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DEsk releases beta Wayland desktop for Linux styled like iOS 6

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DEsk releases beta Wayland desktop for Linux styled like iOS 6

DEsk is a Wayland desktop environment for Linux built around one idea: the desktop is a literal desk. Its README describes it as "a Wayland desktop for Linux in realistic skeuomorphism -- the kind iOS 6 had, where everything on the screen is drawn to look like the real thing." The name is a blend of Desktop Environment and desk. It came from the Reddit community, and the project used to be called DeskWM. The commands are now desk, desk-session, desk-settings and so on, and settings, data and DESKWM_* variables from the old name carry over by themselves.

The current release is v0.1.2, marked BETA. The README calls v0.1 the first public release, and v0.1.2 adds fixes and an installer for Fedora. The author says DEsk is used day to day on their own machines and has been checked carefully, but warns to expect rough edges and changes. Settings and data will be carried forward between versions. A Discord server exists for bug reports and feature ideas, and a RELEASE-NOTES.md file lists what is in v0.1.2 and what is known not to work yet.

The metaphor is applied to every part of the interface. Windows are cream paper sheets with fibre, thickness and a dog-eared corner. Holding the pointer on the corner lifts it to show controls printed on the back: Fold (minimize, folded like a letter and left on the desk), Unfold and Refold (maximize and restore) and Discard (close, crumpled into a ball and tossed). Dragging an edge pulls more paper out from behind the sheet. The dock is a drawer, opened by pulling a brass handle or pressing Super+D; out of the box it holds DEsk's standard programs and a screwdriver that opens Shell Settings. Apps live on a bookshelf behind the desk (Super+A), where each category is a ring binder whose sheets fan from one ring, plus an ALL APPS index book listing every program from A to Z. Notifications arrive in a post box (Super+N). The Control Panel (Super+C) is a valve-era machine built into the back of the desk, with meters, a volume knob, network and Bluetooth levers, and faders for the room lamp and the screen backlight. A desk calendar, a memo pad and a clock stand on the shelf.

The screen lock (Super+L) is a front door, seen at night and traced in 3D. The user types the password at a brass plate, leans in and turns a key; on success the door swings open and the user walks into the room and sits down at the desk. Authentication is checked with PAM, as at login. The door shows the hour's light, worked out from the user's time zone city, and, only if the user allows it, weather fetched from open-meteo.com, with only latitude and longitude sent.

The room itself is ray-traced on the GPU using GLES 3, with a CPU tracer as the fallback, and cached per screen size. One desk lamp lights everything, including the interface drawn over the room. The first login draws the room once, taking a few seconds on a GPU and longer without one; after that it starts at once. Sizes are in points, so a bigger screen is a bigger desk, not bigger things. With several screens, the desk sits on one and the others show more of the desk's boards for windows to lie on. X11 apps run through Xwayland, and windows that draw their own frames sit on paper too. The interface comes in seven languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (simplified), Korean, Spanish, French and German.

Installation is by script from the Releases page or a clone of the repository. There are installers for Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04 (also Linux Mint and Pop!_OS), Arch Linux (also EndeavourOS and Manjaro) and Fedora 43 and 44 (also Nobara). The installer shows what it will install and asks first; --yes takes the suggested answers and --no-apps installs DEsk without the recommended programs. After that the user logs out and picks DEsk on the login screen. Updating means running the same line again with the new release.

DEsk is meant to be installed as a whole desktop, like GNOME or KDE, and it picks a standard program for each job: a terminal, a browser, a file manager and a text editor. It looks first at app.* keys in shell.conf, then at freedesktop default-application lists, then at a standard set of classic GTK programs (Xfce Terminal, Firefox ESR, Thunar, Mousepad, then MATE Terminal, Caja, Pluma), then at any program in the right category. The design rule is to build only what is drawn as part of the room or can only be done inside the compositor, and otherwise borrow an existing program that works under a wlroots compositor. KDE's System Settings and kcmshell, X11-only Xfce and MATE dialogs, and Xfce's display and appearance dialogs are deliberately not used. Shell Settings holds DEsk's own options on one tab and rows that open borrowed programs for network, Bluetooth, sound, displays, printers and more on another. The full development log (docs/design.md) is in Japanese.

Key facts

  • DEsk is a Wayland desktop for Linux in realistic skeuomorphism of the iOS 6 kind: windows are paper sheets on a walnut desk, the dock is a drawer, apps sit in binders on a bookshelf, and notifications arrive in a post box.
  • The current release is v0.1.2 (BETA); v0.1 was the first public release, and v0.1.2 adds fixes and a Fedora installer. The project was formerly called DeskWM.
  • Installers cover Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04 / 26.04, Arch Linux and Fedora 43 / 44, plus derivatives such as Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Manjaro and Nobara.
  • The room is ray-traced on the GPU through GLES 3, with a CPU tracer as fallback; the first login draws it once, taking a few seconds on a GPU and longer without one.
  • The interface is available in seven languages, X11 apps run through Xwayland, and DEsk borrows existing programs such as Thunar and Firefox ESR rather than writing its own.

Why it matters

Most Linux desktops follow flat, utilitarian design. DEsk goes the other way and commits fully to the realistic skeuomorphism of iOS 6, where every element is drawn to look like a real object with material, light, shadow and wear. It does this as a complete desktop environment on Wayland, not a theme: the compositor itself draws a ray-traced room lit by a single lamp. The README also explains the scope discipline behind it. DEsk builds only what belongs to the room or must live inside the compositor, and borrows free software for everything else.

Who it affects

Linux users on Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04 (and Mint, Pop!OS), Arch (and EndeavourOS, Manjaro) or Fedora 43 or 44 (and Nobara) who want to try a different desktop and are comfortable with a beta. People using several screens, input methods through IBus, or interface languages among English, Japanese, Chinese (simplified), Korean, Spanish, French and German are covered by the README. Anyone who used the project under its old name DeskWM keeps their settings, data and DESKWM* variables.

How to use it

Download the latest release from the Releases page and unpack it, or clone the repository. In that folder run the script for your system: sudo sh scripts/install_debian.sh, install_ubuntu.sh, install_arch.sh or install_fedora.sh. The installer lists what it will install and asks first; --yes accepts the suggested answers and --no-apps skips the recommended programs. Then log out and choose DEsk on the login screen. To update, get the new release and run the same line again. Handy shortcuts: Super+D for the drawer, Super+A for the bookshelf, Super+N for notifications, Super+C for the Control Panel, Super+L to lock. Bugs and ideas can go to the project's Discord server.

How solid is it

The only material is the project's own README, so everything here is the author's description rather than independent testing. The author says DEsk is used day to day on their machines and has been checked carefully, pointing to section 9 of docs/ARCHITECTURE.md. It is labelled BETA and v0.1.2, and v0.1 is described as the first public release. The README is detailed and specific about behaviour, shortcuts and supported distributions, and it links architecture, modding and configuration documents.

Risks and caveats

The author warns this is a first release: expect rough edges and changes, and RELEASE-NOTES.md lists what is known not to work yet. Without a GPU the first login takes longer while the room is drawn on the CPU. Windows with a header bar, such as GNOME programs and Firefox, keep their own frame inside a paper margin. A Settings row whose borrowed program is not installed is shown faint with the package name to install. The weather on the lock screen is fetched from open-meteo.com only if the user allows it. The full development log (docs/design.md) is in Japanese.

“Windows are sheets of paper on a walnut desk.”

— DEsk README