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LINUX DISPLAY STACK

The Linux display stack is the chain of components that takes you from powered-on hardware to a usable desktop. Each layer hands off to the next.

The Chain​

Hardware (GPU)
    ↓
Kernel — DRM/KMS initialises the display hardware
    ↓
Display server — X11 (Xorg) or Wayland handles rendering and input
    ↓
Display manager — login screen; authenticates and launches session
    ↓
Window manager / Desktop environment — arranges windows on screen
    ↓
Applications

EndeavourOS i3 Stack​

LayerComponent
Display serverX11 (Xorg)
Compositorpicom
Display managerlightdm + slick-greeter
Window manageri3
App launcherrofi
Screen lockeri3lock-color

X11 vs Wayland​

  • X11 — older, widely supported, required for NVIDIA on most setups. i3 runs on X11.
  • Wayland — modern, better security and performance, compositor does what X11 + a WM did separately. Hyprland and Sway are Wayland-native.
NOTE

EndeavourOS i3 edition ships with X11. Wayland support for i3 does not exist — switch to Sway for a Wayland equivalent.

Where Each Concept Lives​

  • display_manager — what a DM is, how it starts sessions
  • lightdm — LightDM config and slick-greeter theming
  • window_manager — WM types and how they differ
  • i3 — i3 config, keybindings, gaps, autostart
  • picom — compositor config, blur/shadow/transparency options
  • rofi_theming — rofi .rasi widget tree and theme structure
  • screen_locker — i3lock-color flags and i3 integration

References​