Are you curious about whether your applications are leveraging the power of Wayland directly, or relying on the X11 compatibility layer? Determining if an application is truly Wayland-native can be crucial for optimizing performance and ensuring a smooth desktop experience. This guide will show you how to effectively use the xprop command to check for Wayland native applications.
Understanding Wayland and its Importance
Wayland is a modern display server protocol designed to replace the aging X11. It offers several advantages, including improved security, performance, and compositor integration. However, not all applications are created equal. Some applications are natively built for Wayland, while others rely on a compatibility layer that translates X11 calls to Wayland. This translation can introduce overhead, reducing the benefits of Wayland.
Why Check for Wayland Native Apps?
Knowing whether an application is Wayland-native is essential for:
- Troubleshooting performance issues: If an application is slow or unresponsive, it might be due to the overhead of the X11 compatibility layer.
- Optimizing your Wayland setup: Identifying non-native applications allows you to prioritize those that would benefit most from native Wayland support.
- Understanding application compatibility: Knowing which applications utilize Wayland directly can help you assess the overall compatibility of your system.
Using xprop to Identify Wayland Native Apps
The xprop command is a powerful tool that allows you to inspect the properties of X windows. While Wayland is different from X11, xprop can still be used to indirectly assess whether an application is utilizing the Wayland protocol. Here's how:
The Process
-
Run the application: Start the application you want to check.
-
Identify the window ID: Use your window manager's tools to identify the window ID of the application. This is usually a hexadecimal number. Some window managers display the ID directly when you hover over a window. Alternatively, you can use
xdotoolto get the window ID. -
Run
xprop: Open your terminal and execute the following command, replacing0xXXXXXXXXwith the actual window ID:xprop -id 0xXXXXXXXX _NET_WM_PID -
Check the output: The output will show various properties of the window. Look for the
_NET_WM_PIDproperty. This property indicates the process ID (PID) of the application. -
Verify using
ps: Use thepscommand to get more information about the process:ps -p <PID> -o comm,cmdReplace
<PID>with the PID obtained from step 4. The output will show the command line used to start the application. This information is helpful in determining whether the application was started directly with a Wayland-compatible invocation.
Interpreting the Results
A truly native Wayland application will usually not show any strong X11 dependencies in the command line from ps. Conversely, an application showing extensive X11-related commands (e.g., Xwayland) is likely running within the X11 compatibility layer on Wayland.
Example
Let's say the xprop command outputs:
_NET_WM_PID(CARDINAL) = 1234
Then, running ps -p 1234 -o comm,cmd might show:
COMMAND CMD
mywaylandapp /usr/bin/mywaylandapp
This suggests mywaylandapp is likely a native Wayland application. In contrast, if it shows something like:
COMMAND CMD
myx11app /usr/bin/Xwayland /usr/bin/myx11app
It strongly indicates that myx11app is running through the Xwayland compatibility layer.
Conclusion
While xprop provides indirect evidence, it is a valuable tool for gaining insight into how your applications interact with your Wayland compositor. By combining the information obtained from xprop and ps, you can effectively check if your applications are truly Wayland native, enabling you to fine-tune your desktop environment for optimal performance. Remember that the presence of Xwayland doesn't necessarily mean poor performance, but it's an indicator that the application isn't directly utilizing the Wayland protocol.
