session_settings

Configuration reference

Choose which GNOME controls to keep, how launchers affect window focus, and whether tools can use particular Wayland interfaces. Add the examples to ~/.config/gnoblin/init.lua.

Native features

Enable GNOME's notifications if your shell does not provide a notification daemon. Run only one notification service. This example enables GNOME's notifications and leaves its keyboard-layout and window-switching popups off:

gnoblin.configure {
    shell = {
        notifications = true,
        input_source_switcher = false,
        window_switcher = false,
    },
}

Option	Default	Enables
notifications	Initially off	GNOME's notification service
input_source_switcher	Initially off	Native keyboard-layout popup
window_switcher	Off	GNOME's app/window/group switchers

With Mako, set shell.notifications to false so Gnoblin does not also own the notification service:

gnoblin.configure {shell = {notifications = false}}

GNOME Settings shows per-app notification controls in this Waybar session.

With Mako running, notifications appear through its own layer-shell surface.

Mako displays the notification while Waybar and Firefox remain separate clients.

Notifications and the layout-popup setting are saved in GNOME's settings database (GSettings). To turn them off again, set them to false; deleting the Lua lines leaves the saved values in place.

Removing window_switcher returns it to false. If your shell needs the same switching keys, also release or rebind the built-in shortcuts.

Disabling the layout popup does not disable keyboard layouts. Volume/brightness popups and screenshot controls come from your desktop shell; these options do not enable GNOME's versions.

Layer-shell keyboard focus

gnoblin.configure {
    layer_shell = {
        preserve_active_window = true,
    },
}

Default: true. Requires logout and login.

When a launcher requests exclusive keyboard focus, typing goes to the launcher. With this setting enabled, the application underneath keeps its active appearance: its titlebar and effects do not switch to their unfocused style.

The launcher still receives all typing.

Set false to let exclusive layers deactivate the application beneath them. On-demand focus, passive bars and normal application menus are unchanged.

Window drag boundary

gnoblin.configure {
    window_management = {
        constrain_drag_to_work_area = true,
    },
}

Default: true. Applies at the next drag after reload.

This keeps the dragged frame below the monitor's reserved top area, including space reserved by a layer-shell panel. Set false to allow overlap.

Protocol settings

Wayland protocols let desktop tools request features such as screen capture, clipboard access and display power control. The interfaces below are enabled by default. Most users can leave them alone.

For example, this disables the wlr_screencopy screen-capture interface:

gnoblin.configure {
    protocols = {
        wlr_screencopy = false,
    },
}

Log out and back in to apply protocol changes. Gnoblin exposes these interfaces when the session starts and cannot remove them during config reload.

Name	Used for
wlr_layer_shell	Bars, docks and launchers
wlr_screencopy	Screen capture
ext_foreign_toplevel_list	Window enumeration
wlr_foreign_toplevel_management	Window controls and dock targets
ext_data_control	Clipboard managers
ext_idle_notify	Idle detection
wlr_gamma_control	Gamma and colour temperature
wlr_output_power_management	Display power
ext_background_effect_v1	Client-requested background blur
xdg_decoration	Client/server titlebar negotiation
window_frame_renderer	External frame renderer service
blur_fade	Per-item blur fade metadata

This does not block all screen sharing: apps using the desktop portal follow portal permissions instead. Disabling protocols your shell uses can prevent its features from working. See the protocol catalog for the advertised interface names, related guides and interfaces that are not yet supported.