Niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor designed to offer a unique and efficient window management experience.
Built from the ground up, it introduces several innovative features tailored for modern workflows while maintaining compatibility with various hardware configurations.
Key Features
- Scrollable Tiling: Windows are arranged in columns on an infinite horizontal strip. Opening a new window does not resize existing ones, ensuring consistency in layout.
- Dynamic Workspaces: Inspired by GNOME, workspaces are vertically arranged and dynamically created. Each monitor operates independently with its own set of workspaces, preserving configurations even during monitor disconnections and reconnections.
- Multi-Monitor Support: Niri was designed with multi-monitor setups in mind, ensuring that windows never overflow onto adjacent monitors.
- It supports mixed DPI and fractional scaling while maintaining pixel-perfect UI rendering.
- Customization: Users can configure layouts with adjustable gaps, borders, and window sizes. Gradient borders with Oklab/Oklch support and animations with custom shaders enhance the visual appeal.
- Built-in Tools: Features like a screenshot UI, monitor/window screencasting (via xdg-desktop-portal-gnome), and live-reloading configuration make it versatile for daily use.
- Input Device Support: Niri supports tablets, touchpads, and touchscreens (though touchscreen gestures are not yet available). It also provides touchpad gestures and tablet-to-monitor mapping options.
Niri is optimized for performance, running smoothly even on older hardware like the Eee PC 900 from 2008.
It supports NVIDIA GPUs and integrates well with X11 applications through tools like xwayland-satellite for compatibility with Electron apps, JetBrains IDEs, and games via Steam/Proton.
Niri draws inspiration from PaperWM but improves upon it by separating monitors effectively. Other alternatives offering scrollable tiling include PaperWM (GNOME Shell), karousel (KDE), and hyprscroller (Hyprland).
Stable for daily use, Niri is an excellent choice for users seeking a customizable and efficient Wayland compositor.
Its robust feature set and active development community make it a standout option in the world of Linux window managers.
