# Difference Between Hyprland and Sway: Architecture and Feature Comparison

> Discover the key differences between Hyprland and Sway. Explore Hyprland's C++20 stack and Aquamarine backend versus Sway's wlroots library and i3 compatibility to choose your ideal tiling window manager.

- Repository: [Hypr Development/Hyprland](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland)
- Tags: comparison
- Published: 2026-07-29

---

**Hyprland uses a self-contained C++20 stack with its own Aquamarine rendering backend and native plugin support, while Sway relies on the wlroots library to provide an i3-compatible tiling experience written in C.**

The hyprwm/Hyprland repository represents a complete architectural departure from traditional Wayland compositors. While both are tiling window managers for Wayland, Hyprland implements all low-level protocols independently, whereas Sway leverages the community-maintained wlroots library. This divergence impacts rendering performance, customization depth, and system resource requirements.

## Core Rendering Backend: Aquamarine vs wlroots

**Hyprland** operates on its own **Aquamarine** backend—a thin wrapper around DRM/KMS, GBM, and EGL that implements Wayland protocols directly. The compositor class defined in [`src/Compositor.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/Compositor.hpp) owns the `CCompositor` object that drives the entire server lifecycle, handling everything from output management to input processing without external abstraction layers.

**Sway** builds upon **wlroots**, a shared library supplying low-level compositor plumbing including output handling, input management, DRM integration, and XWayland support. Sway functions primarily as a translation layer that converts wlroots events into i3-style tiling logic, inheriting both the capabilities and constraints of the underlying library.

## Language and Codebase Architecture

The projects diverge significantly in implementation languages and memory management:

- **Hyprland**: Written entirely in **C++20**, utilizing modern idioms like `UP<>`, `WP<>`, and `SP<>` smart pointers, extensive templates, and RAII patterns. The entry point in [`src/main.cpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/main.cpp) instantiates `CCompositor` and initializes the display server.

- **Sway**: Written in **C** (C11 standard) with functional programming patterns and minimal C++ usage. This results in manual memory management compared to Hyprland's smart pointer abstraction, typically yielding smaller binary sizes but requiring more careful resource handling.

## Plugin System: Native Extensions vs Fixed Features

**Hyprland** offers a **native, dynamic plugin loader** (`hyprpm`) that allows users to load compiled `.so` files at runtime. Plugins can register new layouts, animations, or modify core window management behavior. The plugin manager implementation in [`src/managers/PluginManager.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/managers/PluginManager.hpp) integrates shared objects into the main event loop without requiring a compositor restart.

**Sway** provides no first-class plugin system. New features must be submitted upstream, merged into wlroots or Sway itself, and distributed through recompilation. Adding custom layouts or window management behaviors requires patching the source code directly and rebuilding the binary.

## Configuration and Reload Behavior

Configuration methodologies reflect each project's design philosophy:

**Hyprland** uses a **Lua-style** configuration file ([`hyprland.conf`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/hyprland.conf)) that supports instant reloading. The `CCompositor::initAllSignals()` function in [`src/Compositor.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/Compositor.hpp) watches the filesystem for changes, applying updates immediately without session interruption. Configuration supports runtime expressions such as `decoration:blur:radius = 5`.

**Sway** employs an **i3-compatible** plain-text configuration (`~/.config/sway/config`). Changes require explicit invocation of `swaymsg reload` or a full session restart to take effect, maintaining parity with X11 i3 behavior.

## Layouts and Window Management

**Hyprland** ships with two built-in layouts—**dwindle** and **master**—implemented in C++. Additional layouts can be loaded dynamically as plugins, as demonstrated in [`example/layouts/spiral.lua`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/example/layouts/spiral.lua).

**Sway** offers a fixed set of layouts (default tiling, tabbed, stacked) implemented in the core. Users cannot add custom layouts without modifying the source code and recompiling the entire compositor.

## Animations and Visual Effects

Visual sophistication differs substantially between the two:

- **Hyprland**: First-class support for **custom Bezier curves**, per-window shadows, background blur, and per-output animations implemented in `src/render/*`. The rendering pipeline in [`src/render/Renderer.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/render/Renderer.hpp) handles shaders and compositor effects natively as part of the core experience.

- **Sway**: Relies on wlroots' generic compositor effects. Advanced visual features require external tools like `wlsunset` or `swayidle`, lacking integrated animation support or advanced blur effects.

## Inter-Process Communication (IPC)

Both compositors use Unix domain sockets for external control, but capabilities vary significantly:

**Hyprland** exposes **socket-based IPC** via `hyprctl`, with the server implementation in [`src/Compositor.cpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/Compositor.cpp) and protocol definitions in [`src/IPC.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/IPC.hpp). The interface supports workspace management, layout control, monitor configuration, and custom events:

```bash

# Switch to workspace 3

hyprctl dispatch workspace 3

# Move focused window to left monitor

hyprctl dispatch movewindow monitor left

# Instant configuration reload

hyprctl reload

```

**Sway** uses `swaymsg` with a protocol defined by wlroots. While functional for basic window management, it exposes only what wlroots permits, limiting access to compositor internals compared to Hyprland's rich command surface.

## Dependencies and System Integration

**Hyprland** maintains minimal external dependencies: **Aquamarine**, **Hyprutils**, and **stdc++**. It does not link against wlroots, bundling all protocol implementations internally. XWayland support is handled by the `XWaylandManager` class in [`src/managers/XWaylandManager.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/managers/XWaylandManager.hpp), operating independently of external libraries.

**Sway** depends heavily on **wlroots**, **wayland**, **libinput**, **xcb**, and **pango**, inheriting the library's release cycle, security updates, and architectural limitations.

## Summary

- **Hyprland** builds its own rendering stack (Aquamarine) in C++20 with no wlroots dependency, offering deep customization through native plugins and real-time configuration reloading via filesystem monitoring.
- **Sway** leverages wlroots for low-level operations, providing a stable, i3-compatible experience in C with conservative resource usage and traditional configuration management.
- Hyprland targets users seeking modern animations, dynamic layouts, and extensibility through the `hyprpm` plugin system.
- Sway targets users prioritizing stability, minimal memory footprint, and direct migration compatibility from the i3 window manager.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does Hyprland use wlroots?

No. According to the hyprwm/Hyprland source code, the compositor implements its own backend called **Aquamarine** that interfaces directly with DRM/KMS, GBM, and EGL. It does not link against or depend on wlroots, unlike Sway which is built entirely on top of the wlroots library.

### Can Sway use Hyprland plugins?

No. Sway lacks a plugin system entirely. While Hyprland allows loading compiled `.so` files at runtime through `hyprpm` (managed in [`src/managers/PluginManager.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/managers/PluginManager.hpp)), Sway requires all features to be compiled into the core binary or provided by external processes communicating over IPC.

### Which is more resource efficient: Hyprland or Sway?

**Sway** typically uses fewer system resources due to its C codebase and reliance on wlroots' optimized utilities. **Hyprland**'s C++20 implementation with extensive animations, blur effects, and shadow rendering in [`src/render/Renderer.hpp`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/src/render/Renderer.hpp) consumes more GPU and CPU cycles, trading efficiency for visual fidelity and runtime customization.

### How do configuration reloads differ between the two?

**Hyprland** monitors [`hyprland.conf`](https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland/blob/main/hyprland.conf) via filesystem signals (`CCompositor::initAllSignals()`) and applies changes instantly without user intervention. **Sway** requires manual execution of `swaymsg reload` or a session restart to apply configuration changes, following traditional i3 window manager behavior.