Architecture

SomeWM uses a three-layer architecture inherited from AwesomeWM. Understanding this separation helps you know where to make changes and what's possible.

The Three Layers

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│         User Configuration          │  ~/.config/somewm/rc.lua
│         (Customization)             │  ~/.config/somewm/theme.lua
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│         Lua Libraries               │  awful.*, gears.*, wibox.*
│         (Default Behavior)          │  naughty, beautiful, ruled
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│         C Core                      │  Compositor, wlroots bindings
│         (Primitives)                │  Wayland protocols
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

C Core (Primitives)

The C core is the compositor itself. It handles:

• Wayland protocols - communicating with applications
• wlroots integration - rendering, input, output management
• Core objects - clients, screens, tags, drawins (raw wibox)
• Input handling - keyboard and pointer event routing
• Lua bindings - exposing objects and functions to Lua

You don't modify the C core. It provides primitives that the Lua layers build upon.

What C provides to Lua:

• client - window objects with properties like name, floating, geometry
• screen - display objects with geometry, workarea, tags
• tag - workspace objects
• awesome - global functions like restart(), quit(), emit_signal()
• root - root window functions for global keybindings

Lua Libraries (Default Behavior)

The Lua libraries provide sensible defaults and convenience functions. These are copied from AwesomeWM and live in SomeWM's installation directory.

Library	Purpose
awful.*	Window management, keybindings, layouts, spawning
gears.*	Utilities: timers, shapes, filesystem, tables
wibox.*	Widget system: primitives, containers, layouts
beautiful	Theming system
naughty	Notifications
ruled	Rules for clients and notifications

Don't modify these files directly. They're part of the SomeWM installation and will be overwritten on updates. Instead, override their behavior from your config.

User Configuration

Your configuration lives in ~/.config/somewm/ and consists of:

• rc.lua - Main configuration: keybindings, tags, rules, layout
• theme.lua - Colors, fonts, spacing, widget appearances

Your config uses the Lua libraries to customize behavior:

-- rc.lua uses awful.key from the Lua libraries
awful.keyboard.append_global_keybindings({
    awful.key({ "Mod4" }, "Return", function()
        awful.spawn("alacritty")
    end),
})

How Layers Communicate

The layers talk to each other through three mechanisms:

Signals

Signals are events that flow from C to Lua (or between Lua objects). When something happens, a signal fires and your callbacks run.

-- C emits "manage" when a new window appears
client.connect_signal("manage", function(c)
    -- Your Lua code reacts
    c.border_width = 2
end)

-- Objects emit property change signals
client.connect_signal("property::floating", function(c)
    if c.floating then
        c.ontop = true
    end
end)

Common signal patterns:

• object.connect_signal("name", callback) - subscribe to events
• object.emit_signal("name", ...) - send custom signals
• property::X signals fire when property X changes

Properties

Properties are readable/writable attributes on objects. Setting a property from Lua tells C to make a change.

-- Read a property
local name = c.name
local is_floating = c.floating

-- Write a property (C applies the change)
c.floating = true
c.maximized = false
c.geometry = { x = 100, y = 100, width = 800, height = 600 }

Properties are the main way to control objects. When you write c.floating = true, Lua tells the C core to update the window state.

Methods

Methods are functions you call on objects to perform actions.

-- Client methods
c:kill()                    -- Close the window
c:move_to_tag(tag)          -- Move to a tag
c:move_to_screen(s)         -- Move to a screen
c:raise()                   -- Bring to front

-- Tag methods
t:view_only()               -- Show only this tag
t:clients()                 -- Get clients on this tag

Startup Order

When SomeWM starts, things happen in this order:

1. C core initializes - compositor starts, wlroots sets up displays
2. Lua VM starts - embedded Lua interpreter begins
3. Built-in libraries load - awful, gears, wibox become available
4. rc.lua executes - your configuration runs top-to-bottom
5. beautiful.init() - theme loads (should be early in rc.lua)
6. Screen signals fire - request::desktop_decoration for each screen
7. Existing windows appear - manage signal for any pre-existing clients
8. Event loop starts - compositor is now running

Your rc.lua runs once at startup (and again if you reload config). Code at the top level executes immediately; signal callbacks run later when events occur.

-- This runs immediately at startup
print("Config loading...")

-- This runs later, for each screen
screen.connect_signal("request::desktop_decoration", function(s)
    -- Create wibar, tags, etc.
end)

-- This runs later, when windows appear
client.connect_signal("manage", function(c)
    -- Configure new windows
end)

Where Things Live

When you want to change something, here's where to look:

Want to change...	Look in...	Using...
Keybindings	rc.lua	awful.keyboard.append_global_keybindings
Colors and fonts	theme.lua	beautiful variables
Layouts	rc.lua	awful.layout.layouts table
Window rules	rc.lua	ruled.client.append_rule
Tags (workspaces)	rc.lua	awful.tag()
Wibar (panel)	rc.lua	awful.wibar{} inside screen signal
Notifications	rc.lua	naughty.config / ruled.notification
Input settings	rc.lua	awful.input properties

Example: Tracing a Keybind

Here's how a keypress flows through the layers:

1. C Core - wlroots receives keyboard event from Wayland
2. C Core - Event matches a registered keybinding
3. Lua callback - Your awful.key callback function runs
4. Lua libraries - awful.spawn() forks a process
5. C Core - New window appears via Wayland
6. Lua callback - manage signal fires, you apply rules

-- You define this in rc.lua (User Configuration layer)
awful.key({ "Mod4" }, "Return", function()
    -- This uses awful.spawn (Lua Libraries layer)
    awful.spawn("alacritty")
    -- C Core handles the actual process spawning
end)

See Also

• The Object Model - Understanding screens, tags, clients, widgets
• AwesomeWM Compatibility - How SomeWM maintains compatibility
• Basics - Put these concepts into practice