X11
Network-transparent windowing system and display server protocol for Linux and other Unix-like systems.
Liked for being stable and dependable over many years123, and for global shortcuts, screen sharing and input automation that commenters say work more smoothly than on Wayland.456 Complaints are few: one user saw instability with the Nouveau driver7, and another worries KDE will soon drop X11 support.8
Why people recommend it
Fewer Wayland issues · 3
Users who switched back from Wayland report fewer bugs and broken features.
“But once they switched to X11, they've all been very happy.”
“I use X11 because KDE's Wayland implementation is so buggy.”
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“i love running x11 too, wayland is still not there yet sadly, still has a few quirks.”
Stability · 3
Commenters describe it as reliable for years with essentially no crashes.
“The exception is the Nouveau driver, but without it X was also perfectly stable for me.”
“I use X because it works on my setup and always has”
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“X11 worked perfectly fine.”
Shortcuts & automation · 3
Global shortcuts, screen sharing, xdotool and Xmodmap customization work without hassle.
“these people will probably be more pleased by X11 (hassle free screen sharing, global shortcuts)”
“from an user's perspective, so far I am far more efficient in X11.”
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“But once they switched to X11, they've all been very happy.”
Low-VRAM GPUs · 2
On a low-memory NVIDIA card, it offloads to system memory instead of crashing apps.
“on X11 it will offload those requests to system memory so you can open up as much as you want (within reason) and the system is completely usable.”
“X11 worked perfectly fine.”
Portability · 2
Fully usable on the BSDs and with window managers that lack Wayland support.
“But I am sticking with X because it is fully usable on the BSDs.”
“Glad to see this and other efforts to keep X server going.”
Network GUI · 1
Remote GUI over the network is valued as something newer stacks regressed on.
“we've kinda seriously regressed when it comes to "GUI over the network"”
Caveats and dissent
Nouveau driver · 1
One user found X unstable only when using the Nouveau driver.
“The exception is the Nouveau driver, but without it X was also perfectly stable for me.”
Future support · 1
A KDE user worries X11 support will soon be removed from KDE.
“I use X11 because KDE's Wayland implementation is so buggy.”
HiDPI setup · 1
HiDPI works well in XFCE by setting DPI directly; GNOME users report problems.
“I have used only HiDPI monitors with X11 on Linux for about a dozen years and it has always worked perfectly.”
Network security · 1
Running GUIs over the network raises security concerns.
“we've kinda seriously regressed when it comes to "GUI over the network"”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Wayland set the Linux Desktop back by 10 years 2 mentions
- A Modern Web App in C 1 mention
- The Problem of System Communication 1 mention
- Kumander Linux – A Linux Distro with a Windows 7 Desktop 1 mention
- XWayland 26.1-rc1 Released Two Years After the Last Release 1 mention
- Systemd Linger 1 mention
Data: x11.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 16
“The exception is the Nouveau driver, but without it X was also perfectly stable for me.”
“About 17 years ago I stopped using X11”
“these people will probably be more pleased by X11 (hassle free screen sharing, global shortcuts)”
“I use X11 because KDE's Wayland implementation is so buggy.”
“X11 was pretty much standardized, that won't do....”
“I use X because it works on my setup and always has”
“I have used only HiDPI monitors with X11 on Linux for about a dozen years and it has always worked perfectly.”
“we've kinda seriously regressed when it comes to "GUI over the network"”
“Glad to see this and other efforts to keep X server going.”
“X11 worked perfectly fine.”
“But I am sticking with X because it is fully usable on the BSDs.”
“i love running x11 too, wayland is still not there yet sadly, still has a few quirks.”
“on X11 it will offload those requests to system memory so you can open up as much as you want (within reason) and the system is completely usable.”
“But once they switched to X11, they've all been very happy.”
“God for-fucking-bid we have to run old software that works instead of new software”
“from an user's perspective, so far I am far more efficient in X11.”