MPV v0.42.0 has released

https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/releases#release-v0.42.0

We are excited to announce the release of mpv 0.42.0.

Key highlights:

libcurl based network backend with HTTP/2, HTTP/3 and connection reuse

DVD-Video, Blu-ray HDMV and BD-J menu navigation

DVD-Audio playback

Direct playback of .iso images of DVD-Video, DVD-Audio and Blu-ray discs

Dolby Vision Profile 7 enhancement layer support in gpu-next

MPEG-TS programs and HLS variants are exposed as editions

DSD-over-PCM (DoP) passthrough with --audio-spdif=dsd

Support for SRV3 (YouTube) subtitles via subrandr library

Context menu populated from the new menu.conf, bound to right click

floating OSC layout with Fluent icons (--script-opts=osc-layout=floating)

API that allows integration between the OSC and (third-party) thumbnailer scripts

Wayland session management

Wayland color management through the protocol instead of the Vulkan API

scRGB output with --target-trc=scrgb

Improved HDR colorspace signalling on DRM (Linux)

If you have been experiencing perf problems on amd gpus just know that kernel 7.3 is causing some of those issues.

For me i was having some bad frame timing in deadlock where it felt like the game was being halted by something in the frametiming, no scheduler change fixed this problem.

This issue is happening on my rdna2 gpu and changing power profiles did nothing aswell.

LTS kernel has no problems :)

🐚 Shelly-ALPM v3.2.0 — The Bug Bash

Shelly is a modern package manager for Arch Linux designed to be a more user-friendly alternative. Offering a visual interface with a focus on user experience and ease of use. Shelly supports native package operations through libalpm or Shelly.Rlpm, with libalpm selected by default. It is a complete reimagination of how a user interacts with their Arch Linux system, providing a more intuitive experience.

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/releases/tag/v3.2.0

Shelly v3.2.0 is a bug bash: a round of fixes for the things that get between you and your packages. Since v3.1.10, we’ve tackled Flatpak failures, stubborn tray icons, missed restart detection, AUR build errors, and package information that wasn’t telling the whole story.

A few quality-of-life improvements came along too, including multi-package downgrades, AppImage update discovery, and a choice of terminal for updates.

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🐛 Flatpak and permissions, untangled

Fixed the Flatpak regression affecting Arch Linux after v3.1.10. Elevated operations now hand work back to the invoking user with setpriv, preserving the login session context needed for Flatpak’s system-helper authentication.

User-cache handling also gets a cleanup. Shelly writes the invoking user’s cache using that user’s credentials, including when launched through supported privilege-elevation tools, and preserves absolute XDG_CACHE_HOME overrides.

Existing ownership problems can be repaired from your regular user session with:

shelly utility --fix-permissions

This repairs Shelly’s directories; it does not change ownership of the parent ~/.cache directory.

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🔔 A tray icon that keeps up

🔄 Stale update status: The notification service now watches package database changes and refreshes its status after package operations. (#2151)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2151

🔌 Endless reconnect loops: When DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS is missing, Shelly falls back to $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/bus. If neither provides a usable address, it reports the problem instead of retrying forever. (#2137)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2137

🖥 Your terminal, your updates: Choose the terminal used to launch updates from the notification service. (#2148)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2148

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🔄 Restart detection, actually detecting

Post-upgrade restart and reboot checks were reading some /proc files as empty because those files report a size of zero. Shelly now reads their contents correctly, restoring the information those checks depend on.

The scan also stops treating a deleted /etc/ld.so.cache mapping as a stale shared library, avoiding misleading restart recommendations after ldconfig runs. (#2149)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2149

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🧱 AUR builds with fewer surprises

🧩 Computed architecture lists: Fix InvalidArchitectureDirective failures when a PKGBUILD derives arch from an associative array. Unresolved values are validated after evaluation. (#2144)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2144

🌿 Git source races: Finish cached Git mirror maintenance before cloning build sources, preventing the two operations from racing. (#2123)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2123

📝 Useful metadata errors: Package-assembly failures now name the rejected metadata field, making broken recipes easier to diagnose. (#2113)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2113

⚙️ Clearer build configuration: Expanded shellybuild.conf documentation explains configuration precedence, compiler flags, and portable versus host-specific settings.

