# Control Center
The control center is Jay's built-in graphical interface for inspecting and
modifying compositor settings. It provides a convenient alternative to editing
configuration files or running CLI commands -- most settings that can be changed
in `config.toml` or via the CLI can also be changed here.
> [!NOTE]
> Changes made in the control center are not persisted across compositor
> restarts. To make settings permanent, add them to your `config.toml`.
> [!TIP]
> The control center consumes GPU and CPU resources while open. Close it when
> not in use to avoid reducing compositor performance.
## Opening the Control Center
- Press `alt-c` (the default shortcut for the `open-control-center` action).
- Run the CLI command:
```shell
~$ jay control-center
```
## Interface Overview
The control center window has a sidebar on the left listing all available panes
and a central panel area on the right.
- **Click** a pane name in the sidebar to open it.
- **Multiple panes** can be open at the same time -- they appear as tabs in the
panel area.
- **Drag** pane tabs to rearrange them or to split the panel area into
side-by-side or stacked layouts.
- **Close** a pane by clicking its X button or middle-clicking its tab.
## Panes
### Compositor
General information and top-level controls for the running compositor.
Repository
: Link to the Jay GitHub repository
Version
: The running Jay version
PID
: The compositor process ID
WAYLAND_DISPLAY
: The Wayland socket name (shown when available)
Config DIR
: Path to the active configuration directory (shown when available)
Libei Socket
: Toggle the libei input emulation socket
LIBEI_SOCKET
: The socket name (shown when the Libei Socket toggle is enabled)
Workspace Display Order
: Dropdown to select how workspaces are ordered in the bar
Log Level
: Dropdown to change the active log level at runtime (shown when the logger is available)
Log File
: Click to copy the log file path to the clipboard (shown when the logger is available)
Session Management
: Toggle the `xdg_session_manager_v1` protocol (see
[Session Management](configuration/misc.md#session-management))
Visualize Compositing
: Toggle an overlay icon in the top-left corner of each output, shown while the
compositor is compositing. The icon hides during direct scanout, making it a
quick way to check whether direct scanout is active.
Transaction Timeout
: How long the compositor delays showing a layout change while waiting for the
affected applications to redraw (see
[Transactions](configuration/transactions.md))
Configure Timeout
: How long the compositor waits for an application to acknowledge a size change
(see [Transactions](configuration/transactions.md))
Buttons at the bottom:
- **Quit** -- stop the compositor.
- **Reload Config** -- reload the configuration file.
- **Switch to VT** -- switch to another virtual terminal (with a numeric input
to select which one).
### Outputs
The Outputs pane is the largest and most interactive pane. It has two sub-views:
a visual **arrangement editor** and per-connector **settings**.
#### Arrangement editor
A 2D preview of your monitor layout. Monitors are drawn as labeled rectangles
at their configured positions and sizes.
- **Click** a monitor to select it (highlighted with a shadow).
- **Drag** a selected monitor to reposition it.
- **Scroll** to zoom in and out.
- **Middle-click drag** or **right-click drag** to pan the viewport.
- **Arrow keys** nudge the selected monitor by 1 pixel.
- **Snap to neighbor** -- when enabled, dragged monitors snap to the edges of
neighboring monitors within a 10-pixel threshold. Hold **Shift** to
temporarily invert the snapping behavior.
- **Guide lines** -- optional horizontal and vertical lines at the edges of all
monitors, helping you align them precisely.
A **Zoom To Fit** checkbox in the top bar auto-scales the view to fit all
monitors. It is disabled when you manually pan or zoom.
Arrangement settings (accessible via the Settings button):
Show guide lines
: Draw alignment guide lines
Snap to neighbor
: Snap edges when dragging (hold Shift to invert)
Show arrangement area
: Toggle the visual arrangement sub-pane
Layout
: How the arrangement and settings are split: Auto, Vertical, or Horizontal
Show disconnected heads
: Include outputs that are no longer connected
Show disabled heads
: Include outputs that are disabled
#### Staged changes
Changes made in the Outputs pane are **staged** -- they are not applied
immediately. Three buttons in the top bar control the workflow:
- **Test** -- validates the staged changes against the display backend without
applying them. Errors are shown in the pane.
- **Commit** -- applies all staged changes. The pane title shows `Outputs (*)`
when there are uncommitted changes.
- **Reset** -- discards all staged changes and reverts to the live state.
This is displayed as a checkbox; checking it resets the staged changes.
When a staged value differs from the live value, the current (live) value is
shown alongside with a `^ current` annotation.
