WayVR IPC + Wayvrctl#

You can control WayVR directly via its built-in IPC using wayvrctl. This CLI tool extends WayVR capabilities by enabling bash scripting for various widget behaviors and process management.

See wayvrctl --help for more information.

Available commands#

Batch Processing#

# Reads commands from stdin, one per line
wayvrctl batch --fail-fast

Get position of HMD & controllers#

wayvrctl input-state

Example output: {"hmd_pos":[0.0,1.6,0.0],"left":{"pos":[-0.2,1.3,-0.5]},"right":{"pos":[-0.2,1.3,-0.5]}}

List WayVR windows#

wayvrctl window-list

Example output:

anchor
watch
Dashboard
grab-help
alttab-help
wayvr/app/3:vlc
wayvr/session/36:e20f2343-51d4-4549-9ef8-27fe77a51459/Dolphin#1

Change the visibility of a window on a WayVR display#

wayvrctl window-set-visible <name> <visible_0_or_1>

Example: wayvrctl window-set-visible Dashboard 1

Get/set window state#

Possible values:

alpha: Overlay opacity (0.1 to 1.0)
additive: Use additive blending when alpha < 1.0
grabbable: Whether this overlay reacts to grab action
interactable: Whether laser pointers hit or pass through this overlay
positioning: Overlay positioning: floating, anchored, static, follow_head, follow_hand_left, follow_hand_right
curvature: Screen curvature, 0 is disabled
block_input: Whether hovering this overlay will block inputs to other VR apps
align_to_hmd: Whether the overlay billboards towards the HMD
global: Whether the overlay is shown on all sets (unaffected by set switching)

(The list might be incomplete, run wayvrctl window-state help get for more information)

Example #1: wayvrctl window-state Dashboard get alpha

Example #2: wayvrctl window-state Dashboard set alpha 0.5

Get/set window attrib#

Possible values:

stereo: Stereo mode: none, left_right, right_left, top_bottom, bottom_top
stereo_full_frame: Whether stereo content is rendered in full frame
stereo_adjust_mouse: Whether the mouse position is adjusted for stereo
mouse_transform: Mouse transform: default, normal, rotated90, rotated180, rotated270, flipped, flipped90, flipped180, flipped270
window_size: Window size in pixels, for example: 1920x1080

(The list might be incomplete, run wayvrctl window-attrib help get for more information)

Example #1: wayvrctl window-attrib wayvr/app/3:vlc get window_size

Example output: [1920, 1080]

Example #2: wayvrctl window-attrib wayvr/app/3:vlc set window_size 1280x720

List all processes managed by WayVR#

wayvrctl process-list

Example output: [{"name":"eglgears_wayland","handle":12345,"userdata":{}}]

Get WayVR-managed process info#

wayvrctl process-get <handle>

Example: wayvrctl process-get 4294967298

Example output:

{
	"handle": 4294967298,
	"name": "vlc",
	"userdata": {
		"desktop-entry": "{\"exec_argv\":[\"/usr/bin/vlc\",\"--started-from-file\"],\"app_id\":\"vlc\",\"app_name\":\"VLC media player\",\"icon_path\":\"/usr/share/icons/hicolor/128x128/apps/vlc.png\",\"categories\":[\"AudioVideo\",\"Player\",\"Recorder\"]}"
	}
}

Terminate a WayVR-managed process#

wayvrctl process-terminate <handle>

handle: A process handle (number) returned by process-list, process-get or process-launch

Launch a new process inside WayVR#

Reach out wayvrctl help process-launch for detailed information:

Usage: wayvrctl process-launch [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>...

Arguments:
  <COMMAND>...  Executable and optional arguments

Options:
  -n, --name <NAME>              Name for the overlay [default: ""]
  -e, --env <ENV>                Environment variables, separated by comma [default: ""]
  -r, --resolution <RESOLUTION>  [default: 1920x1080]
  -p, --pos <POS>                Default positioning [default: anchored] [possible values: floating, anchored, static]
  -i, --icon <ICON>              Absolute path to the app icon [default: ""]
  -h, --help                     Print help

Example #2: wayvrctl process-launch dolphin --resolution 512x512 --pos floating

Example output: 4294967299 (returns process handle)

Reach out wayvrctl panel-modify --help for detailed information:

Usage: wayvrctl panel-modify <OVERLAY> <ELEMENT> <COMMAND>

Commands:
  set-text          Set the text of a <label> or <Button>
  set-color         Set the color of a <rectangle> or <label> or monochrome <sprite>
  set-image         Set the content of a <sprite> or <image>. Max size for <sprite> is 256x256
  set-visible       Set the visibility of a <div>, <rectangle>, <label>, <sprite> or <image>
  set-sticky-state  Set the sticky state of a <Button>. Intended for buttons without `sticky="1"`
  help              Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

Arguments:
  <OVERLAY>  The name of the overlay (XML file name without extension)
  <ELEMENT>  The id of the element to modify, as set in the XML

Trigger haptics on the user’s controller#

wayvrctl haptics [OPTIONS] <DEVICE>

Options:
  -i, --intensity <INTENSITY>  [default: 0.25]
  -d, --duration <DURATION>    [default: 0.1]
  -f, --frequency <FREQUENCY>  [default: 0.1]
  -h, --help                   Print help

device: 0 for left, 1 for right controller (default: 0)

Example: wayvrctl haptics --intensity 0.42 --duration 0.5 --frequency 0.1 0

Toggle overlay show/hide state (show/hide your keyboard and displays)#

wayvrctl show-hide

Switch set#

wayvrctl switch-set <set_or_0>

Set number to switch to, 0 to hide all sets

set_or_0: Number to switch to (0 hides all sets)