytes into the pool and has width and height as specified. The stride argument specifies the number of bytes from the beginning of one row to the beginning of the next. The format is the pixel format of the buffer and must be one of those advertised through the wl_shm.format event.

A buffer will keep a reference to the pool it was created from so it is valid to destroy the pool immediately after creating a buffer from it.

wl_shm_pool::destroy - destroy the pool

Destroy the shared memory pool.

The mmapped memory will be released when all buffers that have been created from this pool are gone.

wl_shm_pool::resize - change the size of the pool mapping

size
int - new size of the pool, in bytes

This request will cause the server to remap the backing memory for the pool from the file descriptor passed when the pool was created, but using the new size. This request can only be used to make the pool bigger.

This request only changes the amount of bytes that are mmapped by the server and does not touch the file corresponding to the file descriptor passed at creation time. It is the client's responsibility to ensure that the file is at least as big as the new pool size.

wl_shm - shared memory support

A singleton global object that provides support for shared memory.

Clients can create wl_shm_pool objects using the create_pool request.

On binding the wl_shm object one or more format events are emitted to inform clients about the valid pixel formats that can be used for buffers.

Requests provided by wl_shm

wl_shm::create_pool - create a shm pool

id
id for the new wl_shm_pool - pool to create
fd
fd - file descriptor for the pool
size
int - pool size, in bytes

Create a new wl_shm_pool object.

The pool can be used to create shared memory based buffer objects. The server will mmap size bytes of the passed file descriptor, to use as backing memory for the pool.

Events provided by wl_shm

wl_shm::format - pixel format description

format
wl_shm::format (uint) - buffer pixel format

Informs the client about a valid pixel format that can be used for buffers. Known formats include argb8888 and xrgb8888.

Enums provided by wl_shm

wl_shm::error - wl_shm error values

These errors can be emitted in response to wl_shm requests.

invalid_format
0 - buffer format is not known
invalid_stride
1 - invalid size or stride during pool or buffer creation
invalid_fd
2 - mmapping the file descriptor failed

wl_shm::format - pixel formats

This describes the memory layout of an individual pixel.

All renderers should support argb8888 and xrgb8888 but any other formats are optional and may not be supported by the particular renderer in use.

The drm format codes match the macros defined in drm_fourcc.h, except argb8888 and xrgb8888. The formats actually supported by the compositor will be reported by the format event.

For all wl_shm formats and unless specified in another protocol extension, pre-multiplied alpha is used for pixel values.

argb8888
0 - 32-bit ARGB format, [31:0] A:R:G:B 8:8:8:8 little endian
xrgb8888
1 - 32-bit RGB format, [31:0] x:R:G:B 8:8:8:8 little endian
c8
0x20203843 - 8-bit color index format, [7:0] C
rgb332
0x38424752 - 8-bit RGB format, [7:0] R:G:B 3:3:2
bgr233
0x38524742 - 8-bit BGR format, [7:0] B:G:R 2:3:3
xrgb4444
0x32315258 - 16-bit xRGB format, [15:0] x:R:G:B 4:4:4:4 little endian
xbgr4444
0x32314258 - 16-bit xBGR format, [15:0] x:B:G:R 4:4:4:4 little endian
rgbx4444
0x32315852 - 16-bit RGBx format, [15:0] R:G:B:x 4:4:4:4 little endian
bgrx4444
0x32315842 - 16-bit BGRx format, [15:0] B:G:R:x 4:4:4:4 little endian
argb4444
0x32315241 - 16-bit ARGB format, [15:0] A:R:G:B 4:4:4:4 little endian
abgr4444
0x32314241 - 16-bit ABGR format, [15:0] A:B:G:R 4:4:4:4 little endian
rgba4444
0x32314152 - 16-bit RBGA format, [15:0] R:G:B:A 4:4:4:4 little endian
bgra4444
0x32314142 - 16-bit BGRA format, [15:0] B:G:R:A 4:4:4:4 little endian
xrgb1555
0x35315258 - 16-bit xRGB format, [15:0] x:R:G:B 1:5:5:5 little endian
xbgr1555
0x35314258 - 16-bit xBGR 1555 format, [15:0] x:B:G:R 1:5:5:5 little endian
rgbx5551
0x35315852 - 16-bit RGBx 5551 format, [15:0] R:G:B:x 5:5:5:1 little endian
bgrx5551
0x35315842 - 16-bit BGRx 5551 format, [15:0] B:G:R:x 5:5:5:1 little endian
argb1555
0x35315241 - 16-bit ARGB 1555 format, [15:0] A:R:G:B 1:5:5:5 little endian
abgr1555
0x35314241 - 16-bit ABGR 1555 format, [15:0] A:B:G:R 1:5:5:5 little endian
rgba5551
0x35314152 - 16-bit RGBA 5551 format, [15:0] R:G:B:A 5:5:5:1 little endian
bgra5551
0x35314142 - 16-bit BGRA 5551 format, [15:0] B:G:R:A 5:5:5:1 little endian
rgb565
0x36314752 - 16-bit RGB 565 format, [15:0] R:G:B 5:6:5 little endian
bgr565
0x36314742 - 16-bit BGR 565 format, [15:0] B:G:R 5:6:5 little endian
rgb888
0x34324752 - 24-bit RGB format, [23:0] R:G:B little endian
bgr888
0x34324742 - 24-bit BGR format, [23:0] B:G:R little endian
xbgr8888
0x34324258 - 32-bit xBGR format, [31:0] x:B:G:R 8:8:8:8 little endian
rgbx8888
0x34325852 - 32-bit RGBx format, [31:0] R:G:B:x 8:8:8:8 little endian
bgrx8888
0x34325842 - 32-bit BGRx format, [31:0] B:G:R:x 8:8:8:8 little endian
abgr8888
0x34324241 - 32-bit ABGR format, [31:0] A:B:G:R 8:8:8:8 little endian
rgba8888
0x34324152 - 32-bit RGBA format, [31:0] R:G:B:A 8:8:8:8 little endian
bgra8888
0x34324142 - 32-bit BGRA format, [31:0] B:G:R:A 8:8:8:8 little endian
xrgb2101010
0x30335258 - 32-bit xRGB format, [31:0] x:R:G:B 2:10:10:10 little endian
xbgr2101010
0x30334258 - 32-bit xBGR format, [31:0] x:B:G:R 2:10:10:10 little endian
rgbx1010102
0x30335852 - 32-bit RGBx format, [31:0] R:G:B:x 10:10:10:2 little endian
bgrx1010102
0x30335842 - 32-bit BGRx format, [31:0] B:G:R:x 10:10:10:2 little endian
argb2101010
0x30335241 - 32-bit ARGB format, [31:0] A:R:G:B 2:10:10:10 little endian
abgr2101010
0x30334241 - 32-bit ABGR format, [31:0] A:B:G:R 2:10:10:10 little endian
rgba1010102
0x30334152 - 32-bit RGBA format, [31:0] R:G:B:A 10:10:10:2 little endian
bgra1010102
0x30334142 - 32-bit BGRA format, [31:0] B:G:R:A 10:10:10:2 little endian
yuyv
0x56595559 - packed YCbCr format, [31:0] Cr0:Y1:Cb0:Y0 8:8:8:8 little endian
yvyu
0x55595659 - packed YCbCr format, [31:0] Cb0:Y1:Cr0:Y0 8:8:8:8 little endian
uyvy
0x59565955 - packed YCbCr format, [31:0] Y1:Cr0:Y0:Cb0 8:8:8:8 little endian
vyuy
0x59555956 - packed YCbCr format, [31:0] Y1:Cb0:Y0:Cr0 8:8:8:8 little endian
ayuv
0x56555941 - packed AYCbCr format, [31:0] A:Y:Cb:Cr 8:8:8:8 little endian
nv12
0x3231564e - 2 plane YCbCr Cr:Cb format, 2x2 subsampled Cr:Cb plane
nv21
0x3132564e - 2 plane YCbCr Cb:Cr format, 2x2 subsampled Cb:Cr plane
nv16
0x3631564e - 2 plane YCbCr Cr:Cb format, 2x1 subsampled Cr:Cb plane
nv61
0x3136564e - 2 plane YCbCr Cb:Cr format, 2x1 subsampled Cb:Cr plane
yuv410
0x39565559 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 4x4 subsampled Cb (1) and Cr (2) planes
yvu410
0x39555659 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 4x4 subsampled Cr (1) and Cb (2) planes
yuv411
0x31315559 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 4x1 subsampled Cb (1) and Cr (2) planes
yvu411
0x31315659 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 4x1 subsampled Cr (1) and Cb (2) planes
yuv420
0x32315559 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 2x2 subsampled Cb (1) and Cr (2) planes
yvu420
0x32315659 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 2x2 subsampled Cr (1) and Cb (2) planes
yuv422
0x36315559 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 2x1 subsampled Cb (1) and Cr (2) planes
yvu422
0x36315659 - 3 plane YCbCr format, 2x1 subsampled Cr (1) and Cb (2) planes
yuv444
0x34325559 - 3 plane YCbCr format, non-subsampled Cb (1) and Cr (2) planes
yvu444
0x34325659 - 3 plane YCbCr format, non-subsampled Cr (1) and Cb (2) planes
r8
0x20203852 - [7:0] R
r16
0x20363152 - [15:0] R little endian
rg88
0x38384752 - [15:0] R:G 8:8 little endian
gr88
0x38385247 - [15:0] G:R 8:8 little endian
rg1616
0x32334752 - [31:0] R:G 16:16 little endian
gr1616
0x32335247 - [31:0] G:R 16:16 little endian
xrgb16161616f
0x48345258 - [63:0] x:R:G:B 16:16:16:16 little endian
xbgr16161616f
0x48344258 - [63:0] x:B:G:R 16:16:16:16 little endian
argb16161616f
0x48345241 - [63:0] A:R:G:B 16:16:16:16 little endian
abgr16161616f
0x48344241 - [63:0] A:B:G:R 16:16:16:16 little endian
xyuv8888
0x56555958 - [31:0] X:Y:Cb:Cr 8:8:8:8 little endian
vuy888
0x34325556 - [23:0] Cr:Cb:Y 8:8:8 little endian
vuy101010
0x30335556 - Y followed by U then V, 10:10:10. Non-linear modifier only
y210
0x30313259 - [63:0] Cr0:0:Y1:0:Cb0:0:Y0:0 10:6:10:6:10:6:10:6 little endian per 2 Y pixels
y212
0x32313259 - [63:0] Cr0:0:Y1:0:Cb0:0:Y0:0 12:4:12:4:12:4:12:4 little endian per 2 Y pixels
y216
0x36313259 - [63:0] Cr0:Y1:Cb0:Y0 16:16:16:16 little endian per 2 Y pixels
y410
0x30313459 - [31:0] A:Cr:Y:Cb 2:10:10:10 little endian
y412
0x32313459 - [63:0] A:0:Cr:0:Y:0:Cb:0 12:4:12:4:12:4:12:4 little endian
y416
0x36313459 - [63:0] A:Cr:Y:Cb 16:16:16:16 little endian
xvyu2101010
0x30335658 - [31:0] X:Cr:Y:Cb 2:10:10:10 little endian
xvyu12_16161616
0x36335658 - [63:0] X:0:Cr:0:Y:0:Cb:0 12:4:12:4:12:4:12:4 little endian
xvyu16161616
0x38345658 - [63:0] X:Cr:Y:Cb 16:16:16:16 little endian
y0l0
0x304c3059 - [63:0] A3:A2:Y3:0:Cr0:0:Y2:0:A1:A0:Y1:0:Cb0:0:Y0:0 1:1:8:2:8:2:8:2:1:1:8:2:8:2:8:2 little endian
x0l0
0x304c3058 - [63:0] X3:X2:Y3:0:Cr0:0:Y2:0:X1:X0:Y1:0:Cb0:0:Y0:0 1:1:8:2:8:2:8:2:1:1:8:2:8:2:8:2 little endian
y0l2
0x324c3059 - [63:0] A3:A2:Y3:Cr0:Y2:A1:A0:Y1:Cb0:Y0 1:1:10:10:10:1:1:10:10:10 little endian
x0l2
0x324c3058 - [63:0] X3:X2:Y3:Cr0:Y2:X1:X0:Y1:Cb0:Y0 1:1:10:10:10:1:1:10:10:10 little endian
yuv420_8bit
0x38305559
yuv420_10bit
0x30315559
xrgb8888_a8
0x38415258
xbgr8888_a8
0x38414258
rgbx8888_a8
0x38415852
bgrx8888_a8
0x38415842
rgb888_a8
0x38413852
bgr888_a8
0x38413842
rgb565_a8
0x38413552
bgr565_a8
0x38413542
nv24
0x3432564e - non-subsampled Cr:Cb plane
nv42
0x3234564e - non-subsampled Cb:Cr plane
p210
0x30313250 - 2x1 subsampled Cr:Cb plane, 10 bit per channel
p010
0x30313050 - 2x2 subsampled Cr:Cb plane 10 bits per channel
p012
0x32313050 - 2x2 subsampled Cr:Cb plane 12 bits per channel
p016
0x36313050 - 2x2 subsampled Cr:Cb plane 16 bits per channel
axbxgxrx106106106106
0x30314241 - [63:0] A:x:B:x:G:x:R:x 10:6:10:6:10:6:10:6 little endian
nv15
0x3531564e - 2x2 subsampled Cr:Cb plane
q410
0x30313451
q401
0x31303451
xrgb16161616
0x38345258 - [63:0] x:R:G:B 16:16:16:16 little endian
xbgr16161616
0x38344258 - [63:0] x:B:G:R 16:16:16:16 little endian
argb16161616
0x38345241 - [63:0] A:R:G:B 16:16:16:16 little endian
abgr16161616
0x38344241 - [63:0] A:B:G:R 16:16:16:16 little endian

