X.Org Server is the X11 display server: it coordinates how X11 applications use the display and input devices. Linux desktops still use X.Org code in two different ways: some run a full Xorg session, while Wayland sessions can run Xwayland to support applications that speak X11. Xwayland is a compatibility layer, not the main display server in a Wayland session.
What does X.Org Server do?
X.Org Server is the server-side implementation of the X11 window system. X11 applications—called clients—send it requests and receive events. The server coordinates their shared access to display and input hardware such as the graphics adapter, monitors, keyboard and pointer. As the X.Org developer guide explains, the X server is the controller process that provides hardware services to client applications.
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Despite its name, X.Org Server is not a desktop environment, window manager, application toolkit or graphics driver. Those components can work with it, but each has a different role. In a traditional Xorg session, the X.Org Server is the central X11 server; the window manager and desktop components handle other parts of the experience.
How Xorg and Wayland differ
X11 and Wayland describe different display-system architectures. In a native Xorg session, X.Org Server provides the X11 server. In a Wayland session, the Wayland compositor is the native display server. Compositors also commonly handle window management and other desktop behavior, and there are multiple compositor implementations rather than one universal Wayland server program corresponding to Xorg.
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| Question | Native Xorg session | Wayland session with Xwayland |
|---|---|---|
| Main display server | X.Org Server | The Wayland compositor |
| How an X11 app connects | Directly to the X server | To Xwayland, which presents an X11 server interface and acts as a Wayland client |
| Who manages windows | The session’s X11 window manager and desktop components | The Wayland compositor, using its X11 window-management bridge for Xwayland windows |
| How display and input are handled | Through the applicable Xorg display and input stack | Xwayland uses Wayland for input and output; its documentation says Xorg’s xf86-video and xf86-input modules are not used |
| Compatibility | Native X11 server behavior | Supports X11 applications, but does not reproduce every native X server feature |
| Client isolation | X11 clients sharing a server can communicate through it | X11 clients sharing one Xwayland instance can communicate with one another; the compositor can create separate instances, but this is not automatic |
The architecture details are described in the Wayland architecture documentation, the Xwayland documentation and its security considerations.
What Xwayland does in a Wayland session
Xwayland is an X11 server built from the X.Org server source repository. A Wayland compositor usually starts it. An X11 application connects to Xwayland as it would to an X server; Xwayland then acts as a Wayland client and passes the application’s content to the compositor. Native Wayland apps connect to the compositor directly, so both kinds of apps can appear in the same desktop.
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In rootless mode, X11 application windows can appear as individual windows alongside native Wayland windows, rather than being confined to one large X11 window. The compositor’s X11 window-management component handles those windows. This integration is useful, but it is not identical to a full Xorg session: X11 desktop components such as independent X11 window managers generally cannot take over the window-manager role from the Wayland compositor.
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Why Linux desktops still use X.Org code
Some sessions use X.Org Server as their main server
A desktop can run a native Xorg session, in which X.Org Server provides the X11 display-server role. Whether a particular Linux distribution currently offers or supports such a session depends on that distribution. Upstream release information alone does not establish a distribution’s desktop options or support policy.
Wayland sessions use Xwayland for X11 compatibility
A Wayland desktop can still need X.Org code when users run X11 applications. Xwayland lets those applications use an X11 interface while the compositor remains in charge of the Wayland session. The Wayland project FAQ describes this as a compatibility path: native Wayland and X11 applications can run side by side.
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That does not mean every X11 application is obsolete, nor does it establish a fixed date when Xorg sessions will disappear. It explains why X.Org code can still be present even when the desktop is Wayland-native.
Is X.Org Server still maintained?
The X.Org release directory lists Xorg Server 21.1.23 and Xwayland 24.1.12, with release files dated 2026-06-02. These entries establish that upstream releases were published on that date; they do not specify a security-support guarantee, future release cadence, or how long a distribution will maintain either option.
X.Org’s stable-branch documentation describes a process for accepting and releasing fixes, with maintainers setting schedules and selecting patches. It is a description of the process, not a current support commitment for a particular distribution or release.
Does an application developer need to target X11 directly?
Usually not. X.Org’s developer documentation recommends using toolkits such as GTK or Qt for application development rather than building directly on X11. XCB is a lower-level protocol binding; Xlib remains widely used, but the guide does not recommend it for new development. Choosing a toolkit avoids tying ordinary application UI code directly to the X server’s protocol.
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