#### Per-connector settings
Each connected display appears as a collapsible section with the connector name,
manufacturer, and model. Inside:
Serial Number
: Read-only identifier
Enabled
: Toggle the connector on or off
Position
: X and Y coordinates in compositor space
Scale
: Fractional scaling factor, with +/- buttons for fine adjustment
Scaling Filter
: How textures are filtered when scaled to the output (linear or nearest)
Mode
: Resolution and refresh rate (dropdown when multiple modes are available)
Physical Size (mm)
: Read-only physical dimensions in millimeters
Size
: Read-only computed pixel dimensions of the output
Transform
: Rotation and mirroring (none, rotate-90, rotate-180, rotate-270, flip, and flipped rotations)
Custom Brightness
: Toggle whether to use a custom SDR content brightness
Brightness
: Brightness value in cd/m^2 (shown when Custom Brightness is enabled)
Colorimetry
: Color space (depends on monitor capabilities)
EOTF
: Transfer function (depends on monitor capabilities)
Format
: Framebuffer pixel format
Tearing
: Tearing mode. When set to a "Fullscreen" mode, a **Limit Windows** checkbox appears; inside that, a **Requests Tearing** checkbox filters by whether the window has requested tearing.
VRR Active
: Read-only indicator of whether VRR is currently active (only shown when the monitor supports VRR)
VRR
: Variable refresh rate mode (only shown when the monitor supports VRR). When set to a "Fullscreen" mode, a **Limit Windows** checkbox appears; inside that, a **Limit Content Types** checkbox enables filtering by content type (**Photos**, **Videos**, **Games** checkboxes).
Non-desktop
: Read-only indicator (Yes/No) of whether the connector is inherently non-desktop
Override
: Force the connector to be treated as desktop or non-desktop
Blend Space
: How colors are blended during compositing (sRGB or linear)
Use Native Gamut
: Use the display's advertised color primaries instead of assuming sRGB
Native Gamut
: Read-only CIE xy primaries for red, green, blue, and white point
Limit Cursor HZ
: Toggle to limit cursor-triggered refresh rate when VRR is active
Cursor HZ
: Cursor refresh rate value (shown when Limit Cursor HZ is enabled)
Flip Margin (ms)
: Read-only page-flip margin for this connector
### Virtual Outputs
Manage headless virtual outputs. These are useful for screen sharing, testing,
or running applications on a display without a physical monitor.
- View the list of existing virtual outputs.
- **Add** a new virtual output by entering a name and clicking Add.
- **Remove** an existing virtual output by clicking its X button.
### Workspaces
Inspect and manage workspaces. Each workspace appears as a collapsible section
sorted by name. The type (Normal or Overlay) is shown next to each workspace's
name.
Position
: The workspace's position and size in compositor space. Shows `hidden` when the
workspace is on a disconnected (dummy) output.
Visible
: Toggle workspace visibility. Enabling this makes the workspace the active
workspace on its output. Disabling it hides an [overlay](overlays.md).
Output
: Dropdown to move the workspace to a different output.
### GPUs
Inspect and configure graphics cards (DRM devices). Each GPU appears as a
collapsible section showing its device path and model name.
Vendor
: Read-only GPU vendor name
Model
: Read-only GPU model name
Devnode
: Read-only device path
Syspath
: Read-only sysfs path
PCI ID
: Read-only vendor:model in hex
Dev
: Read-only major:minor device numbers
API
: Dropdown to select the graphics API -- Vulkan (recommended) or the legacy OpenGL renderer
Primary Device
: Checkbox to make this GPU the render device
Direct Scanout
: Toggle direct scanout (bypasses composition for lower latency)
Flip Margin
: Adjust the page-flip margin in milliseconds, with +/- buttons for 0.1 ms steps
Connectors
: List of display connectors attached to this GPU
### Input
The Input pane is divided into per-seat and per-device sections.
#### Per-seat settings
Each seat (typically just `default`) appears as a collapsible section:
Repeat Rate
: Key repeat speed, with +/- 20 buttons
Repeat Delay
: Initial delay before key repeat begins, with +/- 20 buttons
Cursor Size
: Size of the seat cursor in pixels
Simple IM
: Toggle the built-in XCompose-based input method
Hardware Cursor
: Toggle hardware cursor rendering
Pointer Revert Key
: Text field for the keysym name of the cancel key
Focus Follows Mouse
: Toggle whether moving the pointer over a window gives it focus
Fallback Output Mode
: Dropdown to choose between cursor-based and focus-based output selection
Below the settings grid:
- **Focus History** -- checkboxes for "Only Visible" and "Same Workspace".