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📦 Package information you can trust

Installed package versions now take priority in the UI and CLI search results, rather than being replaced by the repository version. RLPM also correctly reports installation status and dates. (#2044, #2143)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2044
https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2143

Upgrade previews now include repository package replacements, making it clearer what will change before you confirm. (#2119)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2119

Behind the scenes, unnecessary RLPM database snapshot hashing has been removed, reducing repeated database work.

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🧹 Cleaning up the cleanup

purify now recognises leftover pacman download-XXXXXX directories, including those containing partial downloads, and includes them in its cleanup plan. (#2150)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2150

Removing a stale database lock from the desktop app also runs asynchronously, keeping the interface responsive while authentication completes. (#2142)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2142

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🖼 AppImages, better connected

AppImage desktop integration now uses the application’s shipped desktop-file identity and removes superseded launcher entries during updates, addressing naming mismatches and duplicate menu entries. (#2134)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2134

Update support gains embedded update-information discovery and .zsync control-file support. GitHub asset matching honours embedded filename patterns, and release selection receives additional fixes. (#2146, #2147)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2146
https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2147

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✨ A few extras between the fixes

⏪ Downgrade packages together: Select older versions of multiple installed packages and install them in one transaction. --target remains a single-package option. (#2132)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2132

🎨 Readable console output: The desktop transaction view gains ANSI colour and formatting support. (#2138)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2138

📥 Download speeds: CLI progress lines now show transfer speed. (#2139)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Shelly-ALPM/pull/2139

✅ Recommended apps in batches: Select multiple applications from the Recommended page for installation.

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🌍 Translations and thanks

🇻🇳 Added Vietnamese translations for the desktop UI and notifications.
🇦🇩 Updated the Catalan translation.

❤️ Thank you to everyone who reported a bug, supplied a reproduction, tested a fix, or contributed a patch. This bash was built around those reports.

Mesa Merges A Common Vulkan Layer For Working Around Cross-Driver Game Bugs

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Mesa-Common-Layer-Game-Bugs

Written by Michael Larabel

Merged to Mesa 27.0-devel is a new common Vulkan layer within Mesa's Vulkan Runtime for being able to carry common game/engine/app workarounds that affect multiple drivers.

The Radeon RADV and NVIDIA NVK Vulkan drivers both rely on a Vulkan layer to workaround some app bugs directly from Vulkan entrypoints. Now there is a common solution in the Mesa Vulkan Runtime for being able to handle this by drivers opting into it and where the issues aren't driver-specific.

This new infrastructure was also used for introducing a new workaround for the Metro Exodus game. The Metro Exodus workaround is due to the game sometimes passing NULL to pWaitSemaphores, which is invalid per the Vulkan API specification. This workaround in the common layer is now addressing that illegal behavior so the Mesa Vulkan drivers cope fine. The bug was reported back in 2023.

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/work_items/10018

NVK and RADV are the initial users of this common layer while with time other Mesa Vulkan drivers can join.Those interested in this work by Valve's Samuel Pitoiset can learn more via this merge.

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/merge_requests/45747

GOG Galaxy is officially coming to Linux in 2027!

https://youtu.be/LcjptSS0-e4

"We know this has been a long time coming, but we wanted to do it properly: GOG GALAXY is officially heading to Linux. At the same time, we’ve reworked the client on Windows and Mac to be simpler, run faster, and give you cleaner ways to view your library. Most importantly, our core promise stays untouched: GOG GALAXY is entirely optional. Your games are yours to download and keep through offline installers, exactly as they’ve always been."

Steam Client Beta - November 5th

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4397053/view/713417405767876796

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

General

Fixed an issue where the friends list could get stuck when failing to login at launch and required toggling offline to load the friends list

Fixed a regression that caused the patch notes preview to show the previous patch notes instead of the current ones.

