Display Server

The Display Server is a core component of the graphical user interface (GUI) on Linux systems. It acts as the middleman between your system’s hardware (like the GPU, keyboard, and mouse) and the graphical applications you use (like Firefox, Terminal, or VSCode). Without it, graphical windows wouldn’t be possible—you’d only have a command-line interface (CLI).

“Think of the display server as the engine that powers everything you see on your screen and how you interact with it.”

💡 Features

• Receives input from your keyboard and mouse.
• Renders output to your screen via the GPU.
• Manages windows—it tells apps where and how to draw themselves.
• Coordinates between multiple apps and the hardware, making sure everything plays nicely together.

🔧 Common Display Server Protocols

X11 (Xorg)

• The legacy system used for decades.
• Very flexible and mature, but:
  • Struggles with modern features like multi-monitor scaling.
  • Lacks built-in security isolation (e.g., one app can snoop on another).
  • Still widely supported and used in many distros (e.g., Ubuntu with X session).

Wayland

• Modern replacement for X11.
• Designed with security, simplicity, and performance in mind.
• Enforces app isolation—better for sandboxing and privacy.
• Still being adopted—some apps or features might be buggy or unsupported in specific setups.