--- title: Linux Mint is finally ready for Wayland, and it's... description: Linux Mint is removing the 'experimental' label from Cinnamon's Wayland session, but unlike GNOME, it won't make Wayland the default immediately. The team has... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-is-finally-ready-for-wayland-and-it-s-handling-the-switch-the-way-gnome-never-did-m7y22ggbz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Linux Mint is finally ready for Wayland, and it's handling the switch the way GNOME never did | daily.dev og:description: Linux Mint is removing the 'experimental' label from Cinnamon's Wayland session, but unlike GNOME, it won't make Wayland the default immediately. The team has... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-is-finally-ready-for-wayland-and-it-s-handling-the-switch-the-way-gnome-never-did-m7y22ggbz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/M7Y22ggbZ.png og:image:alt: Linux Mint is finally ready for Wayland, and it's handling the switch the way GNOME never did og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Linux Mint is finally ready for Wayland, and it's handling the switch the way GNOME never did **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 8 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Linux Mint is removing the 'experimental' label from Cinnamon's Wayland session, but unlike GNOME, it won't make Wayland the default immediately. The team has spent significant time fixing practical issues — lock screen security, multi-monitor support, HiDPI rendering, hardware acceleration, and Xwayland crashes — before declaring the session ready for ordinary users. The next release will support both X11 and Wayland, with X11 remaining the default for at least one full release cycle (~1 year) while real-world feedback is collected. The article contrasts this approach with GNOME 49's decision to disable the X11 session by default, arguing that Mint's slower, opt-in transition is more respectful of users who depend on older hardware, unusual peripherals, or workflows that still behave differently under Wayland. Keeping X11 as a fallback also makes debugging easier and gives the project a stronger evidence base before eventually switching the default. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Will Linux Mint's next release make Wayland the default for Cinnamon? No, X11 will remain the default session in the next Linux Mint release even though Cinnamon's Wayland session moves from experimental to fully supported. Project leader Clement Lefebvre wants at least one full release cycle and roughly a year of real-world feedback before considering switching the default to Wayland. _Track how Linux Mint's Wayland rollout unfolds by following distro updates on daily.dev._ ### What Wayland-related bugs did Linux Mint's Cinnamon desktop fix before removing the experimental label? Cinnamon's Wayland work addressed window sizing and placement, focus-stealing prevention, applet menus, multiple monitor support, KVM switch handling, HiDPI rendering, hardware acceleration, and numerous Cinnamon and Xwayland crashes. Administrative applications can now run as native Wayland clients instead of being routed through Xwayland, and the lock screen was rebuilt to work under Cinnamon's compositor since it previously relied on X11-specific screensaver behavior. _Developers weighing a Wayland migration can follow these fixes and similar reports on daily.dev._ ### How does Linux Mint's Wayland transition differ from GNOME's approach? GNOME 49 turned off its dedicated X11 session by default, forcing legacy X11 apps through Xwayland to concentrate testing and push developers toward native Wayland support. Linux Mint instead keeps both X11 and Cinnamon's Wayland session fully supported, letting users switch back to X11 if an application, peripheral, or workflow breaks, rather than forcing a hard cutover. _Compare desktop environment migration strategies like this one on daily.dev before choosing a distro._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Linux Mint 23 to offer full Wayland support \(but X11 is staying\)](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-23-to-offer-full-wayland-support-but-x11-is-staying--7wmq8fk2x) · omg\! ubuntu\! · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux Mint Now Considers Wayland Stable](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-now-considers-wayland-stable-8oz5mvizf) · It's Foss · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [The best Linux distro for Windows escapees will fully support Wayland](https://daily.dev/posts/the-best-linux-distro-for-windows-escapees-will-fully-support-wayland-2fasc1lnk) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 1 comments - [Wayland No Longer Considered Experimental For Linux Mint's Next Cinnamon Release](https://daily.dev/posts/wayland-no-longer-considered-experimental-for-linux-mint-s-next-cinnamon-release-z9pjupch4) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux Mint Developing New Wayland-Compatible Screensaver](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-developing-new-wayland-compatible-screensaver-fdrwnyv0a) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-is-finally-ready-for-wayland-and-it-s-handling-the-switch-the-way-gnome-never-did-m7y22ggbz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Linux Mint is finally ready for Wayland, and it's handling the switch the way GNOME never did","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-is-finally-ready-for-wayland-and-it-s-handling-the-switch-the-way-gnome-never-did-m7y22ggbz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/linux-mint-is-finally-ready-for-wayland-and-it-s-handling-the-switch-the-way-gnome-never-did-m7y22ggbz"},"datePublished":"2026-07-26T16:34:24.090Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:17:43.178Z","description":"Linux Mint is removing the 'experimental' label from Cinnamon's Wayland session, but unlike GNOME, it won't make Wayland the default immediately. 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