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Big Picture Mode

Added Timezone selection entries for locations with changes to daylight savings time, e.g. British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba.

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Linux

Fixed a crash when creating a lobby in games that use the ISteamNetworking interface, e.g. Sons of the Forest

If Im not replying quickly or posting Linux news it's because I'm sick AGAIN.

Have fun everyone and keep promoting Linux :)

QUESTION TIME.

What are some stories about convincing people to switch over to Linux. Was it a family member? Friend? Someone online? I'd like to know :>

COSMIC Constellations. wallpaper, color theme, icon pack, font bundles coming soon.

https://bsky.app/profile/carlrichell.bsky.social/post/3mzofj52pak2l

Carl Richell the CEO of system76: COSMIC Theme Constellations coming soon. They're bundled themes with wallpaper, colors, icons, and fonts all in one.

CachyOS developers continuing development on supporting EAC V2 anticheat with the signing keys and signed systemd boot being included recently.

https://github.com/CachyOS/CachyOS-PKGBUILDS/pull/2092

I wonder if limine bootloader will be supported and of course GRUB, will have to wait and see as more development continues.

🌊 Aqueous v1.0.19 — HDR Color, Live Slides, and Smarter Windows

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Aqueous/releases/tag/v1.0.19

A visually expressive Wayland compositor that keeps the fast path fast.

Aqueous combines a native tiling window manager, fluid compositor-side motion, and Aqueous-owned Vulkan effects in one Zig process. It is designed for desktops that want rounded windows, backdrop blur, focus-aware opacity, animated placement, and sliding workspaces—without turning routine window management into a chain of scripts, subprocesses, or IPC round trips.

Aqueous began as a fork of River. Its River-derived foundation and retained protocol work are documented as project provenance. Today, Aqueous owns its window-management policy, layouts, rules, input, workspaces, and output configuration in-process and configures them through its own TOML format.

Aqueous v1.0.19 is a color and motion release. HDR capture and Windows scRGB content arrive alongside a new 600-nit HDR preset, workspace and scrolling slides now move live client content, and window rules gain Once and Startup matching. Scrolling columns learn new placement options, output selection follows the pointer, and a batch of drag, focus, transition, and overflow fixes tightens the edges.

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🌈 HDR and color management

🌕 600-nit HDR preset — hdr_level = "600" joins 100, 400, and 1000. Automatic selection now chooses 100 up to 250 nits, 400 up to 500, 600 up to 800, and 1000 above that.

🎥 HDR capture metadata — capture protocol aqueous_capture-color-v1 is now version 2. Sessions advertise per-format encoding, and the portal publishes PipeWire transferFunction and colorPrimaries for every offered format: SMPTE 2084/BT.2020 for native PQ, gamma 2.2/BT.709 for SDR and converted 8-bit output.

🖼 8-bit destinations from PQ outputs — PQ output frames copied to 8-bit SHM or DMA-BUF destinations are decoded to SDR with BT.2020 mapped to sRGB. Native and 10-bit destinations keep their source encoding.

🪟 Windows scRGB snapshots — snapshot buffers now carry the fixed Windows-scRGB mapping (1.0 = 80 cd/m²), so live slides and other snapshot-based transitions match their source regardless of the SDR-white setting. This uses private wlroots patch 0043.

🔬 Extended target volume — Aqueous advertises extended_target_volume on its scRGB-capable Vulkan path, letting Mesa's Wayland WSI enumerate VK_COLOR_SPACE_EXTENDED_SRGB_LINEAR_EXT for Proton and Wine HDR. It does not change the fixed 80-nit predefined mapping. (#130)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Aqueous/pull/130

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🎞 Live workspace and scrolling slides

Workspace and scrolling slides now display live client content while input geometry stays at its settled destination. (#133)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Aqueous/pull/133

🎬 Live content in motion — preview callbacks, presentation, and captured explicit-sync lifetimes come from private wlroots patch 0045, with callback-paced content through transitions and reversals.

