After a decade-long break, the Cairo-Dock project has released version 3.6, a major update that brings the highly-configurable desktop interface into the modern era with Wayland and HiDPI support. The release marks a significant revitalization of the project, addressing key display technologies and system integration features for contemporary Linux desktops.
Wayland and Display Enhancements
The most significant change in Cairo-Dock 3.6 is the introduction of support for Wayland. The implementation functions on compositors that support the layer shell protocol, with successful tests conducted on recent versions of Wayfire, KWin/KDE Plasma, Labwc, Cosmic, sway, and Hyprland. Notably, GNOME Shell / Mutter and, by extension, the default Ubuntu desktop are not currently supported.
In addition to Wayland compatibility, the dock now includes crucial HiDPI support. This ensures all interface elements render sharply and without blurriness on high-resolution screens that use integer scale factors.
Application and System Integration
This release reworks the application detection logic, resolving many long-standing issues where applications were misidentified. System integration has also been deepened through the addition of systemd support. Cairo-Dock can now run as a service, and by default, any applications launched from the dock are placed into their own separate slice for better process management.
The Weather applet has been updated with a new data provider. Users must re-enter their location as coordinates, though a more user-friendly selection tool is planned for the next release. The update is rounded out by numerous bug fixes and updated translations contributed by the community via Launchpad.
Cairo-Dock 3.6 is available for download now from the project’s official page on GitHub.
WoW! It was my favorite dock before it got lost because I want to use wayland. I think it could do wonders with wayfire.
I’m going to test it for sure. ;+1