A Machine is a saved session: how clients reach this compositor. Configure it in the Machines window. Do not export env vars to make it work.
Kinds
type | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|
native | Clients on this device against Wawona's socket | available |
ssh_waypipe | Remote Wayland over SSH + waypipe | available |
ssh_terminal | SSH shell only | available |
virtual_machine | Guest VM (wwn-vms) | planned — see VMs and containers |
container | OCI / platform container (wwn-containers) | planned — see VMs and containers |
VM and container kinds are forbidden on tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS. They are planned on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Linux.
The on-device shell is bundled zsh on native machines — not a VM.
Start, Focus, minimize
- Start launches the session.
- Focus shows the compositor again after you leave it.
- Minimize parks the session in Machines without killing the client (fill-primary hosts). watchOS stubs ignore host WM requests.
Per-machine overrides beat global Settings.
Display backend
Nested Weston and Niri both have a real DRM backend. Settings Display Backend (CompositorBackend) is auto, wayland, or drm. Wawona maps that onto weston --backend= and NIRI_BACKEND. Do not pin nested-only.
See machine-profiles.md in the repo.