wl_buffer - content for a wl_surface

A buffer provides the content for a wl_surface. Buffers are created through factory interfaces such as wl_shm, wp_linux_buffer_params (from the linux-dmabuf protocol extension) or similar. It has a width and a height and can be attached to a wl_surface, but the mechanism by which a client provides and updates the contents is defined by the buffer factory interface.

If the buffer uses a format that has an alpha channel, the alpha channel is assumed to be premultiplied in the color channels unless otherwise specified.

Note, because wl_buffer objects are created from multiple independent factory interfaces, the wl_buffer interface is frozen at version 1.

Requests provided by wl_buffer

wl_buffer::destroy - destroy a buffer

Destroy a buffer. If and how you need to release the backing storage is defined by the buffer factory interface.

For possible side-effects to a surface, see wl_surface.attach.

Events provided by wl_buffer

wl_buffer::release - compositor releases buffer

Sent when this wl_buffer is no longer used by the compositor. The client is now free to reuse or destroy this buffer and its backing storage.

If a client receives a release event before the frame callback requested in the same wl_surface.commit that attaches this wl_buffer to a surface, then the client is immediately free to reuse the buffer and its backing storage, and does not need a second buffer for the next surface content update. Typically this is possible, when the compositor maintains a copy of the wl_surface contents, e.g. as a GL texture. This is an important optimization for GL(ES) compositors with wl_shm clients.

wl_data_offer - offer to transfer data

A wl_data_offer represents a piece of data offered for transfer by another client (the source client). It is used by the copy-and-paste and drag-and-drop mechanisms. The offer describes the different mime types that the data can be converted to and provides the mechanism for transferring the data directly from the source client.

Requests provided by wl_data_offer

wl_data_offer::accept - accept one of the offered mime types

serial
uint - serial number of the accept request
mime_type
string - mime type accepted by the client

Indicate that the client can accept the given mime type, or NULL for not accepted.

For objects of version 2 or older, this request is used by the client to give feedback whether the client can receive the given mime type, or NULL if none is accepted; the feedback does not determine whether the drag-and-drop operation succeeds or not.

For objects of version 3 or newer, this request determines the final result of the drag-and-drop operation. If the end result is that no mime types were accepted, the drag-and-drop operation will be cancelled and the corresponding drag source will receive wl_data_source.cancelled. Clients may still use this event in conjunction with wl_data_source.action for feedback.

wl_data_offer::receive - request that the data is transferred

mime_type
string - mime type desired by receiver
fd
fd - file descriptor for data transfer

To transfer the offered data, the client issues this request and indicates the mime type it wants to receive. The transfer happens through the passed file descriptor (typically created with the pipe system call). The source client writes the data in the mime type representation requested and then closes the file descriptor.

The receiving client reads from the read end of the pipe until EOF and then closes its end, at which point the transfer is complete.

This request may happen multiple times for different mime types, both before and after wl_data_device.drop. Drag-and-drop destination clients may preemptively fetch data or examine it more closely to determine acceptance.

wl_data_offer::destroy - destroy data offer

Destroy the data offer.

wl_data_offer::finish - the offer will no longer be used

Notifies the compositor that the drag destination successfully finished the drag-and-drop operation.

Upon receiving this request, the compositor will emit wl_data_source.dnd_finished on the drag source client.

It is a client error to perform other requests than wl_data_offer.destroy after this one. It is also an error to perform this request after a NULL mime type has been set in wl_data_offer.accept or no action was received through wl_data_offer.action.

If wl_data_offer.finish request is received for a non drag and drop operation, the invalid_finish protocol error is raised.

wl_data_offer::set_actions - set the available/preferred drag-and-drop actions

dnd_actions
wl_data_device_manager::dnd_action (uint) - actions supported by the destination client
preferred_action
wl_data_device_manager::dnd_action (uint) - action preferred by the destination client

Sets the actions that the destination side client supports for this operation. This request may trigger the emission of wl_data_source.action and wl_data_offer.action events if the compositor needs to change the selected action.

This request can be called multiple times throughout the drag-and-drop operation, typically in response to wl_data_device.enter or wl_data_device.motion events.

This request determines the final result of the drag-and-drop operation. If the end result is that no action is accepted, the drag source will receive wl_data_source.cancelled.

The dnd_actions argument must contain only values expressed in the wl_data_device_manager.dnd_actions enum, and the preferred_action argument must only contain one of those values set, otherwise it will result in a protocol error.

While managing an "ask" action, the destination drag-and-drop client may perform further wl_data_offer.receive requests, and is expected to perform one last wl_data_offer.set_actions request with a preferred action other than "ask" (and optionally wl_data_offer.accept) before requesting wl_data_offer.finish, in order to convey the action selected by the user. If the preferred action is not in the wl_data_offer.source_actions mask, an error will be raised.

If the "ask" action is dismissed (e.g. user cancellation), the client is expected to perform wl_data_offer.destroy right away.

This request can only be made on drag-and-drop offers, a protocol error will be raised otherwise.

Events provided by wl_data_offer

wl_data_offer::offer - advertise offered mime type

mime_type
string - offered mime type

Sent immediately after creating the wl_data_offer object. One event per offered mime type.

wl_data_offer::source_actions - notify the source-side available actions

source_actions
wl_data_device_manager::dnd_action (uint) - actions offered by the data source

This event indicates the actions offered by the data source. It will be sent immediately after creating the wl_data_offer object, or anytime the source side changes its offered actions through wl_data_source.set_actions.

wl_data_offer::action - notify the selected action

dnd_action
wl_data_device_manager::dnd_action (uint) - action selected by the compositor

This event indicates the action selected by the compositor after matching the source/destination side actions. Only one action (or none) will be offered here.

This event can be emitted multiple times during the drag-and-drop operation in response to destination side action changes through wl_data_offer.set_actions.

This event will no longer be emitted after wl_data_device.drop happened on the drag-and-drop destination, the client must honor the last action received, or the last preferred one set through wl_data_offer.set_actions when handling an "ask" action.

Compositors may also change the selected action on the fly, mainly in response to keyboard modifier changes during the drag-and-drop operation.

The most recent action received is always the valid one. Prior to receiving wl_data_device.drop, the chosen action may change (e.g. due to keyboard modifiers being pressed). At the time of receiving wl_data_device.drop the drag-and-drop destination must honor the last action received.

Action changes may still happen after wl_data_device.drop, especially on "ask" actions, where the drag-and-drop destination may choose another action afterwards. Action changes happening at this stage are always the result of inter-client negotiation, the compositor shall no longer be able to induce a different action.

Upon "ask" actions, it is expected that the drag-and-drop destination may potentially choose a different action and/or mime type, based on wl_data_offer.source_actions and finally chosen by the user (e.g. popping up a menu with the available options). The final wl_data_offer.set_actions and wl_data_offer.accept requests must happen before the call to wl_data_offer.finish.

Enums provided by wl_data_offer

wl_data_offer::error

invalid_finish
0 - finish request was called untimely
invalid_action_mask
1 - action mask contains invalid values
invalid_action
2 - action argument has an invalid value
invalid_offer
3 - offer doesn't accept this request

wl_data_source - offer to transfer data

The wl_data_source object is the source side of a wl_data_offer. It is created by the source client in a data transfer and provides a way to describe the offered data and a way to respond to requests to transfer the data.

Requests provided by wl_data_source

wl_data_source::offer - add an offered mime type

mime_type
string - mime type offered by the data source

This request adds a mime type to the set of mime types advertised to targets. Can be called several times to offer multiple types.

wl_data_source::destroy - destroy the data source

Destroy the data source.

wl_data_source::set_actions - set the available drag-and-drop actions

dnd_actions
wl_data_device_manager::dnd_action (uint) - actions supported by the data source

Sets the actions that the source side client supports for this operation. This request may trigger wl_data_source.action and wl_data_offer.action events if the compositor needs to change the selected action.

The dnd_actions argument must contain only values expressed in the wl_data_device_manager.dnd_actions enum, otherwise it will result in a protocol error.

This request must be made once only, and can only be made on sources used in drag-and-drop, so it must be performed before wl_data_device.start_drag. Attempting to use the source other than for drag-and-drop will raise a protocol error.

Events provided by wl_data_source

wl_data_source::target - a target accepts an offered mime type

mime_type
string - mime type accepted by the target

Sent when a target accepts pointer_focus or motion events. If a target does not accept any of the offered types, type is NULL.

