Window decorations missing with Snap build on KDE

[deas]

Issue Description

Using the 1.1.3 snap on kubuntu 25.04 and Plasma 6, I do not get any window decorations - no matter what value I use for window-decoration. This is not the case when I build ghostty from source using zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast. I have observed this for a while and it was already like that with kubuntu 24.04.

The following self built binary works and shows window decoration as expected.

❯ ./zig-out/bin/ghostty --version
Ghostty 1.1.3

Version
  - version: 1.1.3
  - channel: stable
Build Config
  - Zig version: 0.13.0
  - build mode : builtin.OptimizeMode.ReleaseFast
  - app runtime: apprt.Runtime.gtk
  - font engine: font.main.Backend.fontconfig_freetype
  - renderer   : renderer.OpenGL
  - libxev     : main.Backend.io_uring
  - desktop env: other
  - GTK version:
    build      : 4.16.7
    runtime    : 4.16.7
  - libadwaita : enabled
    build      : 1.6.2
    runtime    : 1.6.2
  - libX11     : enabled
  - libwayland : enabled

This snap store binary does not display window decoration.

❯ /snap/bin/ghostty --version
Ghostty 1.1.3

Version
  - version: 1.1.3
  - channel: stable
Build Config
  - Zig version: 0.13.0
  - build mode : builtin.OptimizeMode.ReleaseFast
  - app runtime: apprt.Runtime.gtk
  - font engine: font.main.Backend.fontconfig_freetype
  - renderer   : renderer.OpenGL
  - libxev     : main.Backend.io_uring
  - desktop env: other
  - GTK version:
    build      : 4.14.2
    runtime    : 4.14.2
  - libadwaita : enabled
    build      : 1.5.0
    runtime    : 1.5.0
  - libX11     : enabled
  - libwayland : enabled

Console output looks very similar and I did not see anything suspicious with the snap.

Expected Behavior

Window decoration displayed.

Actual Behavior

I do not see any window decorations using the snapstore binary.

Reproduction Steps

1. Start ghostty 1.1.3 from the snap store on kubuntu 25.04 using the plasma desktop.

Ghostty Logs

No response

Ghostty Version

❯ /snap/bin/ghostty --version
Ghostty 1.1.3

Version
  - version: 1.1.3
  - channel: stable
Build Config
  - Zig version: 0.13.0
  - build mode : builtin.OptimizeMode.ReleaseFast
  - app runtime: apprt.Runtime.gtk
  - font engine: font.main.Backend.fontconfig_freetype
  - renderer   : renderer.OpenGL
  - libxev     : main.Backend.io_uring
  - desktop env: other
  - GTK version:
    build      : 4.14.2
    runtime    : 4.14.2
  - libadwaita : enabled
    build      : 1.5.0
    runtime    : 1.5.0
  - libX11     : enabled
  - libwayland : enabled

