Adding labwc to BL Carbon

hhh · 2025-10-16 22:22:23

I'm feeling confident, let's see the URL.

Two websites, getting nervous now...

https://labwc.github.io/

OK, not much there except install labwc and alacritty.

sudo apt install labwc alacritty

Set some keybinds, create ~/.config/labwc/rc.xml

Content...

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<labwc_config>
  <keyboard>
    <default />
    <!-- The W- prefix refers to the Super key -->
    <keybind key="W-d">
      <action name="Execute" command="sakura" />
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-z">
      <action name="Execute" command="wofi --show drun" />
    </keybind>
  </keyboard>
</labwc_config>

Wait, we don't have sakura or wofi installed. The bigger picture...

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/labwc … rc.xml.all

Step 3 (I skipped Step 1 because my US keyboard is the default), create and populate ~/.config/labwc/autostart

And the root menu, ~/.config/labwc/menu.xml

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<openbox_menu>
<menu id="root-menu" label="">
  <item label="Web browser"><action name="Execute" command="firefox"/></item>
  <item label="Terminal"><action name="Execute" command="alacritty"/></item>
  <item label="Reconfigure"><action name="Reconfigure"/></item>
  <item label="Exit"><action name="Exit"/></item>
</menu>
</openbox_menu>

Install swaybg to get a wallpaper and add it to your autostart, see Step 3 on the Wiki. Let's see what we've got.

hhh · 2025-10-16 22:34:19

My autostart...

swaybg -i ~/Pictures/wallpapers/crystal.png &
xfce4-panel &

The desktop... I don't have grim installed yet to take a wl-rootls scrot.

sudo apt install grim slurp

hhh · 2025-10-16 22:38:12

Woah, two root menus. My scrot only caught jgmenu.

That's quite a usable first desktop for a stand-alone window manager setup.

hhh · 2025-10-16 23:00:24

I've installed gnome-system-monitor to get an easy look at my processes.

I knew I was missing polkit, but xdg-desktop-portal isn't installed or running either. Time for the wiki again...

https://labwc.github.io/integration.html

I've install xdg-desktop-portal-wlr and xdg-desktop-portal-gtk and have nm-applet and mate-polkit added, good so far.

-edit- The important thing, the wallpaper link...

https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=1401879

Last edited by hhh (2025-10-16 23:27:09)

PackRat · 2025-10-16 23:37:34

Nice.

In a terminal try:

notify-send "labwc on BL Carbon"

xfce4-notify works with Wayland; it should be running.

hhh · 2025-10-16 23:52:08

^ It is running (see my sys-mon scrots), my volume up/down/mute keys and notifications work OOTB. I've installed light to get backlight keys working but haven't added that section to my rc.xml yet.

I did add a theme section so I could enable dropshadows, and I'm amazed how well this is coming together over default carbon. It's super light on RAM and it's theming itself.

My touchpad loves libinput, no need to configure anything.

hhh · 2025-10-17 00:08:13

My revised autostart, the wiki uses this dev/null redirection thing, I guess just to double down on not leaving a ghost process or something. That's me talking out of my posterior, I don't why this is the preferred format.

/usr/libexec/polkit-mate-authentication-agent-1 >/dev/null 2>&1 &
swaybg -i ~/Pictures/wallpapers/crystal.png >/dev/null 2>&1 &
xfce4-panel >/dev/null 2>&1 &
nm-applet >/dev/null 2>&1 &

PackRat · 2025-10-17 01:33:44

Does LXterminal work well in Wayland?

johnraff · 2025-10-17 11:41:08

^Yes I think it was OK last time I looked.

johnraff · 2025-10-17 11:43:49

hhh wrote:

the wiki uses this dev/null redirection thing, I guess just to double down on not leaving a ghost process or something

My guess is someone doesn't like seeing messages in ~/.xsession-errors. Personally, I wouldn't do that unless some app was really verbose.

hhh · 2025-10-17 18:27:02

^ Both the labwc docs and the Arch wiki entry use a combination without explaining. It shouldn't hurt anything to format every entry the same way like I've done.

@PackRat, I'm running xfce4-panel with no issues.