Used for feedback during drag-and-drop.

wl_data_source::send - send the data

mime_type
string - mime type for the data
fd
fd - file descriptor for the data

Request for data from the client. Send the data as the specified mime type over the passed file descriptor, then close it.

wl_data_source::cancelled - selection was cancelled

This data source is no longer valid. There are several reasons why this could happen:

- The data source has been replaced by another data source. - The drag-and-drop operation was performed, but the drop destination did not accept any of the mime types offered through wl_data_source.target. - The drag-and-drop operation was performed, but the drop destination did not select any of the actions present in the mask offered through wl_data_source.action. - The drag-and-drop operation was performed but didn't happen over a surface. - The compositor cancelled the drag-and-drop operation (e.g. compositor dependent timeouts to avoid stale drag-and-drop transfers).

The client should clean up and destroy this data source.

For objects of version 2 or older, wl_data_source.cancelled will only be emitted if the data source was replaced by another data source.

wl_data_source::dnd_drop_performed - the drag-and-drop operation physically finished

The user performed the drop action. This event does not indicate acceptance, wl_data_source.cancelled may still be emitted afterwards if the drop destination does not accept any mime type.

However, this event might however not be received if the compositor cancelled the drag-and-drop operation before this event could happen.

Note that the data_source may still be used in the future and should not be destroyed here.

wl_data_source::dnd_finished - the drag-and-drop operation concluded

The drop destination finished interoperating with this data source, so the client is now free to destroy this data source and free all associated data.

If the action used to perform the operation was "move", the source can now delete the transferred data.

wl_data_source::action - notify the selected action

dnd_action
wl_data_device_manager::dnd_action (uint) - action selected by the compositor

This event indicates the action selected by the compositor after matching the source/destination side actions. Only one action (or none) will be offered here.

This event can be emitted multiple times during the drag-and-drop operation, mainly in response to destination side changes through wl_data_offer.set_actions, and as the data device enters/leaves surfaces.

It is only possible to receive this event after wl_data_source.dnd_drop_performed if the drag-and-drop operation ended in an "ask" action, in which case the final wl_data_source.action event will happen immediately before wl_data_source.dnd_finished.

Compositors may also change the selected action on the fly, mainly in response to keyboard modifier changes during the drag-and-drop operation.

The most recent action received is always the valid one. The chosen action may change alongside negotiation (e.g. an "ask" action can turn into a "move" operation), so the effects of the final action must always be applied in wl_data_offer.dnd_finished.

Clients can trigger cursor surface changes from this point, so they reflect the current action.

Enums provided by wl_data_source

wl_data_source::error

invalid_action_mask
0 - action mask contains invalid values
invalid_source
1 - source doesn't accept this request

wl_data_device - data transfer device

There is one wl_data_device per seat which can be obtained from the global wl_data_device_manager singleton.

A wl_data_device provides access to inter-client data transfer mechanisms such as copy-and-paste and drag-and-drop.

Requests provided by wl_data_device

wl_data_device::start_drag - start drag-and-drop operation

source
wl_data_source - data source for the eventual transfer
origin
wl_surface - surface where the drag originates
icon
wl_surface - drag-and-drop icon surface
serial
uint - serial number of the implicit grab on the origin

This request asks the compositor to start a drag-and-drop operation on behalf of the client.

The source argument is the data source that provides the data for the eventual data transfer. If source is NULL, enter, leave and motion events are sent only to the client that initiated the drag and the client is expected to handle the data passing internally. If source is destroyed, the drag-and-drop session will be cancelled.

The origin surface is the surface where the drag originates and the client must have an active implicit grab that matches the serial.

The icon surface is an optional (can be NULL) surface that provides an icon to be moved around with the cursor. Initially, the top-left corner of the icon surface is placed at the cursor hotspot, but subsequent wl_surface.attach request can move the relative position. Attach requests must be confirmed with wl_surface.commit as usual. The icon surface is given the role of a drag-and-drop icon. If the icon surface already has another role, it raises a protocol error.

The input region is ignored for wl_surfaces with the role of a drag-and-drop icon.

wl_data_device::set_selection - copy data to the selection

source
wl_data_source - data source for the selection
serial
uint - serial number of the event that triggered this request

This request asks the compositor to set the selection to the data from the source on behalf of the client.

To unset the selection, set the source to NULL.

wl_data_device::release - destroy data device

This request destroys the data device.

Events provided by wl_data_device

wl_data_device::data_offer - introduce a new wl_data_offer

id
id for the new wl_data_offer - the new data_offer object

The data_offer event introduces a new wl_data_offer object, which will subsequently be used in either the data_device.enter event (for drag-and-drop) or the data_device.selection event (for selections). Immediately following the data_device.data_offer event, the new data_offer object will send out data_offer.offer events to describe the mime types it offers.

wl_data_device::enter - initiate drag-and-drop session

serial
uint - serial number of the enter event
surface
wl_surface - client surface entered
x
fixed - surface-local x coordinate
y
fixed - surface-local y coordinate
id
wl_data_offer - source data_offer object

This event is sent when an active drag-and-drop pointer enters a surface owned by the client. The position of the pointer at enter time is provided by the x and y arguments, in surface-local coordinates.

wl_data_device::leave - end drag-and-drop session

This event is sent when the drag-and-drop pointer leaves the surface and the session ends. The client must destroy the wl_data_offer introduced at enter time at this point.

wl_data_device::motion - drag-and-drop session motion

time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
x
fixed - surface-local x coordinate
y
fixed - surface-local y coordinate

This event is sent when the drag-and-drop pointer moves within the currently focused surface. The new position of the pointer is provided by the x and y arguments, in surface-local coordinates.

wl_data_device::drop - end drag-and-drop session successfully

The event is sent when a drag-and-drop operation is ended because the implicit grab is removed.

The drag-and-drop destination is expected to honor the last action received through wl_data_offer.action, if the resulting action is "copy" or "move", the destination can still perform wl_data_offer.receive requests, and is expected to end all transfers with a wl_data_offer.finish request.

If the resulting action is "ask", the action will not be considered final. The drag-and-drop destination is expected to perform one last wl_data_offer.set_actions request, or wl_data_offer.destroy in order to cancel the operation.

wl_data_device::selection - advertise new selection

id
wl_data_offer - selection data_offer object

The selection event is sent out to notify the client of a new wl_data_offer for the selection for this device. The data_device.data_offer and the data_offer.offer events are sent out immediately before this event to introduce the data offer object. The selection event is sent to a client immediately before receiving keyboard focus and when a new selection is set while the client has keyboard focus. The data_offer is valid until a new data_offer or NULL is received or until the client loses keyboard focus. Switching surface with keyboard focus within the same client doesn't mean a new selection will be sent. The client must destroy the previous selection data_offer, if any, upon receiving this event.

Enums provided by wl_data_device

wl_data_device::error

role
0 - given wl_surface has another role

wl_data_device_manager - data transfer interface

The wl_data_device_manager is a singleton global object that provides access to inter-client data transfer mechanisms such as copy-and-paste and drag-and-drop. These mechanisms are tied to a wl_seat and this interface lets a client get a wl_data_device corresponding to a wl_seat.

Depending on the version bound, the objects created from the bound wl_data_device_manager object will have different requirements for functioning properly. See wl_data_source.set_actions, wl_data_offer.accept and wl_data_offer.finish for details.

Requests provided by wl_data_device_manager

wl_data_device_manager::create_data_source - create a new data source

id
id for the new wl_data_source - data source to create

Create a new data source.

wl_data_device_manager::get_data_device - create a new data device

id
id for the new wl_data_device - data device to create
seat
wl_seat - seat associated with the data device

Create a new data device for a given seat.

Enums provided by wl_data_device_manager

wl_data_device_manager::dnd_action - bitfield - drag and drop actions

This is a bitmask of the available/preferred actions in a drag-and-drop operation.

In the compositor, the selected action is a result of matching the actions offered by the source and destination sides. "action" events with a "none" action will be sent to both source and destination if there is no match. All further checks will effectively happen on (source actions ∩ destination actions).

In addition, compositors may also pick different actions in reaction to key modifiers being pressed. One common design that is used in major toolkits (and the behavior recommended for compositors) is:

- If no modifiers are pressed, the first match (in bit order) will be used. - Pressing Shift selects "move", if enabled in the mask. - Pressing Control selects "copy", if enabled in the mask.

Behavior beyond that is considered implementation-dependent. Compositors may for example bind other modifiers (like Alt/Meta) or drags initiated with other buttons than BTN_LEFT to specific actions (e.g. "ask").

none
0 - no action
copy
1 - copy action
move
2 - move action
ask
4 - ask action

wl_shell - create desktop-style surfaces

This interface is implemented by servers that provide desktop-style user interfaces.

It allows clients to associate a wl_shell_surface with a basic surface.

Note! This protocol is deprecated and not intended for production use. For desktop-style user interfaces, use xdg_shell. Compositors and clients should not implement this interface.

Requests provided by wl_shell

wl_shell::get_shell_surface - create a shell surface from a surface

id
id for the new wl_shell_surface - shell surface to create
surface
wl_surface - surface to be given the shell surface role

Create a shell surface for an existing surface. This gives the wl_surface the role of a shell surface. If the wl_surface already has another role, it raises a protocol error.

Only one shell surface can be associated with a given surface.

Enums provided by wl_shell

wl_shell::error

role
0 - given wl_surface has another role

wl_shell_surface - desktop-style metadata interface

An interface that may be implemented by a wl_surface, for implementations that provide a desktop-style user interface.

It provides requests to treat surfaces like toplevel, fullscreen or popup windows, move, resize or maximize them, associate metadata like title and class, etc.

On the server side the object is automatically destroyed when the related wl_surface is destroyed. On the client side, wl_shell_surface_destroy() must be called before destroying the wl_surface object.

Requests provided by wl_shell_surface

wl_shell_surface::pong - respond to a ping event

serial
uint - serial number of the ping event

A client must respond to a ping event with a pong request or the client may be deemed unresponsive.

wl_shell_surface::move - start an interactive move

seat
wl_seat - seat whose pointer is used
serial
uint - serial number of the implicit grab on the pointer

Start a pointer-driven move of the surface.

This request must be used in response to a button press event. The server may ignore move requests depending on the state of the surface (e.g. fullscreen or maximized).

wl_shell_surface::resize - start an interactive resize

seat
wl_seat - seat whose pointer is used
serial
uint - serial number of the implicit grab on the pointer
edges
wl_shell_surface::resize (uint) - which edge or corner is being dragged

Start a pointer-driven resizing of the surface.

This request must be used in response to a button press event. The server may ignore resize requests depending on the state of the surface (e.g. fullscreen or maximized).

wl_shell_surface::set_toplevel - make the surface a toplevel surface

Map the surface as a toplevel surface.

A toplevel surface is not fullscreen, maximized or transient.

wl_shell_surface::set_transient - make the surface a transient surface

parent
wl_surface - parent surface
x
int - surface-local x coordinate
y
int - surface-local y coordinate
flags
wl_shell_surface::transient (uint) - transient surface behavior

Map the surface relative to an existing surface.

The x and y arguments specify the location of the upper left corner of the surface relative to the upper left corner of the parent surface, in surface-local coordinates.

The flags argument controls details of the transient behaviour.

wl_shell_surface::set_fullscreen - make the surface a fullscreen surface

method
wl_shell_surface::fullscreen_method (uint) - method for resolving size conflict
framerate
uint - framerate in mHz
output
wl_output - output on which the surface is to be fullscreen

Map the surface as a fullscreen surface.

