swww

Initialize the daemon

$ swww-daemon

$ swww img [path/to/image]

$ swww img -o [output1,output2] [path/to/image]

$ swww restore

$ swww query

$ swww kill

$ swww img --transition-type [wipe] [path/to/image]

$ swww clear [RRGGBB]

swww command [OPTIONS]
swww-daemon

swww is an efficient animated wallpaper daemon for Wayland compositors. It supports animated GIFs and various image formats (JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, SVG, etc.) with smooth transition effects between wallpapers. The daemon can be controlled at runtime without restart.
The daemon (swww-daemon) must be started first, then the swww client controls wallpaper settings. Per-output wallpaper control allows different images on multiple monitors.

-o, --outputs names

Target specific displays (comma-separated)

Effect: simple, center, outer, wipe, left, right, top, bottom, any, random

Smoothness (1-255)

Frame rate (1-255, default: 30)

Transition duration

Resize mode: crop, fit, no

Color for unfilled areas

img path

Set wallpaper image

Restore last wallpaper

Display output information

Stop the daemon

Clear screen with RGB color

SWWW_TRANSITION: Default transition type
SWWW_TRANSITION_FPS: Default FPS
SWWW_TRANSITION_STEP: Default step

Requires wlr-layer-shell protocol (wlroots-based compositors). Does not work with GNOME. The daemon must be running before setting wallpapers. Animated wallpapers consume more resources than static images.

swww was created by LGFae as a lightweight alternative to other Wayland wallpaper solutions. It focuses on efficiency and smooth animations while maintaining low CPU and memory usage. The project has been renamed to awww and moved to Codeberg as of October 2025. Released under GPL-3.0.

swaybg(1), hyprpaper(1), feh(1)