🧯 One-frame flash fixed — outgoing workspace trees are now disabled before the transition clears prev_workspace, so finalizing a swap on one output can no longer flash the previous workspace on a neighboring output. (#106)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Aqueous/issues/106

🧪 More stress coverage — added probes for buffer retention and Xwayland resize churn alongside the live-slide harness.


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🧩 Window rules

⏱️ Matching timing — new matching field with always, once, and startup modes (plus aliases). A once rule stays bound to the first window that claims it across title, tag, and content-type changes and survives hot reloads until its matcher is edited; startup applies during the first 10 seconds after compositor startup.

🛠 Settings rule editor — Pearl exposes Matching timing as a first-class rule field with native edit, save, and reopen coverage.

🪟 Portal picker stays floating — the portal picker is now forced floating so it cannot be tiled. (#129)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Aqueous/pull/129

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🖱 Focus, drag, and window switcher

🖱 Pointer selects the output — physical pointer motion makes the output under the cursor the target for output, workspace, and window actions without enabling focus-follows-mouse. Hovering an empty output no longer steals keyboard focus.

↔️ Corner-aware resize — floating resize drags hit-test the pointer quadrant so the corner opposite the pointer stays anchored.

⌨️ Switcher commits on release — releasing the initiating modifier finishes the window switcher immediately. Shift is ignored so a reverse-cycle chord can release Shift without ending the presentation.

🍷 Wine/Wayland input fix — Xwayland focus and grab resync paths now skip redundant text-input focus calls when the target surface is already focused, avoiding an assertion that interrupted Wine sessions.


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🧭 Layout and scrolling

📐 New window placement — new_window_position supports append, right, left, above, and below. The deprecated open_new_windows_to_right boolean still works and maps true to right and false to append; if both keys appear, the later one wins.

👀 Vertical arrivals stay visible — above and below arrivals pan within their column.

🔲 Themeable snap zones — snap-zone preview colors now derive from the configured window border colors.

🧮 Overflow floor fixed — dwindle and reverse-dwindle minimum content size is now max(client minimum, 320 x 200) logical pixels instead of scaling with output size, so larger displays fit more tiles instead of stretching a fixed handful.


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🧰 Configuration and packaging

📄 Seeded templates — input.toml and layout.toml are packaged as inert, fully commented templates and copied to ~/.config/aqueous on first login only when missing. The layout seed is skipped when $AQUEOUS_LAYOUT or an active [layout].path is set.

💾 Backups — both templates are included in package backup lists, and Gentoo installation seeds them too.

📏 Top strut default — the shipped wm.toml no longer adds a 32 px top strut on top of layer-shell exclusive zones.

⚠️ Read-only default warning — Settings now warns when edits resolve to system defaults that the helper must refuse to write.

🌕 HDR 600 in configuration — outputs.toml, display schemas, and the display preview include the 600-nit option.

🧪 Build and test updates

🧱 LLVM test steps — the GpuPin and ToplevelIcon test steps now receive -Dllvm. (#115)👇

https://github.com/Seafoam-Labs/Aqueous/pull/115

🧪 New headless coverage — live-slide transitions, scRGB snapshots, Proton HDR color management, workspace transition finalization, and snapshot color checks.

🩹 Assertion fixes — cleaned up extra assertions in the test suite.

🧷 Private wlroots patches — the build hook and Nix packaging pin patches 0043, 0044, and 0045; rebuild the patched wlroots dependency before testing HDR or live slides.

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🚀 Upgrade notes

open_new_windows_to_right is deprecated. Use new_window_position; true maps to right and false maps to append, so existing configurations keep working.

The first login seeds input.toml and layout.toml only when they are absent. Existing files are left alone, and the layout template is not seeded when an explicit sidecar is configured.

HDR 600 is opt-in through hdr_level = "600". Automatic selection chooses it for panels whose peak falls between 501 and 800 nits.

Capture clients should request frame information before capture. The portal handles the new session description, but 8-bit captures from PQ outputs will be delivered as SDR.

❤️ Thanks

❤️ Thanks to Kode54 for the scRGB fix and test tooling, and to everyone who tested HDR capture, live slides, and the new rule timing.