feresaria/docs/installation.md

Installation

Ferese runs on Linux and installs as a standalone Wayland session. Use any login manager that can launch Wayland sessions, a command-based greeter, or a local TTY. You do not need to replace your existing login manager or desktop.

Requirements

Use a Wayland-capable graphics driver and a local user session with seat access through logind or seatd. A nested preview runs inside an existing Wayland desktop.

Building requires Rust 1.95 or newer, a C/C++ toolchain, CMake, pkg-config, and the libraries below. The installer builds all Ferese components; install system packages separately.

Fedora

sudo dnf install git curl gcc gcc-c++ make cmake pkgconf-pkg-config \
  wayland-devel libxkbcommon-devel libinput-devel systemd-devel libseat-devel \
  mesa-libgbm-devel mesa-libEGL-devel libdrm-devel fontconfig-devel \
  freetype-devel expat-devel dbus-daemon dbus-tools desktop-file-utils foot pam \
  clang clang-devel pipewire-devel pipewire wireplumber polkit polkit-libs \
  xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk \
  gstreamer1-devel gstreamer1-plugins-base gstreamer1-plugins-good pipewire-gstreamer

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git curl cmake pkgconf wayland libxkbcommon \
  libinput systemd seatd mesa libdrm fontconfig freetype2 expat dbus \
  desktop-file-utils foot pam clang pipewire libpipewire wireplumber polkit \
  xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk \
  gstreamer gst-plugins-base gst-plugins-good gst-plugin-pipewire

Debian and Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential git curl cmake pkg-config libwayland-dev \
  libxkbcommon-dev libinput-dev libudev-dev libseat-dev libgbm-dev libegl-dev \
  libdrm-dev libfontconfig1-dev libfreetype-dev libexpat1-dev dbus-bin \
  dbus-user-session desktop-file-utils foot libpam0g clang libclang-dev \
  libpipewire-0.3-dev libspa-0.2-dev pipewire wireplumber polkitd libpolkit-agent-1-0 \
  xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk \
  libgstreamer1.0-dev gstreamer1.0-pipewire gstreamer1.0-plugins-base \
  gstreamer1.0-plugins-good

Fedora is the tested installation path. Package names and versions may differ on other distributions. See Smithay dependencies for equivalent libraries.

Rust toolchain

Check your toolchain:

rustc --version
cargo --version

If Rust is missing, install it using the instructions at rustup.rs, then reopen your terminal. With rustup installed, you can select the required version for this checkout after cloning:

rustup toolchain install 1.95.0
rustup override set 1.95.0

Build and install

Run these commands as your normal user:

git clone https://github.com/ferese-wm/ferese.git
cd ferese
./scripts/install.sh

The script builds locked release binaries, then requests administrator access through sudo or pkexec for installation. Do not run the whole build as root. The first build needs network access to fetch Rust dependencies.

The installer adds the session launcher, desktop tools, portal backend, login entry, icons, default wallpaper, and example config. Releases live under /usr/local/lib/ferese/releases/; commands live under /usr/local/bin/. The current and previous links support updates and rollback.

Your configuration, other desktop sessions, and existing PAM policy are preserved. Ferese starts its authentication agent and portal services with the session.

Initial configuration

Ferese has built-in defaults. To start from the example without replacing your config:

mkdir -p "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/ferese"
if [ ! -e "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/ferese/config.kdl" ]; then
  cp /usr/local/lib/ferese/current/config.example.kdl \
    "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/ferese/config.kdl"
fi

Open Control Center → Settings after login, or run ferese-settings. See Configuration for themes, displays, shortcuts, and startup applications. The default terminal shortcut uses foot; change the terminal command in Settings if you prefer another terminal.

Start a session

Graphical login managers

Save your work and log out. Open your login screen's session selector, choose Ferese, and sign in. Any manager that supports Wayland sessions and reads /usr/share/wayland-sessions/ can discover the installed entry.

If Ferese is missing, confirm that the session entry exists and its launcher is executable:

ls -l /usr/share/wayland-sessions/ferese.desktop
test -x /usr/local/bin/ferese-session && echo "Session launcher is ready"
desktop-file-validate /usr/share/wayland-sessions/ferese.desktop

Check your manager's documentation for enabling Wayland session discovery. A manager that only launches X11 sessions cannot start Ferese through that path; use a Wayland-capable greeter or the TTY method below.

Command-based greeters

If your greeter asks for a session command instead of reading desktop files, use:

/usr/local/bin/ferese-session

For greetd, use this as the session command after authentication; see the greetd documentation. The launcher starts the compositor, shell, and session services together.

From a TTY

Log out of the graphical session, switch to a local console with Ctrl+Alt+F2 (or another available function key), and sign in as your normal user. Then run:

/usr/local/bin/ferese-session

Your login must provide XDG_RUNTIME_DIR and access to the active seat through logind or seatd. If either is missing, fix the distribution's login/session setup; do not work around it by running Ferese as root or making device nodes writable. For non-systemd systems, follow your distribution's seatd and user-session setup. Do not start the DRM backend inside an existing graphical session; use a nested preview there.

