Module: Cava: GLSL - Alexays/Waybar GitHub Wiki

The Cava GLSL frontend delegates the visualization of incoming audio data to the GPU via OpenGL.

There are some mandatory dependencies that need to be satisfied in order for Cava GLSL to be built and function properly:

  1. epoxy library must be installed on the system
  2. Vertex and fragment shaders from the original project must be used. They should be downloaded, and the file paths must be configured correctly in the Waybar Cava configuration:
    1. cava shaders
    2. libcava shaders
  3. It is highly recommended to have a separate cava configuration for the Waybar Cava GLSL module and to use this as the cava_config in the Waybar configuration.
  4. It is common for cava configurations to be placed in the XDG_CONFIG_HOME directory, including shaders as well. Consider keeping them in the $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cava/shaders folder.

Key configuration options:

  1. bars. The more values the parameter has, the more interesting the visualization becomes.
  2. method in output section must be set to sdl_glsl
  3. sdl_width and sdl_height manage the size of the module. Adjust them according to your needs.
  4. Shaders for sdl_glsl, located in $HOME/.config/cava/shaders. Example: vertex_shader = pass_through.vert fragment_shader = spectrogram.frag
  5. Set continuous_rendering to 1 to enable smooth rendering; set it to 0 otherwise. It is recommended to keep it set to 1.
  6. background, foreground, and gradient_color_N (where N is a number between 1 and 8) must be defined using hex code

Example 1

  1. waybar module config
    "cava": {
        "cava_config": "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cava/waybar_cava#1.conf",
        "input_delay": 2,
        "actions": {
                   "on-click-right": "mode"
                   }
    },
  1. cava config for waybar -> waybar_cava#1.conf.tar.gz

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/52ddd326-e254-4571-b1e9-72b19e57f0c7

Example 2

  1. waybar module config
    "cava": {
        "cava_config": "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cava/waybar_cava#2.conf",
        "input_delay": 2,
        "actions": {
                   "on-click-right": "mode"
                   }
    },
  1. cava config for waybar -> waybar_cava#2.conf.tar.gz

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ee7a7b7e-2e02-4190-92d8-b9fd72414950

Example 3

  1. waybar module config
    "cava": {
        "cava_config": "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cava/waybar_cava#3.conf",
        "input_delay": 2,
        "actions": {
                   "on-click-right": "mode"
                   }
    },
  1. cava config for waybar -> waybar_cava#3.conf.tar.gz

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/303f5444-e4a0-43ac-83b3-5471b65edf3c

Example 4

  1. waybar module config
    "cava": {
        "cava_config": "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cava/waybar_cava#4.conf",
        "input_delay": 2,
        "actions": {
                   "on-click-right": "mode"
                   }
    },
  1. cava config for waybar -> waybar_cava#4.conf.tar.gz

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9a9d3e3a-ddc6-4f32-b386-736a7e6059b8

Example 5

  1. waybar module config
    "cava": {
        "cava_config": "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cava/waybar_cava#5.conf",
        "input_delay": 2,
        "actions": {
                   "on-click-right": "mode"
                   }
    },
  1. cava config for waybar -> waybar_cava#5.conf.tar.gz

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ef4fcddc-47a6-4651-87c4-96907eb99f5c