X11 Ghosts Haunt Wayland: KDE Plasma 6 Users Scramble for Programmatic Screen Control
Programmatically managing display power (DPMS) in KDE Plasma 6 under Wayland demands specialized tools, with `kscreen-doctor` showing up as the primary viable command, specifically utilizing flags like `kscreen-doctor --dpms off` to manage sleep states.
The community is sharply divided over how legacy display tools function in Wayland. blackbeard notes that X11 commands, citing `xset dpms force on`, fail because of Wayland's inherent security model. While some advocate for compositor-specific fixes, blackbeard points to `kscreen-doctor` as the working solution for KDE, whereas `wlr-randr` is mentioned as the appropriate, yet protocol-bound, alternative for wlroots-based compositors like Hyprland or Sway. Separately, OBS users are told they must abandon general 'screen' captures for dedicated 'window' captures.
The functional takeaway is that display control is fundamentally compositor-specific. Users cannot port X11 solutions; they must learn the niche tools—`kscreen-doctor` for KDE, `wlr-randr` for wlroots—or fundamentally change their workflow, as seen with OBS's required 'window' selection.
Key Points
X11 commands like xset fail in Wayland due to security.
blackbeard asserts that Wayland's security model nullifies older X11 display management tools.
kscreen-doctor is the designated KDE fix for DPMS in Wayland.
blackbeard confirms that this tool provides the specific necessary commands (`--dpms on`/`off`) for Plasma 6.
Solution for display control is entirely dependent on the compositor.
The discussion stresses that wlroots users need `wlr-randr`, while KDE users require `kscreen-doctor`; there is no universal patch.
OBS screen capture requires selecting 'window' over 'screen'.
Both HelloRoot and ikidd confirm that selecting the 'window' capture type, not the general 'screen' option, is mandatory for OBS on Wayland.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.