GNOME 50 completes the long migration to Wayland, dropping X11 backend code and relying on XWayland for any remaining compatibility needs.

Although Wayland has been GNOME’s default session since 2016, X11 has continued to linger in the codebase—until now. That changed with the recent merging of two PRs (here and here), which completely removed the X11 codebase from both Mutter, GNOME’s default window manager and compositor, as well as the GNOME Shell itself.

In other words, the GNOME project is finally closing one of the longest chapters in Linux desktop history. With the upcoming GNOME 50 release, scheduled for mid-march 2026, the desktop environment will officially drop support for the native X11 session, making Wayland the sole display system moving forward.

  • rarsamx@lemmy.ca
    3·
    22 小时前

    People compare gnome to Desktops with a 30 year old interface which is painfully cumbersome but that they are used to.

    I was on the no Gnome camp after Gnome 2 but came back around Gnome 40 (2022) and I was surprised at how simple and stable it is. I agree that many things that are extensions should be built in, but I also agree with the filosophy of not spreading resources to thin and if people want a feature, they can build it.

    I only use two or three extensions but mostly need only one: Forge.

    I still use Niri as my primary environment but I think that Gnome is good.

    I grind my teeth every time I need to use an environment with an old style menu and cumbersome tiling.

    C’mon. End users haven’t used drop down menues to start apps for a long time. The iOS/Android drawer style is more comfortable and can adapt to the user’s organizational preferences.