If an output parameter is given then the surface will be made fullscreen on that output. If the client does not specify the output then the compositor will apply its policy - usually choosing the output on which the surface has the biggest surface area.

The client may specify a method to resolve a size conflict between the output size and the surface size - this is provided through the method parameter.

The framerate parameter is used only when the method is set to "driver", to indicate the preferred framerate. A value of 0 indicates that the client does not care about framerate. The framerate is specified in mHz, that is framerate of 60000 is 60Hz.

A method of "scale" or "driver" implies a scaling operation of the surface, either via a direct scaling operation or a change of the output mode. This will override any kind of output scaling, so that mapping a surface with a buffer size equal to the mode can fill the screen independent of buffer_scale.

A method of "fill" means we don't scale up the buffer, however any output scale is applied. This means that you may run into an edge case where the application maps a buffer with the same size of the output mode but buffer_scale 1 (thus making a surface larger than the output). In this case it is allowed to downscale the results to fit the screen.

The compositor must reply to this request with a configure event with the dimensions for the output on which the surface will be made fullscreen.

wl_shell_surface::set_popup - make the surface a popup surface

seat
wl_seat - seat whose pointer is used
serial
uint - serial number of the implicit grab on the pointer
parent
wl_surface - parent surface
x
int - surface-local x coordinate
y
int - surface-local y coordinate
flags
wl_shell_surface::transient (uint) - transient surface behavior

Map the surface as a popup.

A popup surface is a transient surface with an added pointer grab.

An existing implicit grab will be changed to owner-events mode, and the popup grab will continue after the implicit grab ends (i.e. releasing the mouse button does not cause the popup to be unmapped).

The popup grab continues until the window is destroyed or a mouse button is pressed in any other client's window. A click in any of the client's surfaces is reported as normal, however, clicks in other clients' surfaces will be discarded and trigger the callback.

The x and y arguments specify the location of the upper left corner of the surface relative to the upper left corner of the parent surface, in surface-local coordinates.

wl_shell_surface::set_maximized - make the surface a maximized surface

output
wl_output - output on which the surface is to be maximized

Map the surface as a maximized surface.

If an output parameter is given then the surface will be maximized on that output. If the client does not specify the output then the compositor will apply its policy - usually choosing the output on which the surface has the biggest surface area.

The compositor will reply with a configure event telling the expected new surface size. The operation is completed on the next buffer attach to this surface.

A maximized surface typically fills the entire output it is bound to, except for desktop elements such as panels. This is the main difference between a maximized shell surface and a fullscreen shell surface.

The details depend on the compositor implementation.

wl_shell_surface::set_title - set surface title

title
string - surface title

Set a short title for the surface.

This string may be used to identify the surface in a task bar, window list, or other user interface elements provided by the compositor.

The string must be encoded in UTF-8.

wl_shell_surface::set_class - set surface class

class_
string - surface class

Set a class for the surface.

The surface class identifies the general class of applications to which the surface belongs. A common convention is to use the file name (or the full path if it is a non-standard location) of the application's .desktop file as the class.

Events provided by wl_shell_surface

wl_shell_surface::ping - ping client

serial
uint - serial number of the ping

Ping a client to check if it is receiving events and sending requests. A client is expected to reply with a pong request.

wl_shell_surface::configure - suggest resize

edges
wl_shell_surface::resize (uint) - how the surface was resized
width
int - new width of the surface
height
int - new height of the surface

The configure event asks the client to resize its surface.

The size is a hint, in the sense that the client is free to ignore it if it doesn't resize, pick a smaller size (to satisfy aspect ratio or resize in steps of NxM pixels).

The edges parameter provides a hint about how the surface was resized. The client may use this information to decide how to adjust its content to the new size (e.g. a scrolling area might adjust its content position to leave the viewable content unmoved).

The client is free to dismiss all but the last configure event it received.

The width and height arguments specify the size of the window in surface-local coordinates.

wl_shell_surface::popup_done - popup interaction is done

The popup_done event is sent out when a popup grab is broken, that is, when the user clicks a surface that doesn't belong to the client owning the popup surface.

Enums provided by wl_shell_surface

wl_shell_surface::resize - bitfield - edge values for resizing

These values are used to indicate which edge of a surface is being dragged in a resize operation. The server may use this information to adapt its behavior, e.g. choose an appropriate cursor image.

none
0 - no edge
top
1 - top edge
bottom
2 - bottom edge
left
4 - left edge
top_left
5 - top and left edges
bottom_left
6 - bottom and left edges
right
8 - right edge
top_right
9 - top and right edges
bottom_right
10 - bottom and right edges

wl_shell_surface::transient - bitfield - details of transient behaviour

These flags specify details of the expected behaviour of transient surfaces. Used in the set_transient request.

inactive
0x1 - do not set keyboard focus

wl_shell_surface::fullscreen_method - different method to set the surface fullscreen

Hints to indicate to the compositor how to deal with a conflict between the dimensions of the surface and the dimensions of the output. The compositor is free to ignore this parameter.

default
0 - no preference, apply default policy
scale
1 - scale, preserve the surface's aspect ratio and center on output
driver
2 - switch output mode to the smallest mode that can fit the surface, add black borders to compensate size mismatch
fill
3 - no upscaling, center on output and add black borders to compensate size mismatch

wl_surface - an onscreen surface

A surface is a rectangular area that may be displayed on zero or more outputs, and shown any number of times at the compositor's discretion. They can present wl_buffers, receive user input, and define a local coordinate system.

The size of a surface (and relative positions on it) is described in surface-local coordinates, which may differ from the buffer coordinates of the pixel content, in case a buffer_transform or a buffer_scale is used.

A surface without a "role" is fairly useless: a compositor does not know where, when or how to present it. The role is the purpose of a wl_surface. Examples of roles are a cursor for a pointer (as set by wl_pointer.set_cursor), a drag icon (wl_data_device.start_drag), a sub-surface (wl_subcompositor.get_subsurface), and a window as defined by a shell protocol (e.g. wl_shell.get_shell_surface).

A surface can have only one role at a time. Initially a wl_surface does not have a role. Once a wl_surface is given a role, it is set permanently for the whole lifetime of the wl_surface object. Giving the current role again is allowed, unless explicitly forbidden by the relevant interface specification.

Surface roles are given by requests in other interfaces such as wl_pointer.set_cursor. The request should explicitly mention that this request gives a role to a wl_surface. Often, this request also creates a new protocol object that represents the role and adds additional functionality to wl_surface. When a client wants to destroy a wl_surface, they must destroy this role object before the wl_surface, otherwise a defunct_role_object error is sent.

Destroying the role object does not remove the role from the wl_surface, but it may stop the wl_surface from "playing the role". For instance, if a wl_subsurface object is destroyed, the wl_surface it was created for will be unmapped and forget its position and z-order. It is allowed to create a wl_subsurface for the same wl_surface again, but it is not allowed to use the wl_surface as a cursor (cursor is a different role than sub-surface, and role switching is not allowed).

Requests provided by wl_surface

wl_surface::destroy - delete surface

Deletes the surface and invalidates its object ID.

wl_surface::attach - set the surface contents

buffer
wl_buffer - buffer of surface contents
x
int - surface-local x coordinate
y
int - surface-local y coordinate

Set a buffer as the content of this surface.

The new size of the surface is calculated based on the buffer size transformed by the inverse buffer_transform and the inverse buffer_scale. This means that at commit time the supplied buffer size must be an integer multiple of the buffer_scale. If that's not the case, an invalid_size error is sent.

The x and y arguments specify the location of the new pending buffer's upper left corner, relative to the current buffer's upper left corner, in surface-local coordinates. In other words, the x and y, combined with the new surface size define in which directions the surface's size changes. Setting anything other than 0 as x and y arguments is discouraged, and should instead be replaced with using the separate wl_surface.offset request.

When the bound wl_surface version is 5 or higher, passing any non-zero x or y is a protocol violation, and will result in an 'invalid_offset' error being raised. The x and y arguments are ignored and do not change the pending state. To achieve equivalent semantics, use wl_surface.offset.

Surface contents are double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

The initial surface contents are void; there is no content. wl_surface.attach assigns the given wl_buffer as the pending wl_buffer. wl_surface.commit makes the pending wl_buffer the new surface contents, and the size of the surface becomes the size calculated from the wl_buffer, as described above. After commit, there is no pending buffer until the next attach.

Committing a pending wl_buffer allows the compositor to read the pixels in the wl_buffer. The compositor may access the pixels at any time after the wl_surface.commit request. When the compositor will not access the pixels anymore, it will send the wl_buffer.release event. Only after receiving wl_buffer.release, the client may reuse the wl_buffer. A wl_buffer that has been attached and then replaced by another attach instead of committed will not receive a release event, and is not used by the compositor.

If a pending wl_buffer has been committed to more than one wl_surface, the delivery of wl_buffer.release events becomes undefined. A well behaved client should not rely on wl_buffer.release events in this case. Alternatively, a client could create multiple wl_buffer objects from the same backing storage or use wp_linux_buffer_release.

Destroying the wl_buffer after wl_buffer.release does not change the surface contents. Destroying the wl_buffer before wl_buffer.release is allowed as long as the underlying buffer storage isn't re-used (this can happen e.g. on client process termination). However, if the client destroys the wl_buffer before receiving the wl_buffer.release event and mutates the underlying buffer storage, the surface contents become undefined immediately.

If wl_surface.attach is sent with a NULL wl_buffer, the following wl_surface.commit will remove the surface content.

wl_surface::damage - mark part of the surface damaged

x
int - surface-local x coordinate
y
int - surface-local y coordinate
width
int - width of damage rectangle
height
int - height of damage rectangle

This request is used to describe the regions where the pending buffer is different from the current surface contents, and where the surface therefore needs to be repainted. The compositor ignores the parts of the damage that fall outside of the surface.

Damage is double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

The damage rectangle is specified in surface-local coordinates, where x and y specify the upper left corner of the damage rectangle.

The initial value for pending damage is empty: no damage. wl_surface.damage adds pending damage: the new pending damage is the union of old pending damage and the given rectangle.

wl_surface.commit assigns pending damage as the current damage, and clears pending damage. The server will clear the current damage as it repaints the surface.

Note! New clients should not use this request. Instead damage can be posted with wl_surface.damage_buffer which uses buffer coordinates instead of surface coordinates.

wl_surface::frame - request a frame throttling hint

callback
id for the new wl_callback - callback object for the frame request

Request a notification when it is a good time to start drawing a new frame, by creating a frame callback. This is useful for throttling redrawing operations, and driving animations.

When a client is animating on a wl_surface, it can use the 'frame' request to get notified when it is a good time to draw and commit the next frame of animation. If the client commits an update earlier than that, it is likely that some updates will not make it to the display, and the client is wasting resources by drawing too often.

The frame request will take effect on the next wl_surface.commit. The notification will only be posted for one frame unless requested again. For a wl_surface, the notifications are posted in the order the frame requests were committed.

The server must send the notifications so that a client will not send excessive updates, while still allowing the highest possible update rate for clients that wait for the reply before drawing again. The server should give some time for the client to draw and commit after sending the frame callback events to let it hit the next output refresh.

