2020-04-23 19:58:01 -07:00
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# dwl - dwm for Wayland
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2020-04-11 15:27:19 -07:00
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2023-08-22 23:16:21 -07:00
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Join us on our IRC channel: [#dwl on Libera Chat]
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Or on our [Discord server].
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2020-12-25 09:26:21 -08:00
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2022-10-29 12:22:11 -07:00
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dwl is a compact, hackable compositor for [Wayland] based on [wlroots]. It is
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intended to fill the same space in the Wayland world that dwm does in X11,
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2024-07-16 21:02:22 -07:00
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primarily in terms of functionality, and secondarily in terms of
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philosophy. Like dwm, dwl is:
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2020-04-23 19:58:01 -07:00
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- Easy to understand, hack on, and extend with patches
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- One C source file (or a very small number) configurable via `config.h`
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- Tied to as few external dependencies as possible
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2024-07-16 21:02:22 -07:00
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## Getting Started:
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### Latest semi-stable [release]
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This is probably where you want to start. This builds against the dependent
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packages' versions currently shipping in major distributions. If your
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distribution's wlroots version is older, use an earlier dwl [release] or [0.x
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branch].
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### Development branch [main]
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Active development progresses on the `main` branch. The `main` branch is built
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against a late (and often changing) git commit of wlroots. While the adventurous
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are welcome to use `main`, it is a rocky road. Using `main` requires that the
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user be willing to chase git commits of wlroots. Testing development pull
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requests may involve merging unmerged pull requests in [wlroots]' git repository
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and/or git commits of wayland.
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### Building dwl
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dwl has the following dependencies:
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- libinput
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- wayland
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- wlroots (compiled with the libinput backend)
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- xkbcommon
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- wayland-protocols (compile-time only)
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- pkg-config (compile-time only)
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dwl has the following additional dependencies if XWayland support is enabled:
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- libxcb
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- libxcb-wm
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- wlroots (compiled with X11 support)
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- Xwayland (runtime only)
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Install these (and their `-devel` versions if your distro has separate
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development packages) and run `make`. If you wish to build against a released
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version of wlroots (*you probably do*), use a [release] or a [0.x branch]. If
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you want to use the unstable development `main` branch, you need to use the git
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version of [wlroots].
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2023-10-11 18:52:26 -07:00
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To enable XWayland, you should uncomment its flags in `config.mk`.
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2020-04-23 19:58:01 -07:00
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## Configuration
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All configuration is done by editing `config.h` and recompiling, in the same
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manner as dwm. There is no way to separately restart the window manager in
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Wayland without restarting the entire display server, so any changes will take
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effect the next time dwl is executed.
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2020-04-11 15:27:19 -07:00
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2024-07-16 21:02:22 -07:00
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As in the dwm community, we encourage users to share patches they have
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created. Check out the [dwl-patches] repository!
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2020-04-11 15:27:19 -07:00
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## Running dwl
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dwl can be run on any of the backends supported by wlroots. This means you can
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run it as a separate window inside either an X11 or Wayland session, as well as
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directly from a VT console. Depending on your distro's setup, you may need to
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add your user to the `video` and `input` groups before you can run dwl on a
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VT. If you are using `elogind` or `systemd-logind` you need to install polkit;
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otherwise you need to add yourself in the `seat` group and enable/start the
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seatd daemon.
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When dwl is run with no arguments, it will launch the server and begin handling
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any shortcuts configured in `config.h`. There is no status bar or other
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decoration initially; these are instead clients that can be run within the
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Wayland session. Do note that the default background color is black. This can be
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modified in `config.h`.
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If you would like to run a script or command automatically at startup, you can
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specify the command using the `-s` option. This command will be executed as a
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shell command using `/bin/sh -c`. It serves a similar function to `.xinitrc`,
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but differs in that the display server will not shut down when this process
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terminates. Instead, dwl will send this process a SIGTERM at shutdown and wait
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for it to terminate (if it hasn't already). This makes it ideal for execing into
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a user service manager like [s6], [anopa], [runit], [dinit], or [`systemd
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--user`].