### OS Version Information

Ubuntu 24.04 / 25.04

### (Linux only) Display Server

Wayland

### (Linux only) Desktop Environment/Window Manager

Plasma 5 / 6

### Minimal Ghostty Configuration

```ini
built-in defaults

Additional Relevant Configuration

No response

I acknowledge that:

• I have reviewed the FAQ and confirm that my issue is NOT among them.
• I have searched the Ghostty repository (both open and closed Discussions and Issues) and confirm this is not a duplicate of an existing issue or discussion.
• I have checked the "Preview" tab on all text fields to ensure that everything looks right, and have wrapped all configuration and code in code blocks with a group of three backticks (```) on separate lines.

[pluiedev]

Which Plasma version are you using? IIRC this was a bug on Plasma 6.1 that I never quite figured out how to reproduce

Do tip builds have the same bug?

[deas]

Using plasma 6.3.4 currently shipping with kubuntu 25.04, but I doubt it is related to that version as I remember observing this with ubuntu 24.04 already.

Never heard of tip before. I'll try to figure out how to run this.

However, I guess I can try this out on a non Plasma desktop to narrow things down a bit.

[deas]

Some corrections:

It indeed appears to be wayland related and window-decoration = client as explained at Ghostty 1.1.0 Plasma 6.x shows no window border/titlebar at all fixes this for me.

Turned out the titlebar is expected to show quite a bit more than the bare version that I got with the self built version.

[pluiedev]

Okay so, were you seeing the "bare" (non-GTK, KDE-style) title bar, or none at all (equivalent to when you set window-decoration = none? I'm slightly confused here.

[deas]

Setting window-decoration = none explicitely in ~/.config/ghostty/config, I get no title bar at all with both binaries.

Compiled in defaults of my build appear to be different from the ones shipping with the snap. Without a config ~/.config/ghostty/config, my build shows a bare title bar, the snap none at all.

[pluiedev]

Interesting that it behaves differently on Snap. The expected behavior is for it to show a bare titlebar for both non-Snap and Snap builds on KDE without any configuration.

[lpetrus-tempest]

Occurs also with 1.2.0 snap.

[lpetrus-tempest]

For the record, it only seems to happen with snaps. The .deb build for 1.1.3 displays window decorations correctly. I did not yet see a .deb build for 1.2.0.

[kenvandine]

I can look into this, perhaps there is a missing dependency in the snap needed for KDE

[soumyaDghosh]

Setting window-decoration = client explicitly in the config is making the titlebare to show up. So, I don't think there is something wrong in the snap package.

[pluiedev]

The problem is that server-sided window decorations do not work, when it absolutely should under KDE. It does work when using any other package format or when compiling from source, so it's still likely that it's a Snap problem.

[lpetrus-tempest]

Concerning what I have tested - setting window-decoration = server should work also with snap builds, currently it does not.

[Torsteinws]

Same problem here. Compiling from source fixes the problem.

System info

• Operating System: Kubuntu 25.10
• KDE Plasma Version: 6.5.3
• KDE Frameworks Version: 6.20.0
• Qt Version: 6.9.2
• Kernel Version: 6.17.0-6-generic (64-bit)
• Graphics Platform: Wayland

This was also a problem on kubuntu 25.04 and KDE Plasma 6.4 which I was running last week.

[lpetrus-tempest]

You can also use unofficial .debs, they also work OK: https://github.com/mkasberg/ghostty-ubuntu

I tried to debug the issue, but I was unable to spot any relevant difference between the snap build and manual / .deb builds that might cause this issue.

[lpetrus-tempest]

This issue seems to be caused by a bug in a gtk / wayland library in core24 base of the snap - not by ghostty itself. The bug also occurs on Plasma Wayland session in Kubuntu 24.04.3 LTS with the .deb build.

I have a workaround that enables server side decorations for the snap build. However more work probably needs to be done to include it in the snap distribution.

The difference between a from source / .deb ghostty behaviour and a snap ghostty behaviour is that the snap version requests two window decoration objects, instead of one. The first one being the client side decoration. This can be seen in wayland debug log:

Snap (core24 - BROKEN):

[time]  -> [email protected](...@48, wl_surface@38)
[time]  -> [email protected]_mode(1)  ← CLIENT mode (GTK)
[time]  -> [email protected](...@49, wl_surface@38)
[time]  -> [email protected]_mode(2)  ← SERVER mode (Ghostty)

Deb (Ubuntu 25.10 - WORKING):

[time]  -> [email protected](...@65, wl_surface@38)
[time]  -> [email protected]_mode(2)  ← SERVER mode only

The workaround consists of a single library that has to be preloaded before the ghostty from snap starts. This library blocks the initial call for client side decorations and lets only the server side requests pass. When this fix is applied then server side decorations work. The launcher script takes ghostty configuration properties into account so only when server side decorations are configured the workaround is activated.

The workaround is available in my branch, with further documentation:
Workaround PoC for server side windows decorations in snap build running under Wayland Plasma session.

Disclaimer: The identification of the issue, debugging and coding of the workaround was done by GitHub Copilot. I only guided the process and had it test some ideas, otherwise all other work was done by AI.

Note: The snap build failed for the 1.2.x branch because one of the required theme files is not available anymore and blueprint compiler for some reason did not execute correctly. My branch contains fixes for the blueprint compiler and skips the themes emiting by using the -Demit-themes=false flag.

[kenvandine]

Thanks for investigating, I'll work on getting the snap fixed soon.

[kenvandine]

I've published a build of this on a branch for wider testing. This can be tested with:

snap refresh --channel=latest/edge/ssd-workaround ghostty

This branch is temporary and will expire in 30 days. Once I have a chance to review more closely and get more feedback I'll get it applied to the stable release and published for both stable and tip.

[lpetrus-tempest]

Thanks, I just tried it and the snap displays SSD for ghostty window when it should. However I also tried creating a new ghostty window (ctrl + shift + n) and that window had no SSD. I will have Copilot rewrite the workaround so that it correctly handles also this scenario.