A server should avoid signaling the frame callbacks if the surface is not visible in any way, e.g. the surface is off-screen, or completely obscured by other opaque surfaces.

The object returned by this request will be destroyed by the compositor after the callback is fired and as such the client must not attempt to use it after that point.

The callback_data passed in the callback is the current time, in milliseconds, with an undefined base.

wl_surface::set_opaque_region - set opaque region

region
wl_region - opaque region of the surface

This request sets the region of the surface that contains opaque content.

The opaque region is an optimization hint for the compositor that lets it optimize the redrawing of content behind opaque regions. Setting an opaque region is not required for correct behaviour, but marking transparent content as opaque will result in repaint artifacts.

The opaque region is specified in surface-local coordinates.

The compositor ignores the parts of the opaque region that fall outside of the surface.

Opaque region is double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

wl_surface.set_opaque_region changes the pending opaque region. wl_surface.commit copies the pending region to the current region. Otherwise, the pending and current regions are never changed.

The initial value for an opaque region is empty. Setting the pending opaque region has copy semantics, and the wl_region object can be destroyed immediately. A NULL wl_region causes the pending opaque region to be set to empty.

wl_surface::set_input_region - set input region

region
wl_region - input region of the surface

This request sets the region of the surface that can receive pointer and touch events.

Input events happening outside of this region will try the next surface in the server surface stack. The compositor ignores the parts of the input region that fall outside of the surface.

The input region is specified in surface-local coordinates.

Input region is double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

wl_surface.set_input_region changes the pending input region. wl_surface.commit copies the pending region to the current region. Otherwise the pending and current regions are never changed, except cursor and icon surfaces are special cases, see wl_pointer.set_cursor and wl_data_device.start_drag.

The initial value for an input region is infinite. That means the whole surface will accept input. Setting the pending input region has copy semantics, and the wl_region object can be destroyed immediately. A NULL wl_region causes the input region to be set to infinite.

wl_surface::commit - commit pending surface state

Surface state (input, opaque, and damage regions, attached buffers, etc.) is double-buffered. Protocol requests modify the pending state, as opposed to the current state in use by the compositor. A commit request atomically applies all pending state, replacing the current state. After commit, the new pending state is as documented for each related request.

On commit, a pending wl_buffer is applied first, and all other state second. This means that all coordinates in double-buffered state are relative to the new wl_buffer coming into use, except for wl_surface.attach itself. If there is no pending wl_buffer, the coordinates are relative to the current surface contents.

All requests that need a commit to become effective are documented to affect double-buffered state.

Other interfaces may add further double-buffered surface state.

wl_surface::set_buffer_transform - sets the buffer transformation

transform
wl_output::transform (int) - transform for interpreting buffer contents

This request sets an optional transformation on how the compositor interprets the contents of the buffer attached to the surface. The accepted values for the transform parameter are the values for wl_output.transform.

Buffer transform is double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

A newly created surface has its buffer transformation set to normal.

wl_surface.set_buffer_transform changes the pending buffer transformation. wl_surface.commit copies the pending buffer transformation to the current one. Otherwise, the pending and current values are never changed.

The purpose of this request is to allow clients to render content according to the output transform, thus permitting the compositor to use certain optimizations even if the display is rotated. Using hardware overlays and scanning out a client buffer for fullscreen surfaces are examples of such optimizations. Those optimizations are highly dependent on the compositor implementation, so the use of this request should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Note that if the transform value includes 90 or 270 degree rotation, the width of the buffer will become the surface height and the height of the buffer will become the surface width.

If transform is not one of the values from the wl_output.transform enum the invalid_transform protocol error is raised.

wl_surface::set_buffer_scale - sets the buffer scaling factor

scale
int - positive scale for interpreting buffer contents

This request sets an optional scaling factor on how the compositor interprets the contents of the buffer attached to the window.

Buffer scale is double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

A newly created surface has its buffer scale set to 1.

wl_surface.set_buffer_scale changes the pending buffer scale. wl_surface.commit copies the pending buffer scale to the current one. Otherwise, the pending and current values are never changed.

The purpose of this request is to allow clients to supply higher resolution buffer data for use on high resolution outputs. It is intended that you pick the same buffer scale as the scale of the output that the surface is displayed on. This means the compositor can avoid scaling when rendering the surface on that output.

Note that if the scale is larger than 1, then you have to attach a buffer that is larger (by a factor of scale in each dimension) than the desired surface size.

If scale is not positive the invalid_scale protocol error is raised.

wl_surface::damage_buffer - mark part of the surface damaged using buffer coordinates

x
int - buffer-local x coordinate
y
int - buffer-local y coordinate
width
int - width of damage rectangle
height
int - height of damage rectangle

This request is used to describe the regions where the pending buffer is different from the current surface contents, and where the surface therefore needs to be repainted. The compositor ignores the parts of the damage that fall outside of the surface.

Damage is double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

The damage rectangle is specified in buffer coordinates, where x and y specify the upper left corner of the damage rectangle.

The initial value for pending damage is empty: no damage. wl_surface.damage_buffer adds pending damage: the new pending damage is the union of old pending damage and the given rectangle.

wl_surface.commit assigns pending damage as the current damage, and clears pending damage. The server will clear the current damage as it repaints the surface.

This request differs from wl_surface.damage in only one way - it takes damage in buffer coordinates instead of surface-local coordinates. While this generally is more intuitive than surface coordinates, it is especially desirable when using wp_viewport or when a drawing library (like EGL) is unaware of buffer scale and buffer transform.

Note: Because buffer transformation changes and damage requests may be interleaved in the protocol stream, it is impossible to determine the actual mapping between surface and buffer damage until wl_surface.commit time. Therefore, compositors wishing to take both kinds of damage into account will have to accumulate damage from the two requests separately and only transform from one to the other after receiving the wl_surface.commit.

wl_surface::offset - set the surface contents offset

x
int - surface-local x coordinate
y
int - surface-local y coordinate

The x and y arguments specify the location of the new pending buffer's upper left corner, relative to the current buffer's upper left corner, in surface-local coordinates. In other words, the x and y, combined with the new surface size define in which directions the surface's size changes.

Surface location offset is double-buffered state, see wl_surface.commit.

This request is semantically equivalent to and the replaces the x and y arguments in the wl_surface.attach request in wl_surface versions prior to 5. See wl_surface.attach for details.

Events provided by wl_surface

wl_surface::enter - surface enters an output

output
wl_output - output entered by the surface

This is emitted whenever a surface's creation, movement, or resizing results in some part of it being within the scanout region of an output.

Note that a surface may be overlapping with zero or more outputs.

wl_surface::leave - surface leaves an output

output
wl_output - output left by the surface

This is emitted whenever a surface's creation, movement, or resizing results in it no longer having any part of it within the scanout region of an output.

Clients should not use the number of outputs the surface is on for frame throttling purposes. The surface might be hidden even if no leave event has been sent, and the compositor might expect new surface content updates even if no enter event has been sent. The frame event should be used instead.

wl_surface::preferred_buffer_scale - preferred buffer scale for the surface

factor
int - preferred scaling factor

This event indicates the preferred buffer scale for this surface. It is sent whenever the compositor's preference changes.

It is intended that scaling aware clients use this event to scale their content and use wl_surface.set_buffer_scale to indicate the scale they have rendered with. This allows clients to supply a higher detail buffer.

wl_surface::preferred_buffer_transform - preferred buffer transform for the surface

transform
wl_output::transform (uint) - preferred transform

This event indicates the preferred buffer transform for this surface. It is sent whenever the compositor's preference changes.

It is intended that transform aware clients use this event to apply the transform to their content and use wl_surface.set_buffer_transform to indicate the transform they have rendered with.

Enums provided by wl_surface

wl_surface::error - wl_surface error values

These errors can be emitted in response to wl_surface requests.

invalid_scale
0 - buffer scale value is invalid
invalid_transform
1 - buffer transform value is invalid
invalid_size
2 - buffer size is invalid
invalid_offset
3 - buffer offset is invalid
defunct_role_object
4 - surface was destroyed before its role object

wl_seat - group of input devices

A seat is a group of keyboards, pointer and touch devices. This object is published as a global during start up, or when such a device is hot plugged. A seat typically has a pointer and maintains a keyboard focus and a pointer focus.

Requests provided by wl_seat

wl_seat::get_pointer - return pointer object

id
id for the new wl_pointer - seat pointer

The ID provided will be initialized to the wl_pointer interface for this seat.

This request only takes effect if the seat has the pointer capability, or has had the pointer capability in the past. It is a protocol violation to issue this request on a seat that has never had the pointer capability. The missing_capability error will be sent in this case.

wl_seat::get_keyboard - return keyboard object

id
id for the new wl_keyboard - seat keyboard

The ID provided will be initialized to the wl_keyboard interface for this seat.

This request only takes effect if the seat has the keyboard capability, or has had the keyboard capability in the past. It is a protocol violation to issue this request on a seat that has never had the keyboard capability. The missing_capability error will be sent in this case.

wl_seat::get_touch - return touch object

id
id for the new wl_touch - seat touch interface

The ID provided will be initialized to the wl_touch interface for this seat.

This request only takes effect if the seat has the touch capability, or has had the touch capability in the past. It is a protocol violation to issue this request on a seat that has never had the touch capability. The missing_capability error will be sent in this case.

wl_seat::release - release the seat object

Using this request a client can tell the server that it is not going to use the seat object anymore.

Events provided by wl_seat

wl_seat::capabilities - seat capabilities changed

capabilities
wl_seat::capability (uint) - capabilities of the seat

This is emitted whenever a seat gains or loses the pointer, keyboard or touch capabilities. The argument is a capability enum containing the complete set of capabilities this seat has.

When the pointer capability is added, a client may create a wl_pointer object using the wl_seat.get_pointer request. This object will receive pointer events until the capability is removed in the future.

When the pointer capability is removed, a client should destroy the wl_pointer objects associated with the seat where the capability was removed, using the wl_pointer.release request. No further pointer events will be received on these objects.

In some compositors, if a seat regains the pointer capability and a client has a previously obtained wl_pointer object of version 4 or less, that object may start sending pointer events again. This behavior is considered a misinterpretation of the intended behavior and must not be relied upon by the client. wl_pointer objects of version 5 or later must not send events if created before the most recent event notifying the client of an added pointer capability.

The above behavior also applies to wl_keyboard and wl_touch with the keyboard and touch capabilities, respectively.

wl_seat::name - unique identifier for this seat

name
string - seat identifier

In a multi-seat configuration the seat name can be used by clients to help identify which physical devices the seat represents.

The seat name is a UTF-8 string with no convention defined for its contents. Each name is unique among all wl_seat globals. The name is only guaranteed to be unique for the current compositor instance.

The same seat names are used for all clients. Thus, the name can be shared across processes to refer to a specific wl_seat global.

The name event is sent after binding to the seat global. This event is only sent once per seat object, and the name does not change over the lifetime of the wl_seat global.

Compositors may re-use the same seat name if the wl_seat global is destroyed and re-created later.

