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Linux Mint and Xfce, two prominent names in the Linux world, are exploring the possibilities of the Wayland protocol. Clément Lefebvre, the developer behind Linux Mint, has recently revealed that he is experimenting with a Wayland version of the Cinnamon desktop environment. This move marks a significant change for Cinnamon, as it is one of the few Linux desktops that still primarily relies on the X11 protocol.

In the past, Lefebvre has kept the project’s experimental repository, known as “Romeo,” private until it reaches the beta testing stage. However, the upcoming release of Mint 21.3 will introduce a new option in the Software Sources that allows users to enable the Romeo repository, providing access to in-development, pre-beta versions of various Mint components. The inclusion of this experimental repository will replace the previous unstable PPA.

One of the main changes that users can expect to see in Cinnamon 6.0, scheduled for release in Mint 21.3, is the inclusion of experimental Wayland support. However, Lefebvre advises against expecting Wayland to replace Xorg as the default display server anytime soon. He acknowledges that the Wayland session may not be as stable and may lack certain features and functionality.

While this introduction of Wayland support in Cinnamon is significant, it is not the only development in the Linux community related to Wayland. Olivier Fourdan, a developer at Red Hat and the original author of the Xfce desktop environment, has also been experimenting with Wayland. Fourdan has been working on a rootful mode for XWayland, a tool that allows X11 applications to run in a Wayland-based environment. This rootful mode could be beneficial for developers but is not currently applicable to most users.

Linux Mint 22, based on the upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 release, is set to continue embracing Wayland as the display protocol evolves. With these developments, the Linux community is preparing for a future that may see a shift away from Xorg towards Wayland as the default display server on Linux desktop environments.

Sources:
The Register

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