Compare software

SwayFX vs Cagebreak: catalog facts
SwayFX	Cagebreak
Best for: Sway users who want visual effects on a tiling Wayland desktop	Best for: Ratpoison fans who want a keyboard-only tiling compositor on Wayland
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Linux
Keeps Sway's tiling behaviour and configuration Adds blur, rounded corners and shadows All 3 strengths for SwayFX Keeps Sway's tiling behaviour and configuration Adds blur, rounded corners and shadows Packaging help for Debian and Nix	Fully keyboard-driven tiling on Wayland Signed releases with documented hashes All 3 strengths for Cagebreak Fully keyboard-driven tiling on Wayland Signed releases with documented hashes Man pages and example configurations included
Linux and Wayland only Effects add overhead compared with plain Sway All 3 limitations for SwayFX Linux and Wayland only Effects add overhead compared with plain Sway Tracks upstream Sway, so features may lag behind it	Minimal by design, with no decorations or visual extras Smaller user base than sway or Hyprland
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for SwayFX github.com/wlrfx/swayfx Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Cagebreak github.com/project-repo/cagebreak Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.