Enums provided by wl_seat

wl_seat::capability - bitfield - seat capability bitmask

This is a bitmask of capabilities this seat has; if a member is set, then it is present on the seat.

pointer
1 - the seat has pointer devices
keyboard
2 - the seat has one or more keyboards
touch
4 - the seat has touch devices

wl_seat::error - wl_seat error values

These errors can be emitted in response to wl_seat requests.

missing_capability
0 - get_pointer, get_keyboard or get_touch called on seat without the matching capability

wl_pointer - pointer input device

The wl_pointer interface represents one or more input devices, such as mice, which control the pointer location and pointer_focus of a seat.

The wl_pointer interface generates motion, enter and leave events for the surfaces that the pointer is located over, and button and axis events for button presses, button releases and scrolling.

Requests provided by wl_pointer

wl_pointer::set_cursor - set the pointer surface

serial
uint - serial number of the enter event
surface
wl_surface - pointer surface
hotspot_x
int - surface-local x coordinate
hotspot_y
int - surface-local y coordinate

Set the pointer surface, i.e., the surface that contains the pointer image (cursor). This request gives the surface the role of a cursor. If the surface already has another role, it raises a protocol error.

The cursor actually changes only if the pointer focus for this device is one of the requesting client's surfaces or the surface parameter is the current pointer surface. If there was a previous surface set with this request it is replaced. If surface is NULL, the pointer image is hidden.

The parameters hotspot_x and hotspot_y define the position of the pointer surface relative to the pointer location. Its top-left corner is always at (x, y) - (hotspot_x, hotspot_y), where (x, y) are the coordinates of the pointer location, in surface-local coordinates.

On surface.attach requests to the pointer surface, hotspot_x and hotspot_y are decremented by the x and y parameters passed to the request. Attach must be confirmed by wl_surface.commit as usual.

The hotspot can also be updated by passing the currently set pointer surface to this request with new values for hotspot_x and hotspot_y.

The input region is ignored for wl_surfaces with the role of a cursor. When the use as a cursor ends, the wl_surface is unmapped.

The serial parameter must match the latest wl_pointer.enter serial number sent to the client. Otherwise the request will be ignored.

wl_pointer::release - release the pointer object

Using this request a client can tell the server that it is not going to use the pointer object anymore.

This request destroys the pointer proxy object, so clients must not call wl_pointer_destroy() after using this request.

Events provided by wl_pointer

wl_pointer::enter - enter event

serial
uint - serial number of the enter event
surface
wl_surface - surface entered by the pointer
surface_x
fixed - surface-local x coordinate
surface_y
fixed - surface-local y coordinate

Notification that this seat's pointer is focused on a certain surface.

When a seat's focus enters a surface, the pointer image is undefined and a client should respond to this event by setting an appropriate pointer image with the set_cursor request.

wl_pointer::leave - leave event

serial
uint - serial number of the leave event
surface
wl_surface - surface left by the pointer

Notification that this seat's pointer is no longer focused on a certain surface.

The leave notification is sent before the enter notification for the new focus.

wl_pointer::motion - pointer motion event

time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
surface_x
fixed - surface-local x coordinate
surface_y
fixed - surface-local y coordinate

Notification of pointer location change. The arguments surface_x and surface_y are the location relative to the focused surface.

wl_pointer::button - pointer button event

serial
uint - serial number of the button event
time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
button
uint - button that produced the event
state
wl_pointer::button_state (uint) - physical state of the button

Mouse button click and release notifications.

The location of the click is given by the last motion or enter event. The time argument is a timestamp with millisecond granularity, with an undefined base.

The button is a button code as defined in the Linux kernel's linux/input-event-codes.h header file, e.g. BTN_LEFT.

Any 16-bit button code value is reserved for future additions to the kernel's event code list. All other button codes above 0xFFFF are currently undefined but may be used in future versions of this protocol.

wl_pointer::axis - axis event

time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
axis
wl_pointer::axis (uint) - axis type
value
fixed - length of vector in surface-local coordinate space

Scroll and other axis notifications.

For scroll events (vertical and horizontal scroll axes), the value parameter is the length of a vector along the specified axis in a coordinate space identical to those of motion events, representing a relative movement along the specified axis.

For devices that support movements non-parallel to axes multiple axis events will be emitted.

When applicable, for example for touch pads, the server can choose to emit scroll events where the motion vector is equivalent to a motion event vector.

When applicable, a client can transform its content relative to the scroll distance.

wl_pointer::frame - end of a pointer event sequence

Indicates the end of a set of events that logically belong together. A client is expected to accumulate the data in all events within the frame before proceeding.

All wl_pointer events before a wl_pointer.frame event belong logically together. For example, in a diagonal scroll motion the compositor will send an optional wl_pointer.axis_source event, two wl_pointer.axis events (horizontal and vertical) and finally a wl_pointer.frame event. The client may use this information to calculate a diagonal vector for scrolling.

When multiple wl_pointer.axis events occur within the same frame, the motion vector is the combined motion of all events. When a wl_pointer.axis and a wl_pointer.axis_stop event occur within the same frame, this indicates that axis movement in one axis has stopped but continues in the other axis. When multiple wl_pointer.axis_stop events occur within the same frame, this indicates that these axes stopped in the same instance.

A wl_pointer.frame event is sent for every logical event group, even if the group only contains a single wl_pointer event. Specifically, a client may get a sequence: motion, frame, button, frame, axis, frame, axis_stop, frame.

The wl_pointer.enter and wl_pointer.leave events are logical events generated by the compositor and not the hardware. These events are also grouped by a wl_pointer.frame. When a pointer moves from one surface to another, a compositor should group the wl_pointer.leave event within the same wl_pointer.frame. However, a client must not rely on wl_pointer.leave and wl_pointer.enter being in the same wl_pointer.frame. Compositor-specific policies may require the wl_pointer.leave and wl_pointer.enter event being split across multiple wl_pointer.frame groups.

wl_pointer::axis_source - axis source event

axis_source
wl_pointer::axis_source (uint) - source of the axis event

Source information for scroll and other axes.

This event does not occur on its own. It is sent before a wl_pointer.frame event and carries the source information for all events within that frame.

The source specifies how this event was generated. If the source is wl_pointer.axis_source.finger, a wl_pointer.axis_stop event will be sent when the user lifts the finger off the device.

If the source is wl_pointer.axis_source.wheel, wl_pointer.axis_source.wheel_tilt or wl_pointer.axis_source.continuous, a wl_pointer.axis_stop event may or may not be sent. Whether a compositor sends an axis_stop event for these sources is hardware-specific and implementation-dependent; clients must not rely on receiving an axis_stop event for these scroll sources and should treat scroll sequences from these scroll sources as unterminated by default.

This event is optional. If the source is unknown for a particular axis event sequence, no event is sent. Only one wl_pointer.axis_source event is permitted per frame.

The order of wl_pointer.axis_discrete and wl_pointer.axis_source is not guaranteed.

wl_pointer::axis_stop - axis stop event

time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
axis
wl_pointer::axis (uint) - the axis stopped with this event

Stop notification for scroll and other axes.

For some wl_pointer.axis_source types, a wl_pointer.axis_stop event is sent to notify a client that the axis sequence has terminated. This enables the client to implement kinetic scrolling. See the wl_pointer.axis_source documentation for information on when this event may be generated.

Any wl_pointer.axis events with the same axis_source after this event should be considered as the start of a new axis motion.

The timestamp is to be interpreted identical to the timestamp in the wl_pointer.axis event. The timestamp value may be the same as a preceding wl_pointer.axis event.

wl_pointer::axis_discrete - axis click event

axis
wl_pointer::axis (uint) - axis type
discrete
int - number of steps

Discrete step information for scroll and other axes.

This event carries the axis value of the wl_pointer.axis event in discrete steps (e.g. mouse wheel clicks).

This event is deprecated with wl_pointer version 8 - this event is not sent to clients supporting version 8 or later.

This event does not occur on its own, it is coupled with a wl_pointer.axis event that represents this axis value on a continuous scale. The protocol guarantees that each axis_discrete event is always followed by exactly one axis event with the same axis number within the same wl_pointer.frame. Note that the protocol allows for other events to occur between the axis_discrete and its coupled axis event, including other axis_discrete or axis events. A wl_pointer.frame must not contain more than one axis_discrete event per axis type.

This event is optional; continuous scrolling devices like two-finger scrolling on touchpads do not have discrete steps and do not generate this event.

The discrete value carries the directional information. e.g. a value of -2 is two steps towards the negative direction of this axis.

The axis number is identical to the axis number in the associated axis event.

The order of wl_pointer.axis_discrete and wl_pointer.axis_source is not guaranteed.

wl_pointer::axis_value120 - axis high-resolution scroll event

axis
wl_pointer::axis (uint) - axis type
value120
int - scroll distance as fraction of 120

Discrete high-resolution scroll information.

This event carries high-resolution wheel scroll information, with each multiple of 120 representing one logical scroll step (a wheel detent). For example, an axis_value120 of 30 is one quarter of a logical scroll step in the positive direction, a value120 of -240 are two logical scroll steps in the negative direction within the same hardware event. Clients that rely on discrete scrolling should accumulate the value120 to multiples of 120 before processing the event.

The value120 must not be zero.

This event replaces the wl_pointer.axis_discrete event in clients supporting wl_pointer version 8 or later.

Where a wl_pointer.axis_source event occurs in the same wl_pointer.frame, the axis source applies to this event.

The order of wl_pointer.axis_value120 and wl_pointer.axis_source is not guaranteed.

wl_pointer::axis_relative_direction - axis relative physical direction event

axis
wl_pointer::axis (uint) - axis type
direction
wl_pointer::axis_relative_direction (uint) - physical direction relative to axis motion

Relative directional information of the entity causing the axis motion.

For a wl_pointer.axis event, the wl_pointer.axis_relative_direction event specifies the movement direction of the entity causing the wl_pointer.axis event. For example: - if a user's fingers on a touchpad move down and this causes a wl_pointer.axis vertical_scroll down event, the physical direction is 'identical' - if a user's fingers on a touchpad move down and this causes a wl_pointer.axis vertical_scroll up scroll up event ('natural scrolling'), the physical direction is 'inverted'.

A client may use this information to adjust scroll motion of components. Specifically, enabling natural scrolling causes the content to change direction compared to traditional scrolling. Some widgets like volume control sliders should usually match the physical direction regardless of whether natural scrolling is active. This event enables clients to match the scroll direction of a widget to the physical direction.

This event does not occur on its own, it is coupled with a wl_pointer.axis event that represents this axis value. The protocol guarantees that each axis_relative_direction event is always followed by exactly one axis event with the same axis number within the same wl_pointer.frame. Note that the protocol allows for other events to occur between the axis_relative_direction and its coupled axis event.

The axis number is identical to the axis number in the associated axis event.

The order of wl_pointer.axis_relative_direction, wl_pointer.axis_discrete and wl_pointer.axis_source is not guaranteed.

Enums provided by wl_pointer

wl_pointer::error

role
0 - given wl_surface has another role

wl_pointer::button_state - physical button state

Describes the physical state of a button that produced the button event.

released
0 - the button is not pressed
pressed
1 - the button is pressed

wl_pointer::axis - axis types

Describes the axis types of scroll events.

vertical_scroll
0 - vertical axis
horizontal_scroll
1 - horizontal axis

wl_pointer::axis_source - axis source types

Describes the source types for axis events. This indicates to the client how an axis event was physically generated; a client may adjust the user interface accordingly. For example, scroll events from a "finger" source may be in a smooth coordinate space with kinetic scrolling whereas a "wheel" source may be in discrete steps of a number of lines.

