diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 08e74ca..0faf03a 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -462,6 +462,16 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 name = "ferese-malformed-client"
 version = "0.1.0"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "ferese-protocols"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "wayland-backend",
+ "wayland-client",
+ "wayland-scanner",
+ "wayland-server",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "feresectl"
 version = "0.1.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 5e7d86c..9dade15 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ members = [
     "crates/ferese-core",
     "crates/ferese-ipc",
     "crates/ferese-layout",
+    "crates/ferese-protocols",
     "tools/ferese-malformed-client",
 ]
 resolver = "3"
@@ -36,3 +37,7 @@ serde = { version = "1.0.228", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1.0.145"
 toml = "0.9.7"
 xcursor = "0.3.11"
+wayland-backend = "0.3.17"
+wayland-client = "0.31.15"
+wayland-scanner = "0.31.11"
+wayland-server = "0.31.14"
diff --git a/crates/ferese-protocols/Cargo.toml b/crates/ferese-protocols/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf577df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ferese-protocols/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+[package]
+name = "ferese-protocols"
+version.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+license.workspace = true
+rust-version.workspace = true
+
+[features]
+default = ["client", "server"]
+client = ["dep:wayland-client"]
+server = ["dep:wayland-server"]
+
+[dependencies]
+wayland-backend.workspace = true
+wayland-client = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+wayland-scanner.workspace = true
+wayland-server = { workspace = true, optional = true }
diff --git a/crates/ferese-protocols/src/lib.rs b/crates/ferese-protocols/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3cde75d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ferese-protocols/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+//! Generated bindings for Ferese-private Wayland protocols.
+
+#![forbid(unsafe_code)]
+
+/// Semantic surface effects protocol.
+pub mod effects {
+    /// Version 1 of the semantic surface effects protocol.
+    pub mod v1 {
+        #[cfg(feature = "client")]
+        pub use generated::client;
+        #[cfg(feature = "server")]
+        pub use generated::server;
+
+        mod generated {
+            #![allow(
+                dead_code,
+                non_camel_case_types,
+                non_upper_case_globals,
+                non_snake_case,
+                unused_imports,
+                unused_unsafe,
+                unused_variables,
+                clippy::all
+            )]
+
+            #[cfg(feature = "client")]
+            pub mod client {
+                use wayland_client;
+                use wayland_client::protocol::*;
+
+                pub mod __interfaces {
+                    use wayland_client::protocol::__interfaces::*;
+
+                    wayland_scanner::generate_interfaces!("../../protocols/ferese-effects-v1.xml");
+                }
+                use self::__interfaces::*;
+
+                wayland_scanner::generate_client_code!("../../protocols/ferese-effects-v1.xml");
+            }
+
+            #[cfg(feature = "server")]
+            pub mod server {
+                use wayland_server;
+                use wayland_server::protocol::*;
+
+                pub mod __interfaces {
+                    use wayland_server::protocol::__interfaces::*;
+
+                    wayland_scanner::generate_interfaces!("../../protocols/ferese-effects-v1.xml");
+                }
+                use self::__interfaces::*;
+
+                wayland_scanner::generate_server_code!("../../protocols/ferese-effects-v1.xml");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/protocols/ferese-effects-v1.xml b/protocols/ferese-effects-v1.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b566dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/protocols/ferese-effects-v1.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<protocol name="ferese_effects_v1">
+  <copyright>
+    Copyright 2026 Ferese contributors
+
+    Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+    copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+    to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+    the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+    and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+    Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+    The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+    all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+    THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+    IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+    FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+    AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+    LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+    FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+    DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+  </copyright>
+
+  <interface name="ferese_effects_manager_v1" version="1">
+    <description summary="assign semantic material roles to surfaces">
+      This private global is visible only to clients granted the Ferese effects
+      capability. Roles describe compositor-owned appearance policy and do not
+      expose shader parameters or backdrop content to the client.
+    </description>
+
+    <request name="destroy" type="destructor">
+      <description summary="destroy the manager binding"/>
+    </request>
+
+    <request name="get_surface_effects">
+      <description summary="create semantic effects state for a surface">
+        A wl_surface can have at most one live surface-effects object. Creating
+        another object for the same surface is a protocol error.
+      </description>
+      <arg name="id" type="new_id" interface="ferese_surface_effects_v1"/>
+      <arg name="surface" type="object" interface="wl_surface"/>
+    </request>
+
+    <enum name="error">
+      <entry name="already_constructed" value="0"
+             summary="the surface already has an effects object"/>
+    </enum>
+  </interface>
+
+  <interface name="ferese_surface_effects_v1" version="1">
+    <description summary="semantic material role for one surface">
+      The role affects only compositor rendering. It does not change surface
+      geometry, input, focus, stacking, or the surface's Wayland role.
+    </description>
+
+    <request name="destroy" type="destructor">
+      <description summary="clear the role and destroy this object"/>
+    </request>
+
+    <request name="set_role">
+      <description summary="set the semantic material role">
+        The most recent valid role replaces the previous role atomically.
+      </description>
+      <arg name="role" type="uint" enum="role"/>
+    </request>
+
+    <request name="clear_role">
+      <description summary="clear the semantic material role"/>
+    </request>
+
+    <enum name="role">
+      <entry name="panel" value="0" summary="persistent panel surface"/>
+      <entry name="panel_elevated" value="1" summary="raised panel surface"/>
+      <entry name="popover" value="2" summary="transient popover"/>
+      <entry name="menu" value="3" summary="menu surface"/>
+      <entry name="notification" value="4" summary="notification surface"/>
+      <entry name="hud" value="5" summary="heads-up display surface"/>
+      <entry name="modal" value="6" summary="modal surface"/>
+    </enum>
+  </interface>
+</protocol>