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X11 vs Wayland
(sh.itjust.works)
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this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2026
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As some general advice: If you don't know the specifics, just go with your Linux distribution's defaults. They probably have this figured out for you. Wayland is the more modern approach. We had a long transitioning period and some things didn't work for a while or were missing. I'd say it's ready by now. And if your distro maintainers also think it's time to supersede the old X server, it probably is.
Do things like xdotool and xinput still work?
Uinput and libinput are the proper tools and they both work.
Also, the keyboard configuration is done with xkb
There's ydotool
The x is the clue in those programs. They are tools to interact with x11. There will be tools to interact with Wayland, or there will be hacks to get x programs to sort of work with Wayland.
I don't really like the hypothetical sound of this.
xdotool is essential for keeping some of my basic hardware usable.
(Yeah ... more and more, I think I'm going to be a very late adopter of Wayland. I was planning on Debian Stable for my next install anyway...)
Yeah, I mean x11 isn't Wayland. They aren't the same. Changing from x11 to Wayland will require change in multiple ways, but I believe once you have worked through the change, you won't see much difference in day to day usage. But the beauty of Linux is you have the choice. You can use x11 if you prefer. Just be aware the majority are moving to Wayland, so x11 will get less development and Wayland more, and I imagine there will be a point in the distant future where x11 will be a lot of effort to run.
Which is on Wayland
What? Last I heard, Debian Stable was one of the last few holdouts that hadn't gone Wayland yet.
According to https://wiki.debian.org/Xorg/ Wayland is the default since 10
That's a good sign that you may not want to upgrade to Wayland on that hardware.
Nope. But you can find ydotool 🙄