The "continuous" axis source is a device generating events in a continuous coordinate space, but using something other than a finger. One example for this source is button-based scrolling where the vertical motion of a device is converted to scroll events while a button is held down.

The "wheel tilt" axis source indicates that the actual device is a wheel but the scroll event is not caused by a rotation but a (usually sideways) tilt of the wheel.

wheel
0 - a physical wheel rotation
finger
1 - finger on a touch surface
continuous
2 - continuous coordinate space
wheel_tilt
3 - a physical wheel tilt

wl_pointer::axis_relative_direction - axis relative direction

This specifies the direction of the physical motion that caused a wl_pointer.axis event, relative to the wl_pointer.axis direction.

identical
0 - physical motion matches axis direction
inverted
1 - physical motion is the inverse of the axis direction

wl_keyboard - keyboard input device

The wl_keyboard interface represents one or more keyboards associated with a seat.

Requests provided by wl_keyboard

wl_keyboard::release - release the keyboard object

Events provided by wl_keyboard

wl_keyboard::keymap - keyboard mapping

format
wl_keyboard::keymap_format (uint) - keymap format
fd
fd - keymap file descriptor
size
uint - keymap size, in bytes

This event provides a file descriptor to the client which can be memory-mapped in read-only mode to provide a keyboard mapping description.

From version 7 onwards, the fd must be mapped with MAP_PRIVATE by the recipient, as MAP_SHARED may fail.

wl_keyboard::enter - enter event

serial
uint - serial number of the enter event
surface
wl_surface - surface gaining keyboard focus
keys
array - the currently pressed keys

Notification that this seat's keyboard focus is on a certain surface.

The compositor must send the wl_keyboard.modifiers event after this event.

wl_keyboard::leave - leave event

serial
uint - serial number of the leave event
surface
wl_surface - surface that lost keyboard focus

Notification that this seat's keyboard focus is no longer on a certain surface.

The leave notification is sent before the enter notification for the new focus.

After this event client must assume that all keys, including modifiers, are lifted and also it must stop key repeating if there's some going on.

wl_keyboard::key - key event

serial
uint - serial number of the key event
time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
key
uint - key that produced the event
state
wl_keyboard::key_state (uint) - physical state of the key

A key was pressed or released. The time argument is a timestamp with millisecond granularity, with an undefined base.

The key is a platform-specific key code that can be interpreted by feeding it to the keyboard mapping (see the keymap event).

If this event produces a change in modifiers, then the resulting wl_keyboard.modifiers event must be sent after this event.

wl_keyboard::modifiers - modifier and group state

serial
uint - serial number of the modifiers event
mods_depressed
uint - depressed modifiers
mods_latched
uint - latched modifiers
mods_locked
uint - locked modifiers
group
uint - keyboard layout

Notifies clients that the modifier and/or group state has changed, and it should update its local state.

wl_keyboard::repeat_info - repeat rate and delay

rate
int - the rate of repeating keys in characters per second
delay
int - delay in milliseconds since key down until repeating starts

Informs the client about the keyboard's repeat rate and delay.

This event is sent as soon as the wl_keyboard object has been created, and is guaranteed to be received by the client before any key press event.

Negative values for either rate or delay are illegal. A rate of zero will disable any repeating (regardless of the value of delay).

This event can be sent later on as well with a new value if necessary, so clients should continue listening for the event past the creation of wl_keyboard.

Enums provided by wl_keyboard

wl_keyboard::keymap_format - keyboard mapping format

This specifies the format of the keymap provided to the client with the wl_keyboard.keymap event.

no_keymap
0 - no keymap; client must understand how to interpret the raw keycode
xkb_v1
1 - libxkbcommon compatible, null-terminated string; to determine the xkb keycode, clients must add 8 to the key event keycode

wl_keyboard::key_state - physical key state

Describes the physical state of a key that produced the key event.

released
0 - key is not pressed
pressed
1 - key is pressed

wl_touch - touchscreen input device

The wl_touch interface represents a touchscreen associated with a seat.

Touch interactions can consist of one or more contacts. For each contact, a series of events is generated, starting with a down event, followed by zero or more motion events, and ending with an up event. Events relating to the same contact point can be identified by the ID of the sequence.

Requests provided by wl_touch

wl_touch::release - release the touch object

Events provided by wl_touch

wl_touch::down - touch down event and beginning of a touch sequence

serial
uint - serial number of the touch down event
time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
surface
wl_surface - surface touched
id
int - the unique ID of this touch point
x
fixed - surface-local x coordinate
y
fixed - surface-local y coordinate

A new touch point has appeared on the surface. This touch point is assigned a unique ID. Future events from this touch point reference this ID. The ID ceases to be valid after a touch up event and may be reused in the future.

wl_touch::up - end of a touch event sequence

serial
uint - serial number of the touch up event
time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
id
int - the unique ID of this touch point

The touch point has disappeared. No further events will be sent for this touch point and the touch point's ID is released and may be reused in a future touch down event.

wl_touch::motion - update of touch point coordinates

time
uint - timestamp with millisecond granularity
id
int - the unique ID of this touch point
x
fixed - surface-local x coordinate
y
fixed - surface-local y coordinate

A touch point has changed coordinates.

wl_touch::frame - end of touch frame event

Indicates the end of a set of events that logically belong together. A client is expected to accumulate the data in all events within the frame before proceeding.

A wl_touch.frame terminates at least one event but otherwise no guarantee is provided about the set of events within a frame. A client must assume that any state not updated in a frame is unchanged from the previously known state.

wl_touch::cancel - touch session cancelled

Sent if the compositor decides the touch stream is a global gesture. No further events are sent to the clients from that particular gesture. Touch cancellation applies to all touch points currently active on this client's surface. The client is responsible for finalizing the touch points, future touch points on this surface may reuse the touch point ID.

wl_touch::shape - update shape of touch point

id
int - the unique ID of this touch point
major
fixed - length of the major axis in surface-local coordinates
minor
fixed - length of the minor axis in surface-local coordinates

Sent when a touchpoint has changed its shape.

This event does not occur on its own. It is sent before a wl_touch.frame event and carries the new shape information for any previously reported, or new touch points of that frame.

Other events describing the touch point such as wl_touch.down, wl_touch.motion or wl_touch.orientation may be sent within the same wl_touch.frame. A client should treat these events as a single logical touch point update. The order of wl_touch.shape, wl_touch.orientation and wl_touch.motion is not guaranteed. A wl_touch.down event is guaranteed to occur before the first wl_touch.shape event for this touch ID but both events may occur within the same wl_touch.frame.

A touchpoint shape is approximated by an ellipse through the major and minor axis length. The major axis length describes the longer diameter of the ellipse, while the minor axis length describes the shorter diameter. Major and minor are orthogonal and both are specified in surface-local coordinates. The center of the ellipse is always at the touchpoint location as reported by wl_touch.down or wl_touch.move.

This event is only sent by the compositor if the touch device supports shape reports. The client has to make reasonable assumptions about the shape if it did not receive this event.

wl_touch::orientation - update orientation of touch point

id
int - the unique ID of this touch point
orientation
fixed - angle between major axis and positive surface y-axis in degrees

Sent when a touchpoint has changed its orientation.

This event does not occur on its own. It is sent before a wl_touch.frame event and carries the new shape information for any previously reported, or new touch points of that frame.

Other events describing the touch point such as wl_touch.down, wl_touch.motion or wl_touch.shape may be sent within the same wl_touch.frame. A client should treat these events as a single logical touch point update. The order of wl_touch.shape, wl_touch.orientation and wl_touch.motion is not guaranteed. A wl_touch.down event is guaranteed to occur before the first wl_touch.orientation event for this touch ID but both events may occur within the same wl_touch.frame.

The orientation describes the clockwise angle of a touchpoint's major axis to the positive surface y-axis and is normalized to the -180 to +180 degree range. The granularity of orientation depends on the touch device, some devices only support binary rotation values between 0 and 90 degrees.

This event is only sent by the compositor if the touch device supports orientation reports.

wl_output - compositor output region

An output describes part of the compositor geometry. The compositor works in the 'compositor coordinate system' and an output corresponds to a rectangular area in that space that is actually visible. This typically corresponds to a monitor that displays part of the compositor space. This object is published as global during start up, or when a monitor is hotplugged.

Requests provided by wl_output

wl_output::release - release the output object

Using this request a client can tell the server that it is not going to use the output object anymore.

Events provided by wl_output

wl_output::geometry - properties of the output

x
int - x position within the global compositor space
y
int - y position within the global compositor space
physical_width
int - width in millimeters of the output
physical_height
int - height in millimeters of the output
subpixel
wl_output::subpixel (int) - subpixel orientation of the output
make
string - textual description of the manufacturer
model
string - textual description of the model
transform
wl_output::transform (int) - transform that maps framebuffer to output

The geometry event describes geometric properties of the output. The event is sent when binding to the output object and whenever any of the properties change.

The physical size can be set to zero if it doesn't make sense for this output (e.g. for projectors or virtual outputs).

The geometry event will be followed by a done event (starting from version 2).

Note: wl_output only advertises partial information about the output position and identification. Some compositors, for instance those not implementing a desktop-style output layout or those exposing virtual outputs, might fake this information. Instead of using x and y, clients should use xdg_output.logical_position. Instead of using make and model, clients should use name and description.

wl_output::mode - advertise available modes for the output

flags
wl_output::mode (uint) - bitfield of mode flags
width
int - width of the mode in hardware units
height
int - height of the mode in hardware units
refresh
int - vertical refresh rate in mHz

The mode event describes an available mode for the output.

The event is sent when binding to the output object and there will always be one mode, the current mode. The event is sent again if an output changes mode, for the mode that is now current. In other words, the current mode is always the last mode that was received with the current flag set.

Non-current modes are deprecated. A compositor can decide to only advertise the current mode and never send other modes. Clients should not rely on non-current modes.

The size of a mode is given in physical hardware units of the output device. This is not necessarily the same as the output size in the global compositor space. For instance, the output may be scaled, as described in wl_output.scale, or transformed, as described in wl_output.transform. Clients willing to retrieve the output size in the global compositor space should use xdg_output.logical_size instead.

The vertical refresh rate can be set to zero if it doesn't make sense for this output (e.g. for virtual outputs).

The mode event will be followed by a done event (starting from version 2).

Clients should not use the refresh rate to schedule frames. Instead, they should use the wl_surface.frame event or the presentation-time protocol.

Note: this information is not always meaningful for all outputs. Some compositors, such as those exposing virtual outputs, might fake the refresh rate or the size.

wl_output::done - sent all information about output

This event is sent after all other properties have been sent after binding to the output object and after any other property changes done after that. This allows changes to the output properties to be seen as atomic, even if they happen via multiple events.

wl_output::scale - output scaling properties

factor
int - scaling factor of output

This event contains scaling geometry information that is not in the geometry event. It may be sent after binding the output object or if the output scale changes later. If it is not sent, the client should assume a scale of 1.

