Glimpse covers the parts of a desktop session that usually sit around the compositor: panel status, notifications, wallpaper, locking, idle behavior, night light, and session actions.
| Surface | Role |
|---|---|
| Panel | Workspaces, applets, tray, media, network, battery, weather, notifications, and session controls. |
| Lock | PAM-backed session locking with wallpaper integration, status buttons, and themeable CSS. |
| Wallpaper | Solid colors, image backgrounds, fit modes, transitions, and blurred backdrop support. |
| Idle and night light | Automatic locking, monitor power commands, suspend rules, and night-light scheduling. |
| Custom applets | Command launchers and long-running exec widgets with typed SDKs and popover components. |
Glimpse keeps the desktop understandable. System services run as regular user units, configuration stays in plain files, and custom applets can be developed outside the main codebase.
The result is a desktop that remains hackable without feeling assembled from unrelated pieces.
| Goal | Page |
|---|---|
| Install the packaged desktop services | Installation |
| Define panels and applets | Configuration |
| Tune built-in applets | Applets |
| Build custom panel widgets | Custom Applets |
| Theme the shell and lock screen | Theming |
| Configure wallpaper, lock, idle, or night light | Wallpaper, Lock, Configuration |