Hey there! Let's walk through exactly how to implement both server-side and client-side decorations for your Wayland client (using just wayland-client.h) while keeping the work to a minimum, like you asked.

This is the lowest-effort option—let the Wayland compositor (like Gnome Shell, KWin, or Sway) handle drawing window decorations and basic interactions for you. Here's how to do it:

• Bind the xdg-decoration protocol: When enumerating the Wayland registry, look for the xdg-decoration-manager-v1 global interface. Use wl_registry_bind() to get an xdg_decoration_manager_v1 instance—this is the standard Wayland protocol for decorations, supported by nearly all modern compositors.
• Link to your window: For your xdg_toplevel (the core top-level object for Wayland windows), call xdg_decoration_manager_v1_get_toplevel_decoration() with your xdg_toplevel to get an xdg_toplevel_decoration_v1 object.
• Set decoration mode: Call xdg_toplevel_decoration_v1_set_mode() with XDG_TOPLEVEL_DECORATION_V1_MODE_SERVER_SIDE to explicitly tell the compositor you want server-side decorations.
• Handle configuration events: The compositor might send a configure event to confirm the actual mode it's using (some compositors fall back to client-side decorations by default). Respond with xdg_toplevel_decoration_v1_ack_configure() to acknowledge this.
• Process window interaction events: All move, resize, minimize, and close requests will come through your xdg_toplevel's events:
  • Close: When you get the close event, call xdg_toplevel_destroy() or exit your application.
  • Move/resize: Respond to request_move or request_resize events— the compositor handles updating the window's position/size, you just need to adjust your content area when receiving the configure event.
  • Minimize: Call xdg_toplevel_set_minimized() when you get the request_minimize event.

If you want full control over decoration styling, or need to support compositors that don't handle server-side decorations, here are two low-work ways to implement this:

途径1：手动 implement minimal decorations #

No extra libraries needed—use your existing drawing tool (like Cairo or OpenGL) to draw directly on your window surface:

• Reserve decoration space: Set aside a top section (e.g., 30px height) of your main surface for the title bar, leaving the rest for your app content.
• Draw decoration elements: Use your drawing library to render a title bar background, window title text, and simple icons for minimize/close buttons (you can use basic shapes like rectangles and lines instead of complex graphics).
• Handle input interactions:
  • Drag to move: Listen for mouse press events—if the click is in the title bar area, call xdg_toplevel_move() (pass your wl_seat and the event's serial) to start moving the window.
  • Button clicks: Check if a mouse click hits the minimize/close buttons, then call xdg_toplevel_set_minimized() or xdg_toplevel_close() respectively.
  • Resize: Listen for drag events on window edges/corners, then call xdg_toplevel_resize() with the corresponding edge parameter (e.g., XDG_TOPLEVEL_RESIZE_EDGE_TOP_LEFT).
• Sync with window size changes: When you get the configure event from xdg_toplevel, update your decoration and content areas, then redraw the decorations.

途径2：Use lightweight libraries to avoid reinventing the wheel #

If you don't want to write all the interaction logic from scratch, these small, low-dependency libraries can speed things up:

• libdecor: A purpose-built lightweight library for Wayland client decorations. It handles drawing, input interactions, and even supports falling back to server-side decorations if needed. Just bind your xdg_toplevel to libdecor and set up callbacks for button clicks or window state changes—no need to write your own drawing or drag logic.
• Reuse example code snippets: Minimal Wayland clients like weston-terminal have hand-implemented client-side decorations. You can extract their decoration code (usually only a few hundred lines) which includes core logic for title bar drawing, dragging, and button interactions, then adapt it to your project.

• No matter which option you choose, the xdg-shell protocol is your foundation—all window operations revolve around the xdg_toplevel object.
• Server-side decorations give you zero drawing work and system-consistent styling; client-side decorations let you fully customize the look but require handling more interaction details.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Christian Rauch