Optional desktop tools

Install these through your distribution when you want the corresponding features:

Feature	Tools or services
Wallpaper file picker	zenity
Screenshots and editing	slurp, satty, wl-clipboard, Python 3
Idle locking	swayidle with the included ferese-lock
Network controls	NetworkManager and its running service
Audio controls	PipeWire, WirePlumber, and wpctl
Bluetooth controls	BlueZ, bluetoothctl, and its running service

Package names and availability vary by distribution. In particular, install Satty using its upstream instructions if your repositories do not provide it. Ferese does not enable these services or replace your existing service configuration during installation.

Print Screen captures the active monitor; Super+Shift+S selects an area. Use ferese-screenshot --all to capture all monitors in one image.

The native locker follows your shell theme. Open Settings → Lock Screen to customize it, or run ferese-lock --preview to see an ordinary preview window. Test real unlocking before enabling automatic locking; see Native locker for authentication, idle locking, and limitations.

Preview and logs

To preview a source build before installing, run these commands from the checkout inside an existing Wayland desktop:

cargo build --release --locked -p ferese -p ferese-shell -p ferese-settings -p feresectl -p ferese-lock -p xdg-desktop-portal-ferese
FERESE_ENABLE_SCREENCOPY=1 target/release/ferese --backend nested \
  --grant-effects --grant-shell-control -- \
  target/release/ferese-shell

After installation, the equivalent launcher is:

ferese-session --nested

The session launcher stores logs in ${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}/ferese/. A directly launched source build writes to its terminal. Keep another desktop available while testing scaling, monitor hotplug, suspend, and locking.

The launcher enables the screencopy protocol for screenshot tools. Set FERESE_ENABLE_SCREENCOPY=0 in the session environment to disable it. This turns off every path that can read the screen, including the built-in screenshot command, not only the Wayland protocol. When enabled, Wayland clients can capture the unlocked desktop, and feresectl screenshot is available. Capture remains blocked while the session is locked. Launcher changes take effect at next login.

Starting the compositor directly instead of through ferese-session leaves FERESE_ENABLE_SCREENCOPY unset, which disables screenshots. Export FERESE_ENABLE_SCREENCOPY=1 to use them.

Updating

From your existing checkout, with any local edits saved:

git pull --ff-only
./scripts/install.sh

Log out and back in to use the new release. Running sessions keep their existing processes and release paths until restarted.

The installer records shipped portal configuration with each release for future upgrades. Modified or untracked administrator files stop installation. To replace Ferese portal configuration from an earlier development install, use ./scripts/install.sh --skip-build --replace-portal-config after building. Existing files are backed up under the new release's portal-config.previous/ directory.

Installer options:

./scripts/install.sh --dry-run
./scripts/install.sh --offline --release-id my-build
./scripts/install.sh --skip-build

--dry-run prints the planned commands. --offline requires dependencies to be cached already. --skip-build installs the binaries already in target/release/; use it only after building all components from the intended revision. Run ./scripts/install.sh --help for all options.

Logout and recovery

Use Super+Shift+E or feresectl request-logout to ask for logout confirmation. feresectl exit ends the session immediately; save your work first. If Ferese freezes, switch to another TTY with Ctrl+Alt+F1–F12, sign in, and identify the affected compositor process:

pgrep -a -u "$USER" -x ferese

Terminate only that session's process with kill PID, replacing PID with the correct process ID. This ends its applications and can lose unsaved work. You can then select your other desktop at the next login.

Roll back a release

While Ferese is stopped, inspect the retained releases:

readlink /usr/local/lib/ferese/current
readlink /usr/local/lib/ferese/previous
ls /usr/local/lib/ferese/releases/

If previous exists and points to the release you want, switch back:

sudo sh -eu -c '
  cd /usr/local/lib/ferese
  previous_release=$(readlink previous)
  test -x "$previous_release/ferese-session"
  ln -sfn -- "$previous_release" current-rollback
  mv -Tf -- current-rollback current
'

Then log in again. This changes the selected binaries; it does not restore your config or replace the PAM policy. Settings keeps a backup when saving config changes; see Saving and validation.

Remove the login option

To hide Ferese from login managers while keeping its releases and your config:

sudo mv /usr/share/wayland-sessions/ferese.desktop \
  /usr/local/lib/ferese/ferese.desktop.disabled

For a command-based greeter, remove Ferese from its session choices using that greeter's configuration. Reinstalling restores the desktop session entry.

Screen sharing and recording

The installer includes Ferese’s native ScreenCast portal. See Screen sharing for consent, PipeWire setup, supported sources, and current recording limitations.