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Note: The `-s` command is run as a *child process* of dwl, which means that it
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does not have the ability to affect the environment of dwl or of any processes
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that it spawns. If you need to set environment variables that affect the entire
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dwl session, these must be set prior to running dwl. For example, Wayland
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requires a valid `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR`, which is usually set up by a session manager
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such as `elogind` or `systemd-logind`. If your system doesn't do this
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automatically, you will need to configure it prior to launching `dwl`, e.g.:
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2020-06-07 09:43:48 -07:00
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2020-06-07 10:07:50 -07:00
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export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/tmp/xdg-runtime-$(id -u)
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mkdir -p $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
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dwl
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2021-10-06 11:00:05 -07:00
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### Status information
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Information about selected layouts, current window title, app-id, and
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selected/occupied/urgent tags is written to the stdin of the `-s` command (see
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the `printstatus()` function for details). This information can be used to
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populate an external status bar with a script that parses the
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information. Failing to read this information will cause dwl to block, so if you
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do want to run a startup command that does not consume the status information,
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you can close standard input with the `<&-` shell redirection, for example:
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dwl -s 'foot --server <&-'
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If your startup command is a shell script, you can achieve the same inside the
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script with the line
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exec <&-
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To get a list of status bars that work with dwl consult our [wiki].
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2020-12-20 18:41:30 -08:00
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## Replacements for X applications
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You can find a [list of useful resources on our wiki].
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2024-07-16 21:02:22 -07:00
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## Background
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dwl is not meant to provide every feature under the sun. Instead, like dwm, it
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sticks to features which are necessary, simple, and straightforward to implement
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given the base on which it is built. Implemented default features are:
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- Any features provided by dwm/Xlib: simple window borders, tags, keybindings,
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client rules, mouse move/resize. Providing a built-in status bar is an
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exception to this goal, to avoid dependencies on font rendering and/or drawing
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libraries when an external bar could work well.
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- Configurable multi-monitor layout support, including position and rotation
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- Configurable HiDPI/multi-DPI support
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- Idle-inhibit protocol which lets applications such as mpv disable idle
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monitoring
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- Provide information to external status bars via stdout/stdin
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- Urgency hints via xdg-activate protocol
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- Support screen lockers via ext-session-lock-v1 protocol
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- Various Wayland protocols
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- XWayland support as provided by wlroots (can be enabled in `config.mk`)
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- Zero flickering - Wayland users naturally expect that "every frame is perfect"
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- Layer shell popups (used by Waybar)
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- Damage tracking provided by scenegraph API
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Given the Wayland architecture, dwl has to implement features from dwm **and**
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the xorg-server. Because of this, it is impossible to maintain the original
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project goal of 2000 SLOC and have a reasonably complete compositor with
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features comparable to dwm. However, this does not mean that the code will grow
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indiscriminately. We will try to keep the code as small as possible.
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Features under consideration (possibly as patches) are:
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- Protocols made trivial by wlroots
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- Implement the text-input and input-method protocols to support IME once ibus
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implements input-method v2 (see https://github.com/ibus/ibus/pull/2256 and
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https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/pulls/235)
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Feature *non-goals* for the main codebase include:
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- Client-side decoration (any more than is necessary to tell the clients not to)
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- Client-initiated window management, such as move, resize, and close, which can
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be done through the compositor
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- Animations and visual effects
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2020-04-23 19:58:01 -07:00
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## Acknowledgements
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dwl began by extending the TinyWL example provided (CC0) by the sway/wlroots
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developers. This was made possible in many cases by looking at how sway
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accomplished something, then trying to do the same in as suckless a way as
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possible.
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2020-12-22 00:13:18 -08:00
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2022-10-29 12:22:11 -07:00
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Many thanks to suckless.org and the dwm developers and community for the
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inspiration, and to the various contributors to the project, including:
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2024-01-14 07:01:49 -08:00
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- **Devin J. Pohly for creating and nurturing the fledgling project**
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- Alexander Courtis for the XWayland implementation
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- Guido Cella for the layer-shell protocol implementation, patch maintenance,
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and for helping to keep the project running
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- Stivvo for output management and fullscreen support, and patch maintenance
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2024-07-16 21:02:22 -07:00
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[`systemd --user`]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Systemd/User [#dwl on Libera Chat]: https://web.libera.chat/?channels=#dwl
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[0.7-rc1]: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/releases/tag/v0.7-rc1 [0.x branch]: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/branches
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[anopa]: https://jjacky.com/anopa/
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[dinit]: https://davmac.org/projects/dinit/
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[dwl-patches]: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl-patches [list of useful resources on our wiki]: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/wiki/Home#migrating-from-x
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[main]: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/src/branch/main
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[release]: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/releases
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[runit]: http://smarden.org/runit/faq.html#userservices
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[s6]: https://skarnet.org/software/s6/
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[wlroots]: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wlroots/wlroots/
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[wiki]: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/wiki/Home#compatible-status-bars [Discord server]: https://discord.gg/jJxZnrGPWN
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[Wayland]: https://wayland.freedesktop.org/
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