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Waxed Display Server

DRM Planes

Done

Hardware-accelerated compositing using DRM/KMS planes

Category: Rendering
Version: v1.0.0
Status: Done

DRM Planes

Efficient rendering using hardware planes without the complexity. Supports primary, overlay, and cursor planes for optimal performance.

What Are DRM Planes?

DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) planes are hardware overlays that can display content independently. Modern GPUs have multiple planes that can be composited without GPU rendering:

  • Primary planes - Main display content
  • Overlay planes - Additional surfaces (windows, video)
  • Cursor planes - Hardware-accelerated mouse cursor

Benefits

Zero GPU Overhead

Each plane is scanned out directly by the display controller. No GPU composition means:

  • Lower power consumption
  • Reduced latency
  • Better performance

Per-Plane Properties

Each plane can have independent:

  • Scaling and positioning
  • Color space and format
  • Z-ordering (layering)
  • Rotation and reflection

Waxed’s Plane Management

The core automatically assigns content to planes:

  1. Primary plane - Desktop background or fullscreen app
  2. Overlay planes - Windows, panels, video surfaces
  3. Cursor plane - Mouse cursor (see Hardware Cursor)