CachyOS Screen Sharing - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

CachyOS Screen Sharing Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to screen sharing on CachyOS, including Wayland screen sharing, X11 screen sharing, and remote desktop sharing.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding Screen Sharing
  2. Wayland Screen Sharing
  3. X11 Screen Sharing
  4. Application Screen Sharing
  5. Troubleshooting

Understanding Screen Sharing

What is Screen Sharing?

Screen sharing allows sharing your screen with others.

What it does:

  • Share screen: Show your screen to others
  • Remote presentations: Present remotely
  • Support: Help others remotely
  • Collaboration: Collaborate with others

Why use screen sharing:

  • Presentations: Present to remote audience
  • Support: Help others troubleshoot
  • Collaboration: Work together
  • Meetings: Share screen in meetings

Wayland Screen Sharing

Wayland Screen Sharing Setup

Install portals:

sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gnome

What this does:

  • Installs desktop portals
  • Enables screen sharing on Wayland
  • Required for Wayland screen sharing

For KDE:

sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-kde

What this does:

  • KDE portal implementation
  • Screen sharing for KDE
  • KDE-specific integration

Using Screen Sharing

Most applications automatically use portals for screen sharing.

Applications that support:

  • Zoom: Video conferencing
  • Discord: Voice/video chat
  • Teams: Microsoft Teams
  • Browser: Web-based screen sharing

How it works:

  1. Application requests screen share
  2. Portal shows permission dialog
  3. Select screen/window to share
  4. Screen sharing starts

X11 Screen Sharing

X11 Screen Sharing

X11 screen sharing uses different methods.

Simple screen sharing:

sudo pacman -S x11vnc

What this does:

  • Installs x11vnc
  • VNC server for X11
  • Screen sharing via VNC

Start x11vnc:

x11vnc -display :0 -auth guess

What this does:

  • Starts VNC server
  • Shares X11 display
  • Accessible via VNC client

See CachyOS Remote Desktop for VNC setup.

Application Screen Sharing

Zoom Screen Sharing

Zoom supports screen sharing.

How to share:

  1. Join Zoom meeting
  2. Click "Share Screen"
  3. Select screen/window
  4. Start sharing

Wayland:

  • Uses desktop portals
  • Permission dialog appears
  • Select what to share

X11:

  • Direct screen access
  • No portal needed
  • Works automatically

Discord Screen Sharing

Discord supports screen sharing.

How to share:

  1. Join voice channel
  2. Click "Share Your Screen"
  3. Select screen/window
  4. Start sharing

Wayland:

  • Uses desktop portals
  • Permission required
  • Select screen/window

Browser Screen Sharing

Web browsers support screen sharing.

How to share:

  1. Website requests screen share
  2. Browser shows permission
  3. Select screen/window
  4. Start sharing

Supported browsers:

  • Firefox
  • Chromium/Chrome
  • Brave

Troubleshooting

Screen Sharing Not Working (Wayland)

Check portals:

systemctl --user status xdg-desktop-portal

What this does:

  • Shows portal status
  • Verifies portals running
  • Helps troubleshoot

Restart portals:

systemctl --user restart xdg-desktop-portal

What this does:

  • Restarts portals
  • May fix issues
  • Refreshes portal service

Install correct portal:

# For GNOME
sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-gnome

# For KDE
sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-kde

What this does:

  • Installs desktop-specific portal
  • Required for screen sharing
  • Fixes portal issues

Permission Denied

Check portal permissions:

  • Portal should show permission dialog
  • Grant permission when asked
  • Check application permissions

Restart application:

  • Close and reopen application
  • Request screen share again
  • May fix permission issues

Additional Resources

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. Understanding screen sharing - What it is
  2. Wayland screen sharing - Portal-based sharing
  3. X11 screen sharing - X11 methods
  4. Application screen sharing - Zoom, Discord, browsers
  5. Troubleshooting - Common screen sharing issues

Key Takeaways:

  • Wayland uses desktop portals for screen sharing
  • Install correct portal for your desktop environment
  • X11 uses different methods (VNC, etc.)
  • Most applications support screen sharing
  • Permission dialogs appear for security
  • Restart portals if issues occur

This guide is based on the CachyOS Wiki and Arch Linux Wiki and expanded with detailed explanations for beginners. For the most up-to-date screen sharing information, always refer to the official documentation.