PanchaKosha - MangoWC NixOS Configuration

A complete NixOS flake configuration for MangoWC (Mango Window Compositor) with Quickshell integration and greetd display manager.

Overview

PanchaKosha provides a modular, aesthetically pleasing Wayland desktop environment built on:

• MangoWC - A dwl-based Wayland compositor with advanced visual effects
• Quickshell - Qt/QML-based shell framework for bars, lockscreen, and greeter
• greetd - Modern display manager with custom Quickshell greeter
• Home Manager - User environment management

Features

Visual Effects

• Blur effects with configurable passes and radius
• Drop shadows for windows and layers
• Smooth animations with customizable curves
• Rounded corners with configurable radius
• Catppuccin and other popular color themes

Components

• Window Manager: MangoWC with scroller and master-stack layouts
• Shell: Quickshell providing bar, overview, and notifications
• Lockscreen: Quickshell-based with blurred wallpaper
• Greeter: greetd with Quickshell UI matching lockscreen appearance

Integration

• XDG portal support for screen sharing and file pickers
• Polkit authentication agent
• Systemd session management
• PAM authentication for greeter

Project Structure

PanchaKosha/
├── flake.nix                      # Main flake entry point
├── nix/
│   ├── nixos-module.nix          # NixOS system module
│   └── hm-module.nix             # Home Manager user module
├── modules/
│   ├── mangowc/                  # MangoWC compositor
│   │   ├── module.nix
│   │   ├── lib/formatters.nix
│   │   └── options/*.nix         # Option definitions
│   ├── greetd/                   # Display manager
│   │   ├── module.nix
│   │   ├── options/
│   │   ├── AGENTS.md
│   │   └── QUICKSTART.md
│   └── quickshell/               # Quickshell configuration
│       ├── module.nix
│       └── config/               # QML files
│           ├── shell.qml
│           ├── settings/
│           ├── components/
│           ├── modules/
│           │   ├── bar/
│           │   ├── lockscreen/
│           │   ├── overview/
│           │   └── greeter/
│           ├── services/
│           └── assets/
└── .documentation/
    ├── ENABLE_GREETD.md          # GreetD setup guide
    └── DEPENDENCIES.md           # Complete dependency list

Quick Start

For detailed installation instructions, see INSTALLATION.md.

1. Add as Flake Input

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    
    panchakosha = {
      url = "github:yourusername/PanchaKosha";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, panchakosha }: {
    nixosConfigurations.my-hostname = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      system = "x86_64-linux";
      modules = [
        panchakosha.nixosModules.default
        ./configuration.nix
      ];
    };
  };
}

2. Enable MangoWC

{ pkgs, ... }: {
  # Enable MangoWC compositor
  programs.mangowc.enable = true;
  
  # Enable greetd with Quickshell greeter
  services.greetd.mangowc = {
    enable = true;
    quickshellGreeter.enable = true;
    appearance.theme = "CatppuccinMocha";
    appearance.wallpaper = "/path/to/wallpaper.jpg";
  };
  
  # Enable Quickshell
  programs.quickshell.mangowc.enable = true;
}

3. Build and Switch

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#my-hostname

Configuration Options

NixOS Module Options

MangoWC

programs.mangowc = {
  enable = true;                    # Enable MangoWC
  package = pkgs.mangowc;           # Custom package (optional)
};

GreetD

services.greetd.mangowc = {
  enable = true;                    # Enable greetd
  quickshellGreeter.enable = true;  # Use Quickshell greeter
  
  appearance = {
    theme = "CatppuccinMocha";      # Theme name
    wallpaper = "/path/to/wall.jpg";
    blurRadius = 10.0;              # Blur strength
    dimming = 0.3;                  # Background dimming
    showSplashOnGreeter = true;     # Show welcome message
    splashText = "Welcome";
  };
  
  session = {
    rememberLastSession = true;     # Remember last DE
    numlockOnStartup = true;        # Enable numlock
  };
};

Quickshell

programs.quickshell.mangowc = {
  enable = true;                    # Enable Quickshell
  autoStart = true;                 # Auto-start on session
};

Home Manager Module Options

wayland.windowManager.mangowc = {
  enable = true;
  
  # Environment variables
  environment = {
    XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP = "wlroots";
    QT_QPA_PLATFORM = "wayland";
    # ... more variables
  };
  
  # Startup commands
  # Note: quickshell is auto-started by default and handles wallpapers
  execOnce = [
    "dunst"              # Notification daemon
    "nm-applet --indicator"  # Network manager (runs in background)
  ];
  
  # Monitor configuration
  monitors = {
    "DP-1" = {
      width = 1920;
      height = 1080;
      refreshRate = 60;
      scale = 1;
      position.x = 0;
      position.y = 0;
    };
  };
  
  # Keybindings
  bindings = [
    {
      mods = ["SUPER"];
      key = "Return";
      command = "spawn";
      params = "foot";
    }
  ];
};

Available Themes

The Quickshell configuration supports these themes:

• Catppuccin: Latte, Frappé, Macchiato, Mocha
• Gruvbox: Dark
• Nord
• Monokai Pro: Classic, Machine, Octagon, Ristretto, Spectrum, Light

Testing

Evaluate Configuration

# Check NixOS configuration
nix eval .#nixosConfigurations.my-hostname.config.programs.mangowc.enable

# Check Home Manager configuration
nix eval .#homeConfigurations.user@hostname.config.wayland.windowManager.mangowc.enable

Build Without Installing

# Build NixOS configuration
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.my-hostname.config.system.build.toplevel

# Build Home Manager configuration
nix build .#homeConfigurations.user@hostname.activationPackage

Run Tests

nix flake check

Development

Enter Development Shell

nix develop

This provides:

• Nix language server (nil)
• Code formatters (nixfmt-classic, alejandra)
• NixOS test driver
• Qt6 development libraries

Format Nix Files

nix fmt

Run NixOS Tests

nix run .#checks.x86_64-linux.default

Documentation

• INSTALLATION.md - Complete installation and setup guide
• ENABLE_GREETD.md - GreetD configuration guide
• DEPENDENCIES.md - Dependency reference
• COMPLETION_SUMMARY.md - Project summary
• modules/greetd/AGENTS.md - GreetD module reference
• modules/greetd/QUICKSTART.md - GreetD quick start guide
• modules/mangowc/AGENTS.md - MangoWC module reference

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Greeter doesn't appear

# Check greetd status
systemctl status greetd

# View logs
journalctl -u greetd -f

Quickshell shows errors

# Check quickshell installation
nix-store -q --references $(which quickshell)

# View logs
journalctl --user -u quickshell

MangoWC fails to start

# Check configuration
nix-instantiate --parse nix/hm-module.nix

# View logs
journalctl --user -u mangowc-session.target

Recovery

If you can't log in:

1. Switch to another TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F2)
2. Stop greetd: sudo systemctl stop greetd
3. Enable alternative display manager:

   services.xserver.displayManager.lightdm.enable = true;

4. Rebuild: sudo nixos-rebuild switch

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run nix fmt and nix flake check
5. Submit a pull request

License

See the LICENSE file in the Quickshell configuration directory.

Acknowledgments

• MangoWC - Base compositor
• Quickshell - Shell framework
• greetd - Display manager
• NixOS - Linux distribution
• Home Manager - User environment

Support

For issues and questions:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Check existing documentation
• Consult NixOS and MangoWC wikis