- **Reload Simple IM** -- button to reload XCompose files without restarting.
##### Keymap management
Each seat has a full keymap management section:
Shortcuts group
: Read-only display of the current keymap's shortcuts group setting (`active`
or a group index).
- **Copy Keymap** -- copies the current keymap text to the clipboard.
- **Load Default Keymap** -- restores the compositor's default keymap.
- **Backup / Restore Keymap** -- save and restore a keymap backup.
- **Load Keymap from Clipboard** -- paste a keymap from the clipboard. Next to
this button, a **Fixed Shortcuts Group** checkbox pins shortcut resolution to
a specific group index. When enabled, a numeric input sets the group.
- **Create Keymap from Names** -- build a keymap from RMLVO (Rules, Model,
Layout, Variant, Options) fields. Rules and Model have a text input and a
"Default" checkbox; Layouts, Variants, and Options have text inputs only.
A **Shortcuts Group** row sets the group index for shortcut resolution; check
**Active** to use whichever group is currently active instead.
Click **Load** to apply.
#### Per-device settings
Each input device appears as a collapsible section. The available settings
depend on the device's capabilities:
Seat
: Dropdown to assign the device to a seat, with a Detach button. Shown for all devices.
Syspath / Devnode
: Read-only device paths. Shown for all devices.
Capabilities
: Read-only list (e.g. Keyboard, Pointer, Touch). Shown for all devices.
Natural Scrolling
: Toggle scroll direction. Shown for devices that support it.
Scroll Distance (px)
: Pixels per legacy scroll event. Shown for pointer devices.
Pixel Scroll Multiplier
: Multiplier for non-wheel scroll events (e.g. touchpad scrolling). Default 1.0. Shown for pointer devices.
Accel Profile
: Dropdown: Flat or Adaptive. Shown for devices with acceleration.
Accel Speed
: Numeric input (-1.0 to 1.0). Shown for devices with acceleration.
Click Method
: Dropdown: none, button-areas, clickfinger. Shown for devices that support it.
Tap Enabled
: Toggle tap-to-click. Shown for touchpads.
Tap Drag Enabled
: Toggle tap-and-drag. Shown for touchpads.
Tap Drag Lock Enabled
: Toggle tap-drag lock. Shown for touchpads.
Left Handed
: Swap primary and secondary buttons. Shown for devices that support it.
Middle Button Emulation
: Simultaneous left+right produces middle click. Shown for devices that support it.
Scroll Method
: Dropdown: no-scroll, two-fingers, edge, on-button-down. Only methods the device supports are selectable. Shown for devices that support it.
Scroll Button
: Dropdown to choose the button used by the on-button-down scroll method, listing None plus the buttons the device reports. Shown for devices that support the on-button-down scroll method.
Scroll Button Lock
: Toggle whether the scroll button toggles scrolling on release instead of having to be held down. Shown for devices that report it.
Output
: Dropdown to map the device to a specific output (only has effect for touch and tablet devices), with a Detach button. Shown for all devices.
Transform Matrix
: 2x2 matrix applied to relative motion. Shown for pointer devices.
Calibration Matrix
: 2x3 matrix for absolute input calibration. Shown for devices that support it.
Device Keymap
: Override the seat keymap for this device, with full keymap management UI and a "Use Seat Keymap" button to revert. Shown for keyboards.
### Idle
Configure the screensaver and idle behavior:
Interval
: Minutes and seconds of inactivity before the on-idle action fires
Grace period
: Minutes and seconds of the warning phase (screen goes black but is not yet locked)
Inhibitors
: Collapsible list showing which applications are currently preventing idle (e.g. video players), with a count in the header
### Look and Feel
Visual customization with live preview. Changes take effect immediately.
Show Bar
: Toggle the status bar
Bar Position
: Dropdown to select the bar position
Show Titles
: Toggle window title bars
Show Window Icons
: Toggle window icons in title bars
Window Icons Grayscale
: Render window icons in grayscale (only supported by the Vulkan renderer)
Primary Selection
: Toggle middle-click paste (requires application restart to take effect)
UI Drag
: Toggle whether workspaces and tiles can be dragged
UI Drag Threshold (px)
: Minimum distance in pixels before a drag begins
Float Pin Icon
: Show the pin icon on floating windows even when not pinned
Float Above Fullscreen
: Show floating windows above fullscreen windows
Font
: Text field for the main compositor font family
Title Font
: Override font for window title bars (empty = use main font)
Bar Font
: Override font for the status bar (empty = use main font)
Container Borders
: Dropdown to select the container border style (`Separators` or `Full`)
Three reset buttons at the bottom: **Reset Sizes**, **Reset Colors**, and
**Reset Fonts**.
#### Sizes
A collapsible section with numeric inputs for every theme size: border widths,
title heights, bar height, gaps, and other spacing values.
