# Help me with screen sharing on wayland

**URL:** <https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/help-me-with-screen-sharing-on-wayland/1881>\
**Category:** Guix\
**Tags:** guile, guix\
**Created:** [January 21, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/help-me-with-screen-sharing-on-wayland/1881 "2026-01-21T04:02:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Arisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Arisu](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/Arisu)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/help-me-with-screen-sharing-on-wayland/1881/1 "2026-01-21T04:02:20Z")

</div>

- Can’t screen share on Discord (Flatpak) or record with OBS on Wayland (Guix System)

I’m extremely frustrated. I recently switched from **Xmonad** to **Sway** (Wayland) on **Guix System** , and now I **cannot screen share on Discord (Flatpak)** nor **record my screen with OBS (Flatpak)**, even after installing all the required portal packages. I am **already using PipeWire** , so it’s not a missing service issue.

**Environment**

- Distro: Guix System
- Compositor: Sway (Wayland)
- Discord: Flatpak
- OBS Studio: Flatpak
- Installed packages:  
#+BEGIN\_SRC bash  
xdg-desktop-portal  
xdg-desktop-portal-gtk  
xdg-desktop-portal-wlr  
pipewire  
pipewire-pulse  
pipewire-media-session  
#+END\_SRC
- Using PipeWire for screen capture

**Problem**

1. Discord (Flatpak):

2. OBS (Flatpak):

**What I’ve tried**

- Installed all necessary portal packages via Guix:  
#+BEGIN\_SRC bash  
guix install xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk xdg-desktop-portal-wlr pipewire  
#+END\_SRC
- Restarted Sway session and Flatpak apps.
- Verified that PipeWire and xdg-desktop-portal services are running:  
#+BEGIN\_SRC bash  
ps aux | grep pipewire  
ps aux | grep xdg-desktop-portal  
#+END\_SRC
- Updated all Flatpak apps:  
#+BEGIN\_SRC bash  
flatpak update  
#+END\_SRC

**Notes / Frustration**

- This never happened on X11 — everything worked perfectly before.
- I feel like I traded stability for Wayland and now I can’t even screen share.
- Seems like a known issue with PipeWire/xdg-desktop-portal on Wayland, especially with Sway or other wlroots-based compositors.

**Question**  
Has anyone actually managed to get **screen sharing on Discord Flatpak** or **OBS recording via PipeWire** working on Wayland/Sway on **Guix System**? Any hidden configuration, patch, or magic incantation I’m missing here?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dgr](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/dgr/32/394_2.png) [@dgr](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/dgr)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/help-me-with-screen-sharing-on-wayland/1881/2 "2026-01-22T18:13:17Z")

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Yes, but every time someone mentions that removing X11 support is to early on the phoronix forums, a flame war starts 😉

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![miro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@miro](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/miro)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 4:42pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/help-me-with-screen-sharing-on-wayland/1881/3 "2026-02-14T16:42:42Z")

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I had problems with xdg-desktop-portal on sway as well but this helped: [[bug#73520] [PATCH 0/2] Potential fix for the latest xdg-desktop-portal](https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-patches/2025-01/msg01403.html)

Not 100% which parts are actually required but these work for me:

Install `xdg-desktop-portal` and `xdg-desktop-portal-wlr`, have config file `$HOME/.config/xdg-desktop-portal/sway-portals.conf`:

```auto
[preferred]
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Screenshot=wlr
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.ScreenCast=wlr

```

and run:

```auto
dbus-update-activation-environment XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway
dbus-update-activation-environment WAYLAND_DISPLAY
pkill xdg-desktop-portal

```

Last line is required if you have for example tried to share screen which starts `xdg-desktop-portal`.

Screen sharing can be tested here: [gUM Test Page](https://mozilla.github.io/webrtc-landing/gum_test.html)