project / linux setup
alphaFF00 Video Wallpaper Manager
A graphical per-monitor video wallpaper manager for Linux X11, built as the first public application in the FF00 series.
- Rust
- GTK4
- X11
- XRandR
- mpv
- Nix
FF00-vwm turns the manual process of creating X11 video wallpaper windows into a small monitor-oriented application. Each connected XRandR output can receive its own local video and scaling mode. Playback continues after the configuration window closes, and login restoration remains an explicit opt-in.
The first public preview is 0.1.0-alpha.1. It is intended for testing on personal X11 desktops rather than unattended or production systems.
What the alpha includes
- independent video assignments for connected displays
- a native GTK4 interface using the system file chooser
- Fit, Fill, Stretch, and Center display modes
- wallpaper windows backed directly by X11 and mpv, without xwinwrap
- saved assignments and optional restoration at X11 login
- targeted process ownership checks that leave unrelated mpv sessions alone
- Nix packaging and a user-local native archive
Release boundary
The initial release supports Linux x86_64 under X11, with i3 as the primary tested window manager. Wayland, remote media, playlists, audio playback, and animated-image formats are not supported yet. The Nix package supplies the tested runtime dependencies; native installations use the host GTK4, X11, and mpv libraries.
Ordered next work
The first update after alpha.1 hardens the existing renderer lifecycle before
adding another source type. It will serialize independent controller operations,
reconcile stale and orphaned renderer ownership without broad process matching,
and start mpv with --no-config. Static-image sources follow that reliability
milestone with presentation-only rotation and mirroring.
Public development model
The Forgejo repository remains the canonical source of truth. GitHub is the public release mirror, carrying tagged source, release notes, checksums, and downloadable artifacts. FF00-vwm is published under AGPL-3.0-or-later, with contribution and copyright terms documented inside the repository.