Plasma/Wayland Known Significant Issues

This page tracks the "Errata/Known issues" that are specific to the the Plasma Wayland session: significant omissions compared to the X11 session, quality-of-life annoyances, problems with workarounds, etc. This is part of KDE's Wayland goal.

It is the Wayland-specific companion to Plasma/X11 Known Significant Issues.

Note that to actually drop X11 support, even more is needed; see https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/issues/202.

KWin/compositing/window management

• Native Wayland windows cannot save and restore their window positions; KWin would need to do it: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=15329
• "Spare Layouts" feature not implemented: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=455431
• Using key combination shortcuts to type phrases into windows is not yet implemented: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=478219
• No way to change the gamma or manually adjust the colors without generating or finding an appropriate ICC profile

Accessibility

• Can't move pointer with numpad keys: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=478620 - there's a pending Merge request
• Slow Keys feature doesn't work: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=490826
• Only Maliit is supported, which is not a proper accessibility-oriented virtual keyboard (e.g. no modifier keys or arrow keys)

Graphics Tablet Support

• Can't switch between absolute and relative modes for the graphic tablet. Bug report and Pending Merge Requests 1 and 2.
• Can't create multiple profiles for tablet configurations so artists can choose different profiles (e.g. different shortcuts and pen pressure) for different workflows like inking a comic or doing vector art: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=477671
• The UI for mapping tablet area and its buttons has a few issues compared to the UI in the X11 KCM: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=477750
• Graphic tablets may have a touch strip or ring, but in the Wayland KCM, you can't assign shortcuts to touch rings. Bug report: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=477752 - in progress with https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/merge_requests/7348
• Some tablets allow users to switch between touch ring modes. For example, you can click a button and change the mode from one set of shortcuts like scrolling to another set of shortcuts, like changing hue or zooming in and out. This is not possible on Plasma Wayland: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=477787

KDE applications

• Cross-app activation/window raising doesn't work for certain apps and use cases:
  • Opening files using command-line binaries in Konsole: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=442265
  • Opening files from KRunner: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=475706
  • Opening the Trash from a widget when Dolphin is already running: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=499936

Upstream

Waiting on new Wayland protocol

• Picture-in-Picture windows from web browsers get a Task Manager icon and do not stay on top: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=463288; requires https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/132 and adoption in apps using PiP windows (like web browsers)
• Calibration/Profiling tools like DisplayCAL and argyllcms are used with colorimeters to ensure monitors are displaying color accurately. A portal (which has not been proposed yet) is required for these tools to be able to calibrate the monitor on Wayland and hand the ICC profile over to the compositor as discussed here. Relevant DisplayCAL issue here: https://github.com/eoyilmaz/displaycal-py3/issues/133
• Global Menu is not supported for non-Qt apps: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=424485. Needed wayland protocol: see https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/52

Qt

• Sub-menus are mis-positioned when parent menu is close to a screen edge: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=500584 / https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-124810 + https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-99618

GTK

• When the compositor crashes or restarts, non-Qt apps are killed — Qt apps do stay alive, and work is ongoing to make other apps survive as well; see see https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/wikis/Restarting

GStreamer

• GStreamer with OpenGL creates an empty "OpenGL Renderer" window on Wayland: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/gstreamer/gstreamer/-/issues/2997

NVIDIA

• Worse performance on external monitor connected to NVIDIA GPU when default GPU is Intel: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=452219

Fixed in an upcoming version

• No session restore for native Wayland windows: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=436318 / https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/issues/113. Preliminary support is implemented in Plasma 6.4, and toolkits and apps will need to opt into supporting it.