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noctalia-dev/noctalia · source

Snapshot 0 · 2026-11-04T12:47:28Z · C++ · MIT

GitHub description at capture

A sleek, customizable desktop shell crafted for Wayland.

README at capture

# Noctalia

Noctalia is a native Wayland desktop shell for people who want a polished, configurable Linux desktop without stitching together a separate bar, launcher, notification daemon, lock screen, wallpaper tool, and settings UI.

It provides the shell layer around your compositor: bars, widgets, dock, launcher, control center, notifications, wallpaper, lock screen, session actions, clipboard history, OSDs, tray integration, and desktop widgets. The project is built directly on Wayland and OpenGL ES with no Qt or GTK dependency, so the UI, rendering, configuration, and IPC model are designed as one cohesive shell instead of a collection of unrelated panels and scripts.

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<p align="center">
  <img src="https://assets.noctalia.dev/noctalia-logo.svg?v=2" alt="Noctalia Logo" style="width: 192px" />
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<p align="center">
  <a href="https://docs.noctalia.dev/noctalia/getting-started/installation/">
    <img
      src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Install_Noctalia-FFF59B?style=for-the-badge&labelColor=FFF59B"
      alt="Install Noctalia"
      style="height: 50px"
    />
  </a>
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  <a href="https://github.com/noctalia-dev/noctalia/commits">
    <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/noctalia-dev/noctalia?style=for-the-badge&labelColor=FFF59B&color=FFF59B&logo=git&logoColor=070722&label=commit" alt="Last commit" />
  </a>
  <a href="https://github.com/noctalia-dev/noctalia/stargazers">
    <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/noctalia-dev/noctalia?style=for-the-badge&labelColor=FFF59B&color=FFF59B&logo=github&logoColor=070722" alt="GitHub stars" />
  </a>
  <a href="https://docs.noctalia.dev">
    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-FFF59B?style=for-the-badge&logo=gitbook&logoColor=070722&labelColor=FFF59B" alt="Documentation" />
  </a>
  <a href="https://discord.noctalia.dev">
    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/discord-FFF59B?style=for-the-badge&labelColor=FFF59B&logo=discord&logoColor=070722" alt="Discord" />
  </a>
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## Why Noctalia?

Most Wayland setups leave the desktop shell to a stack of small tools: one bar, another launcher, another notification daemon, a lock screen, a wallpaper daemon, scripts for session actions, and separate config formats for each piece. That can be flexible, but it also makes a complete desktop feel fragile and hard to keep visually consistent.

Noctalia solves that by providing one configurable shell layer that owns the common desktop surfaces and services while still fitting into compositor-driven Wayland workflows. It is meant for users who want the control of a custom desktop environment with fewer moving parts and a consistent UI.

To understand the values and philosophy guiding the project, read our [ethos](https://noctalia.dev/ethos).

## What It Includes

- Multi-monitor bars with configurable widgets, taskbar, workspaces, system tray, media, network, battery, brightness, weather, clipboard, and custom script-backed widgets.
- Dock, launcher, control center, notification toasts/history, wallpaper picker, OSD overlays, lock screen, session panel, and desktop widgets.
- TOML configuration with hot reload, GUI-managed overrides, theme/palette support, template application, and IPC for runtime control.
- Direct Wayland integration for layer-shell, session lock, idle behavior, clipboard, foreign toplevels, workspaces, fractional scaling, and compositor-specific workspace backends where needed.

## Wayland Compositor Support

Noctalia supports Wayland compositors that provide the layer-shell protocols it needs for shell surfaces. Workspace integration works through compositor-native backends where needed, or through `ext-workspace-v1` on compositors that implement it.

Current compositor integrations include Niri, Hyprland, Sway, Scroll, Mango, Labwc, dwl, and other compatible Wayland compositors. Other compositors may run Noctalia but can have reduced workspace, window, output, or session-action integration depending on the protocols and IPC they expose.

## Scope

Noctalia is a desktop shell, not a full desktop environment. It provides the visual and service layer around your Wayland compositor; window management, compositor configuration, and standalone desktop applications belong elsewhere, and non-essential features live in plugins. See [SCOPE.md](SCOPE.md) for what the project takes on and declines.

## Build from source

Source dependencies, distro-specific package commands, build modes, and install layouts live in [BUILDING.md](BUILDING.md).

## Configuration

A ready-to-use starting config with all defaults is at [example.toml](example.toml). The full configuration reference lives in the [documentation site](https://docs.noctalia.dev/noctalia/). The source MDX files are in [`docs/user/`](docs/user/); sync them to a local docs checkout with `tools/sync-docs.sh`.

## Contributing

Developer notes, code style, contribution rules, testing, project layout, and debugging commands live in [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md). The architecture and its invariants are described in [ARCHITECTURE.md](ARCHITECTURE.md).

Bug reports, fixes, documentation updates, themes, and configuration examples are welcome. For general help and design discussion, join the community on [Discord](https://discord.noctalia.dev).

## Credits

Thank you to the [contributors](https://github.com/noctalia-dev/noctalia/graphs/contributors) and community members who test Noctalia, report issues, share configurations, and help shape the project.

## Donations

Donations are appreciated but completely optional.

<p>
  <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/noctalia">
    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Buy_Me_a_Coffee-FFF59B?style=for-the-badge&logo=buymeacoffee&logoColor=070722&labelColor=FFF59B" alt="Buy Me a Coffee">
  </a>
  <a href="https://ko-fi.com/noctaliadev">
    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Ko--fi-FFF59B?style=for-the-badge&logo=kofi&logoColor=070722&labelColor=FFF59B" alt="Ko-fi">
  </a>
</p>

## License

MIT License. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.

## Packaging

Distro packaging notes (description, deps, install layout, Meson options) live in [PACKAGING.md](PACKAGING.md).

## Star History

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://github.com/noctalia-dev/noctalia/stargazers">
    <img src="https://api.noctalia.dev/stars-animated/noctalia" alt="Star History" />
  </a>
</p>