DMS Backend & CLI
Go-based backend for DankMaterialShell providing system integration, IPC, and installation tools.
See root README for project overview and installation.
Components
dms CLI Command-line interface and daemon for shell management and system control.
dankinstall Distribution-aware installer for deploying DMS and compositor configurations on Arch, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Gentoo. Supports both an interactive TUI and a headless (unattended) mode via CLI flags.
System Integration
Wayland Protocols (Client)
All Wayland protocols are consumed as a client - connecting to the compositor.
| Protocol | Purpose |
|---|---|
wlr-gamma-control-unstable-v1 |
Night mode color temperature control |
wlr-screencopy-unstable-v1 |
Screen capture for color picker/screenshot |
wlr-layer-shell-unstable-v1 |
Overlay surfaces for color picker UI/screenshot |
wlr-output-management-unstable-v1 |
Display configuration |
wlr-output-power-management-unstable-v1 |
DPMS on/off CLI |
wp-viewporter |
Fractional scaling support (color picker/screenshot UIs) |
keyboard-shortcuts-inhibit-unstable-v1 |
Inhibit compositor shortcuts during color picker/screenshot |
ext-data-control-v1 |
Clipboard history and persistence |
ext-workspace-v1 |
Workspace integration |
dwl-ipc-unstable-v2 |
dwl/MangoWC IPC for tags, outputs, etc. |
DBus Interfaces
Client (consuming external services):
| Interface | Purpose |
|---|---|
org.bluez |
Bluetooth management with pairing agent |
org.freedesktop.NetworkManager |
Network management |
net.connman.iwd |
iwd Wi-Fi backend |
org.freedesktop.network1 |
systemd-networkd integration |
org.freedesktop.login1 |
Session control, sleep inhibitors, brightness |
org.freedesktop.Accounts |
User account information |
org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop |
Desktop appearance settings (color scheme) |
| CUPS via IPP + D-Bus | Printer management with job notifications |
Server (implementing interfaces):
| Interface | Purpose |
|---|---|
org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver |
Screensaver inhibit for video playback |
Custom IPC via unix socket (JSON API) for shell communication.
Hardware Control
| Subsystem | Method | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| DDC/CI | I2C direct | External monitor brightness |
| Backlight | logind or sysfs | Internal display brightness |
| evdev | /dev/input/event* |
Keyboard state (caps lock LED) |
| udev | netlink monitor | Backlight device updates (for OSD) |
Plugin System
- Plugin registry integration
- Plugin lifecycle management
- Settings persistence
CLI Commands
dms run [-d]- Start shell (optionally as daemon)dms restart/dms kill- Manage running processesdms ipc <command>- Send IPC commands (toggle launcher, notifications, etc.)dms plugins [install|browse|search]- Plugin managementdms brightness [list|set]- Control display/monitor brightnessdms color pick- Native color picker (see below)dms update- Update DMS and dependencies (disabled in distro packages)dms greeter install- Install greetd greeter (disabled in distro packages)
Color Picker
Native Wayland color picker with magnifier, no external dependencies. Supports HiDPI and fractional scaling.
dms color pick # Pick color, output hex
dms color pick --rgb # Output as RGB (255 128 64)
dms color pick --hsv # Output as HSV (24 75% 100%)
dms color pick --json # Output all formats as JSON
dms color pick -a # Auto-copy to clipboard
The on-screen preview displays the selected format. JSON output includes hex, RGB, HSL, HSV, and CMYK values.
Building
Requires Go 1.25+
Development build:
make # Build dms CLI
make dankinstall # Build installer
make test # Run tests
Distribution build:
make dist # Build without update/greeter features
Produces bin/dms-linux-amd64 and bin/dms-linux-arm64
Installation:
sudo make install # Install to /usr/local/bin/dms
Development
Setup pre-commit hooks:
git config core.hooksPath .githooks
This runs gofmt, golangci-lint, tests, and builds before each commit when core/ files are staged.
Regenerating Wayland Protocol Bindings:
go install github.com/rajveermalviya/go-wayland/cmd/go-wayland-scanner@latest
go-wayland-scanner -i internal/proto/xml/wlr-gamma-control-unstable-v1.xml \
-pkg wlr_gamma_control -o internal/proto/wlr_gamma_control/gamma_control.go
Module Structure:
cmd/- Binary entrypoints (dms, dankinstall)internal/distros/- Distribution-specific installation logicinternal/proto/- Wayland protocol bindingspkg/- Shared packages
Installation via dankinstall
Interactive (TUI):
curl -fsSL https://install.danklinux.com | sh
Headless (unattended):
Headless mode requires cached sudo credentials. Run sudo -v first:
sudo -v && curl -fsSL https://install.danklinux.com | sh -s -- -c niri -t ghostty -y
sudo -v && curl -fsSL https://install.danklinux.com | sh -s -- -c hyprland -t kitty --include-deps dms-greeter -y
| Flag | Short | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `--compositor <niri | hyprland>` | -c |
| `--term <ghostty | kitty | alacritty>` |
--include-deps <name,...> |
Enable optional dependencies (e.g. dms-greeter) |
|
--exclude-deps <name,...> |
Skip specific dependencies | |
--replace-configs <name,...> |
Replace specific configuration files (mutually exclusive with --replace-configs-all) |
|
--replace-configs-all |
Replace all configuration files (mutually exclusive with --replace-configs) |
|
--yes |
-y |
Required for headless mode — confirms installation without interactive prompts |
Headless mode requires --yes to proceed; without it, the installer exits with an error.
Configuration files are not replaced by default unless --replace-configs or --replace-configs-all is specified.
dms-greeter is disabled by default; use --include-deps dms-greeter to enable it.
When no flags are provided, dankinstall launches the interactive TUI.
Headless mode validation rules
Headless mode activates when --compositor or --term is provided.
- Both
--compositorand--termare required; providing only one results in an error. - Headless-only flags (
--include-deps,--exclude-deps,--replace-configs,--replace-configs-all,--yes) are rejected in TUI mode. - Positional arguments are not accepted.
Log file location
dankinstall writes logs to /tmp by default.
Set the DANKINSTALL_LOG_DIR environment variable to override the log directory.
Supported Distributions
Arch, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Gentoo (and derivatives)
Arch Linux
Uses pacman for system packages, builds AUR packages via makepkg, no AUR helper dependency.
Fedora
Uses COPR repositories (avengemedia/danklinux, avengemedia/dms).
Ubuntu Requires PPA support. Most packages built from source (slow first install).
Debian Debian 13+ (Trixie). niri only, no Hyprland support. Builds from source.
openSUSE Most packages available in standard repos. Minimal building required.
Gentoo Uses Portage with GURU overlay. Automatically configures USE flags. Variable success depending on system configuration.
See installer output for distribution-specific details during installation.