Main Page

System overview

What is PlexyDesk

PlexyDesk is a Linux display server, compositor, desktop shell, and application toolkit for GNU/Linux and BSD. The project provides you with a full rendering infrastructure to create your own desktop environment, and client-side UI libraries to create native applications required for your DE. We are excited to see what you will create, so just ping us on Discord or update this wiki to share your project

Section index

Main sections

Primary sections

• Documentation - top-level map of architecture notes, references, examples, and project pages.
• Architecture - compositor, shell, client, and rendering model.
• Development - engineering focus areas and implementation-oriented documentation hubs.
• Components - subsystem survey and source tree structure.
• News - project chronicle and milestone summaries.
• Gallery - screenshots and short demo captures of PlexyDesk sessions.
• Community - contribution and wiki participation guidance.

Reference pages

• Developer Guide - source orientation and implementation landmarks.
• PlexyUI API - generated reference for the current UI toolkit headers.
• Examples - sample programs and UI usage patterns.
• Development Status - current implementation notes and subsystem coverage.
• Getting Started - local runtime and setup notes.
• Desktop Submissions - public procedure for uploading screenshots and listing desktops.

What PlexyDesk is

System model

PlexyDesk combines several layers that are often documented separately: a compositor responsible for final output composition, a desktop shell responsible for system UI such as the dock and menubar, and client libraries that let applications render native interface surfaces.

Applications can render their own content and submit finished surfaces to the compositor. The shell composes those surfaces with desktop-owned elements, manages input routing, and applies the presentation rules that define the environment.

Feature areas

Implemented feature areas

• GPU-accelerated composition of windows and desktop surfaces.
• Shell-owned dock, menubar, wallpaper, and window framing.
• Window movement, resizing, focus handling, transitions, and presentation effects.
• Client-side UI toolkit components exposed through PlexyUI and related libraries.
• Theme, scale, wallpaper, and appearance configuration.
• Multi-display layout and desktop-space positioning support.

Technical entry points

Key references

• Start with Architecture for the runtime model.
• Use Components and Developer Guide for source orientation.
• Use PlexyUI API for the current public UI interface surface.
• Use Examples to inspect small application patterns.

Wiki interaction

Using this wiki

• Special:AllPages provides the complete page index.
• Special:RecentChanges shows the latest documentation edits.
• Special:Upload accepts images and video for diagrams, screenshots, and demonstrations.
• Gallery collects submitted screenshots and short demo captures.
• Desktop Submissions explains how public users can contribute desktops.
• Talk pages remain available for technical discussion and page review.

Current scope

Current documentation scope

The current wiki covers architecture, source structure, generated API reference, example programs, implementation status, and project record pages. It will continue to expand as more subsystem documentation is extracted directly from the codebase.