#### Colors
A collapsible section with **color pickers** for every theme color. Click a
color swatch to open a full RGBA color picker with sliders and hex input.
This includes colors for backgrounds, borders, text, the status bar, focused
and unfocused windows, attention indicators, and more.
### Clients
Inspect and manage connected Wayland clients.
A **Filter** toggle at the top enables the composable filter builder (see
[Filtering](#filtering) below). When filtering is off, all clients are shown.
Each client appears as a collapsible section showing its ID and process name.
Expand it to see:
ID
: Client identifier
PID
: Process ID
UID
: User ID
comm
: Process name
exe
: Executable path
Sandboxed
: Whether the client is sandboxed (only shown for sandboxed clients)
Secure
: Whether the client uses the privileged socket (only shown for secure clients)
Xwayland
: Shown only for X11 clients
Sandbox Engine
: Sandbox engine name (shown when sandboxed)
App ID
: Sandbox application ID (shown when sandboxed)
Instance ID
: Sandbox instance ID (shown when sandboxed)
Tag
: The connection tag, if any
Kill
: Button to forcefully disconnect the client
Capabilities
: Collapsible list of effective Wayland capabilities
Windows
: Collapsible list of all windows owned by this client
Click the **open in new pane** icon on any client to open a dedicated pane for
that client, allowing you to keep it visible while browsing other panes.
### Window Search
Search and filter windows across the compositor using the composable filter
builder (see [Filtering](#filtering) below).
Each matching window appears as a collapsible section showing its title. Expand
it to see:
ID
: Window identifier
Title
: Window title
Workspace
: Which workspace the window is on
Type
: Container, xdg_toplevel, X Window, or Placeholder
Tag
: Toplevel tag (set via window rules); only shown for xdg_toplevel windows
X11 properties
: Class, Instance, and Role (only shown for Xwayland windows)
App ID
: Application identifier
Floating
: Whether the window is floating
Visible
: Whether the window is visible
Urgent
: Whether the window has the urgency flag
Fullscreen
: Whether the window is fullscreen
Content Type
: The content type hint (photo, video, game), if set
Client
: Full client details (same as the Clients pane)
Click the **open in new pane** icon on any window to open a dedicated pane for
that window.
### Xwayland
Manage the Xwayland compatibility layer for running X11 applications:
Enabled
: Toggle Xwayland on or off
Scaling Mode
: Dropdown: `default` or `downscaled` (renders at highest integer scale then downscales for sharper text on HiDPI)
DISPLAY
: Read-only X11 display number (only shown when Xwayland is running)
Running
: Whether Xwayland is currently running
PID
: Xwayland process ID (only shown when Xwayland is running)
Kill
: Button to forcefully terminate Xwayland (only shown when Xwayland is running)
Client
: Collapsible section with full client details for the Xwayland process (only shown when Xwayland is running)
### Color Management
Configure the Wayland color management protocol:
Enabled
: Toggle the color management protocol for clients
Available
: Read-only indicator of whether color management is available with the current renderer and hardware
## Filtering
The **Clients** and **Window Search** panes share a composable filter system
for narrowing down results. The filter builder works as follows:
At the top level, select a combinator or a leaf criterion from the dropdown:
- **Not** -- inverts a single child criterion.
- **All** -- all child criteria must match (AND).
- **Any** -- at least one child criterion must match (OR).
- **Exactly(n)** -- exactly *n* child criteria must match (with a numeric input
for *n*).
Compound criteria contain a list of children. Click **Add** to append a new
criterion; click the X button on any child to remove it. Criteria can be nested
to arbitrary depth.
Leaf criteria vary by context:
**Client criteria:** Comm, Exe, Tag, Sandbox Engine, Sandbox App ID, Sandbox
Instance ID (all regex-matched text fields with a "Regex" checkbox), Sandboxed,
Is Xwayland (boolean), UID, PID (numeric inputs).
**Window criteria:** Title, App ID, Tag, Workspace, X Class, X Instance, X Role
(all regex-matched text fields), Floating, Visible, Urgent, Fullscreen
(boolean), Content Types (checkboxes for Photo, Video, Game), and **Client**
(a nested client criterion builder for filtering by the owning client's
properties).
Text-matching criteria have a **Regex** checkbox. When unchecked, the input is
matched as a literal string. When checked, it is treated as a regular
expression. Invalid regex patterns show an error message.