As per the labwc Integration page, run the following in a terminal...

xfconf-query -c xfce4-panel -p /force-all-internal -t bool -s true --create

That unifies the panel background. Logout or restart the panel.

hhh · 2025-10-17 18:39:54

So, I was wondering why I wasn't seeing Icons in my Window Switcher. That feature is in a newer version, making building labwc from source worthwhile IMO...

hhh · 2025-10-19 22:53:24

W-d keybind to toggleShowDesktop isn't part of labwc yet. Steal this script, place it in bin or somewhere in your $PATH (/usr/local/bin usually works) and make it executable, add the keybind, install wlrctl...

sudo apt install wlrctl

Reconfigure labwc (or just logout), profit.

https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/togglesh … labwc/2143

johnraff · 2025-12-17 05:21:41

johnraff wrote:

My guess is someone doesn't like seeing messages in ~/.xsession-errors. Personally, I wouldn't do that unless some app was really verbose.

hhh wrote:

^ Both the labwc docs and the Arch wiki entry use a combination without explaining. It shouldn't hurt anything to format every entry the same way like I've done.

>/dev/null 2>&1
is redirecting all the output to the bit bucket. Normally it gets sent to ~/.xsession-errors. No it won't really hurt throwing away all that output, but sometimes there are useful hints in that file when something doesn't work, like when an app just silently fails to start. I think it's better not to block by default, and only add that >/dev/null 2>&1 for apps that are obnoxiously verbose. I think tint2 fell into that category at least one time - haven't checked recently.

hhh · 2025-12-17 14:24:09

^ I don't get it. Except for the display manager, we're not running X. Once lightdm starts the labwc config, isn't labwc handling startup errors (journalctl)? So is my sending the output to null preventing journalctl from seeing any errors?

Anyway, hopefully @malm will do a once-over on our config when the time comes.

malm · 2025-12-17 18:07:51

@hhh Hey, absolutely. Is that the 'carbon' branch of https://github.com/BunsenLabs/bunsen-configs that needs a review? I had a quick scoot but couldn't find any compositor files.

Just point me

Got my head in labwc-tweaks at the moment

hhh · 2025-12-17 20:47:11

@malm, the question is about the labwc autostart...

https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic … 14#p146214 < See this post and @jognraff's post two above yours and my response regarding error logging.

If you could clarify what's happening with directing some outputs to dev/null (ex: swaybg -i ~/Pictures/wallpapers/crystal.png >/dev/null 2>&1 &), and which processes you think should not be redirected?

malm · 2025-12-17 21:17:27

@hhh

If you re-direct to /dev/null you won't see them.

Thinking about it, the advice in labwc's example autostart is possibly a bit "compositor developer" biased and not actually that helpful to others. I guess I originally did it that way so that I could focus on the log messages of the compositor itself and not get distracted by those of clients.

From the perspective of a Desktop Environment I think it makes sense to NOT hide stdout/stderr.

malm · 2025-12-17 21:19:39

Looking at the current BunsenLabs autostart, it looks like we do not hide stdout/stderr except for stderr of synclient.

Ref: https://github.com/BunsenLabs/bunsen-co … /autostart

hhh · 2025-12-17 21:30:51

So just run everything normally (ex: swaybg -i ~/Pictures/wallpapers/crystal.png &)?

#1 2025-10-16 22:22:23

Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#2 2025-10-16 22:34:19

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#3 2025-10-16 22:38:12

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#4 2025-10-16 23:00:24

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#5 2025-10-16 23:37:34

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#6 2025-10-16 23:52:08

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#7 2025-10-17 00:08:13

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#8 2025-10-17 01:33:44

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#9 2025-10-17 11:41:08

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#10 2025-10-17 11:43:49

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#11 2025-10-17 18:27:02

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#12 2025-10-17 18:39:54

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#13 2025-10-19 22:53:24

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#14 2025-12-17 05:21:41

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#15 2025-12-17 14:24:09

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#16 2025-12-17 18:07:51

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#17 2025-12-17 20:47:11

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

#18 2025-12-17 21:17:27

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#19 2025-12-17 21:19:39

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#20 2025-12-17 21:30:51

Re: Adding labwc to BL Carbon

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