Otto User Guide
Otto is a Wayland compositor and desktop system with a Skia-rendered, animation-first interface. This guide covers everything you can do with it as a user: what the desktop is made of, how to drive it, and how to configure it.
Where to start
If you are installing Otto for the first time, start with Getting Started, then take the Desktop Tour. Once it runs, Recommended Settings is a config worth stealing from.
Using the desktop
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Installing, launching, backends, first-run checklist |
| Desktop Tour | Every element on screen and what it does |
| Window Management | Move, resize, maximize, minimize, tile, fullscreen, placement |
| Workspaces | Multiple workspaces, per-monitor workspaces, moving windows |
| Exposé & App Switcher | Overview of all windows, switching between apps |
| Dock | Running apps, minimized windows, bookmarks, autohide, magnification |
| Top Bar | Clock, system tray, global application menus |
| Dynamic Island | Notifications, live activities, permission dialogs |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Binding syntax and the complete action list |
| Touchpad Gestures | Three-finger swipes, four-finger pinch |
Applications
Otto ships a few applications of its own, built with otto-kit. All are early
versions: useful day to day, still filling in.
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Files | Browsing, thumbnails, file operations, quick view, the file picker |
| Settings | Editing the configuration live, display arrangement, shortcuts |
| Launcher | Starting applications and switching windows from the keyboard |
Configuring Otto
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Configuration | Where config files live and how they merge |
| Recommended Settings | The config Otto’s author runs — a Mac-like keyboard and the rest |
| Display | Scaling, monitor arrangement, modes, virtual outputs, panels |
| Theming | Light/dark, accent color, fonts, wallpaper, cursors, icons |
| Customization | What the appearance settings do, shown on six configurations |
| Input | Keyboard layout and repeat, touchpad, pointer acceleration |
| Audio | UI sound effects and sound themes |
| Power Management | Lid close, power button, suspend, clamshell |
| Night Shift | Color temperature and brightness |
| Autostart | exec_once, XDG autostart, systemd integration |
| Clipboard | Clipboard persistence and history managers |
| Desktop Widgets | Running layer-shell widgets and dashboards on the desktop |
Sessions and remote access
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Lock Screen | Locking, idle auto-lock, fingerprint unlock, PAM setup |
| Login Greeter | Using Otto as the login screen with greetd |
| Screen Sharing | Portal setup, browsers, OBS, AirPlay, screenshots |
| Accessibility | Screen readers and keyboard-only use: setup, what is announced, driving Otto’s applications from the keyboard |
| Remote Desktop | otto-rdp, virtual outputs, connecting from RDP clients |
Getting help
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Troubleshooting | Logs, common failures, and how to report a bug |
Questions and feedback are welcome on Discord or in the Matrix room
#otto-compositor:matrix.org.