Summary
Release 17.0.0 introduces a significant modernization of the Sway desktop environment, moving towards systemd user services for background applications and improving theme synchronization across editors.
Highlights
- Sway Modernization: Refactored autostart to use systemd user services for many background components (mako, cliphist, wl-clip-persist, etc.). This improves reliability and lifecycle management.
- Improved Theme Sync: Added support for Zed editor theme/font synchronization and improved VS Code settings management (now using modern
User/settings.jsonpath). - GitHub Integration: Enhanced Waybar GitHub notifications with a dedicated script, better tooltips, and right-click to refresh.
- New Theme: Added
atari-classictheme for Sway. - Performance: Added caching to
checkupdates.shto reduce system load when checking for updates.
Deprecations and Removals (Breaking Changes)
- REMOVED:
kanshi/config.example(no longer needed). - REMOVED:
type-to-app.shscript (deprecated). - REMOVED: Legacy VS Code settings path
~/.config/Code/settings.jsonis no longer used by default (migrated toUser/settings.json). - CHANGED: Background applications are now managed by systemd user units. Variables like
$mako,$cliphist_watch, etc., in Sway config have been renamed/refactored to$initialize_...variants that interact with systemd.
Bug Fixes
- Improved battery icon visibility in dark themes by adjusting Waybar styling.
- Resolved race conditions in VS Code settings updates during theme switching.