A scale larger than 1 means that the compositor will automatically scale surface buffers by this amount when rendering. This is used for very high resolution displays where applications rendering at the native resolution would be too small to be legible.

It is intended that scaling aware clients track the current output of a surface, and if it is on a scaled output it should use wl_surface.set_buffer_scale with the scale of the output. That way the compositor can avoid scaling the surface, and the client can supply a higher detail image.

The scale event will be followed by a done event.

wl_output::name - name of this output

name
string - output name

Many compositors will assign user-friendly names to their outputs, show them to the user, allow the user to refer to an output, etc. The client may wish to know this name as well to offer the user similar behaviors.

The name is a UTF-8 string with no convention defined for its contents. Each name is unique among all wl_output globals. The name is only guaranteed to be unique for the compositor instance.

The same output name is used for all clients for a given wl_output global. Thus, the name can be shared across processes to refer to a specific wl_output global.

The name is not guaranteed to be persistent across sessions, thus cannot be used to reliably identify an output in e.g. configuration files.

Examples of names include 'HDMI-A-1', 'WL-1', 'X11-1', etc. However, do not assume that the name is a reflection of an underlying DRM connector, X11 connection, etc.

The name event is sent after binding the output object. This event is only sent once per output object, and the name does not change over the lifetime of the wl_output global.

Compositors may re-use the same output name if the wl_output global is destroyed and re-created later. Compositors should avoid re-using the same name if possible.

The name event will be followed by a done event.

wl_output::description - human-readable description of this output

description
string - output description

Many compositors can produce human-readable descriptions of their outputs. The client may wish to know this description as well, e.g. for output selection purposes.

The description is a UTF-8 string with no convention defined for its contents. The description is not guaranteed to be unique among all wl_output globals. Examples might include 'Foocorp 11" Display' or 'Virtual X11 output via :1'.

The description event is sent after binding the output object and whenever the description changes. The description is optional, and may not be sent at all.

The description event will be followed by a done event.

Enums provided by wl_output

wl_output::subpixel - subpixel geometry information

This enumeration describes how the physical pixels on an output are laid out.

unknown
0 - unknown geometry
none
1 - no geometry
horizontal_rgb
2 - horizontal RGB
horizontal_bgr
3 - horizontal BGR
vertical_rgb
4 - vertical RGB
vertical_bgr
5 - vertical BGR

wl_output::transform - transform from framebuffer to output

This describes the transform that a compositor will apply to a surface to compensate for the rotation or mirroring of an output device.

The flipped values correspond to an initial flip around a vertical axis followed by rotation.

The purpose is mainly to allow clients to render accordingly and tell the compositor, so that for fullscreen surfaces, the compositor will still be able to scan out directly from client surfaces.

normal
0 - no transform
90
1 - 90 degrees counter-clockwise
180
2 - 180 degrees counter-clockwise
270
3 - 270 degrees counter-clockwise
flipped
4 - 180 degree flip around a vertical axis
flipped_90
5 - flip and rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise
flipped_180
6 - flip and rotate 180 degrees counter-clockwise
flipped_270
7 - flip and rotate 270 degrees counter-clockwise

wl_output::mode - bitfield - mode information

These flags describe properties of an output mode. They are used in the flags bitfield of the mode event.

current
0x1 - indicates this is the current mode
preferred
0x2 - indicates this is the preferred mode

wl_region - region interface

A region object describes an area.

Region objects are used to describe the opaque and input regions of a surface.

Requests provided by wl_region

wl_region::destroy - destroy region

Destroy the region. This will invalidate the object ID.

wl_region::add - add rectangle to region

x
int - region-local x coordinate
y
int - region-local y coordinate
width
int - rectangle width
height
int - rectangle height

Add the specified rectangle to the region.

wl_region::subtract - subtract rectangle from region

x
int - region-local x coordinate
y
int - region-local y coordinate
width
int - rectangle width
height
int - rectangle height

Subtract the specified rectangle from the region.

wl_subcompositor - sub-surface compositing

The global interface exposing sub-surface compositing capabilities. A wl_surface, that has sub-surfaces associated, is called the parent surface. Sub-surfaces can be arbitrarily nested and create a tree of sub-surfaces.

The root surface in a tree of sub-surfaces is the main surface. The main surface cannot be a sub-surface, because sub-surfaces must always have a parent.

A main surface with its sub-surfaces forms a (compound) window. For window management purposes, this set of wl_surface objects is to be considered as a single window, and it should also behave as such.

The aim of sub-surfaces is to offload some of the compositing work within a window from clients to the compositor. A prime example is a video player with decorations and video in separate wl_surface objects. This should allow the compositor to pass YUV video buffer processing to dedicated overlay hardware when possible.

Requests provided by wl_subcompositor

wl_subcompositor::destroy - unbind from the subcompositor interface

Informs the server that the client will not be using this protocol object anymore. This does not affect any other objects, wl_subsurface objects included.

wl_subcompositor::get_subsurface - give a surface the role sub-surface

id
id for the new wl_subsurface - the new sub-surface object ID
surface
wl_surface - the surface to be turned into a sub-surface
parent
wl_surface - the parent surface

Create a sub-surface interface for the given surface, and associate it with the given parent surface. This turns a plain wl_surface into a sub-surface.

The to-be sub-surface must not already have another role, and it must not have an existing wl_subsurface object. Otherwise the bad_surface protocol error is raised.

Adding sub-surfaces to a parent is a double-buffered operation on the parent (see wl_surface.commit). The effect of adding a sub-surface becomes visible on the next time the state of the parent surface is applied.

The parent surface must not be one of the child surface's descendants, and the parent must be different from the child surface, otherwise the bad_parent protocol error is raised.

This request modifies the behaviour of wl_surface.commit request on the sub-surface, see the documentation on wl_subsurface interface.

Enums provided by wl_subcompositor

wl_subcompositor::error

bad_surface
0 - the to-be sub-surface is invalid
bad_parent
1 - the to-be sub-surface parent is invalid

wl_subsurface - sub-surface interface to a wl_surface

An additional interface to a wl_surface object, which has been made a sub-surface. A sub-surface has one parent surface. A sub-surface's size and position are not limited to that of the parent. Particularly, a sub-surface is not automatically clipped to its parent's area.

A sub-surface becomes mapped, when a non-NULL wl_buffer is applied and the parent surface is mapped. The order of which one happens first is irrelevant. A sub-surface is hidden if the parent becomes hidden, or if a NULL wl_buffer is applied. These rules apply recursively through the tree of surfaces.

The behaviour of a wl_surface.commit request on a sub-surface depends on the sub-surface's mode. The possible modes are synchronized and desynchronized, see methods wl_subsurface.set_sync and wl_subsurface.set_desync. Synchronized mode caches the wl_surface state to be applied when the parent's state gets applied, and desynchronized mode applies the pending wl_surface state directly. A sub-surface is initially in the synchronized mode.

Sub-surfaces also have another kind of state, which is managed by wl_subsurface requests, as opposed to wl_surface requests. This state includes the sub-surface position relative to the parent surface (wl_subsurface.set_position), and the stacking order of the parent and its sub-surfaces (wl_subsurface.place_above and .place_below). This state is applied when the parent surface's wl_surface state is applied, regardless of the sub-surface's mode. As the exception, set_sync and set_desync are effective immediately.

The main surface can be thought to be always in desynchronized mode, since it does not have a parent in the sub-surfaces sense.

Even if a sub-surface is in desynchronized mode, it will behave as in synchronized mode, if its parent surface behaves as in synchronized mode. This rule is applied recursively throughout the tree of surfaces. This means, that one can set a sub-surface into synchronized mode, and then assume that all its child and grand-child sub-surfaces are synchronized, too, without explicitly setting them.

Destroying a sub-surface takes effect immediately. If you need to synchronize the removal of a sub-surface to the parent surface update, unmap the sub-surface first by attaching a NULL wl_buffer, update parent, and then destroy the sub-surface.

If the parent wl_surface object is destroyed, the sub-surface is unmapped.

Requests provided by wl_subsurface

wl_subsurface::destroy - remove sub-surface interface

The sub-surface interface is removed from the wl_surface object that was turned into a sub-surface with a wl_subcompositor.get_subsurface request. The wl_surface's association to the parent is deleted. The wl_surface is unmapped immediately.

wl_subsurface::set_position - reposition the sub-surface

x
int - x coordinate in the parent surface
y
int - y coordinate in the parent surface

This schedules a sub-surface position change. The sub-surface will be moved so that its origin (top left corner pixel) will be at the location x, y of the parent surface coordinate system. The coordinates are not restricted to the parent surface area. Negative values are allowed.

The scheduled coordinates will take effect whenever the state of the parent surface is applied. When this happens depends on whether the parent surface is in synchronized mode or not. See wl_subsurface.set_sync and wl_subsurface.set_desync for details.

If more than one set_position request is invoked by the client before the commit of the parent surface, the position of a new request always replaces the scheduled position from any previous request.

The initial position is 0, 0.

wl_subsurface::place_above - restack the sub-surface

sibling
wl_surface - the reference surface

This sub-surface is taken from the stack, and put back just above the reference surface, changing the z-order of the sub-surfaces. The reference surface must be one of the sibling surfaces, or the parent surface. Using any other surface, including this sub-surface, will cause a protocol error.

The z-order is double-buffered. Requests are handled in order and applied immediately to a pending state. The final pending state is copied to the active state the next time the state of the parent surface is applied. When this happens depends on whether the parent surface is in synchronized mode or not. See wl_subsurface.set_sync and wl_subsurface.set_desync for details.

A new sub-surface is initially added as the top-most in the stack of its siblings and parent.

wl_subsurface::place_below - restack the sub-surface

sibling
wl_surface - the reference surface

The sub-surface is placed just below the reference surface. See wl_subsurface.place_above.

wl_subsurface::set_sync - set sub-surface to synchronized mode

Change the commit behaviour of the sub-surface to synchronized mode, also described as the parent dependent mode.

In synchronized mode, wl_surface.commit on a sub-surface will accumulate the committed state in a cache, but the state will not be applied and hence will not change the compositor output. The cached state is applied to the sub-surface immediately after the parent surface's state is applied. This ensures atomic updates of the parent and all its synchronized sub-surfaces. Applying the cached state will invalidate the cache, so further parent surface commits do not (re-)apply old state.

See wl_subsurface for the recursive effect of this mode.

wl_subsurface::set_desync - set sub-surface to desynchronized mode

Change the commit behaviour of the sub-surface to desynchronized mode, also described as independent or freely running mode.

In desynchronized mode, wl_surface.commit on a sub-surface will apply the pending state directly, without caching, as happens normally with a wl_surface. Calling wl_surface.commit on the parent surface has no effect on the sub-surface's wl_surface state. This mode allows a sub-surface to be updated on its own.

If cached state exists when wl_surface.commit is called in desynchronized mode, the pending state is added to the cached state, and applied as a whole. This invalidates the cache.

Note: even if a sub-surface is set to desynchronized, a parent sub-surface may override it to behave as synchronized. For details, see wl_subsurface.

If a surface's parent surface behaves as desynchronized, then the cached state is applied on set_desync.

Enums provided by wl_subsurface

wl_subsurface::error

bad_surface
0 - wl_surface is not a sibling or the parent