From fd50acf48408d70ec85d4fcb5b436fc908b9d3a1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Andreas Tsouchlos <an.tsouchlos@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2026 10:21:40 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] sysadmin/troubleshooting-screen-sharing.md

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 sysadmin/troubleshooting-screen-sharing.md | 47 ++++++++++++++++++++++
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 create mode 100644 sysadmin/troubleshooting-screen-sharing.md

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+# Screen sharing
+
+"We use `xdg-desktop-portal` (+ backend implementation) for communication
+between the app requesting to share a screen and between desktop (Plasma or
+Gnome)." [1] (or in this case, sway). See also [2].
+
+**System info**
+
+```
+=== Kernel ===
+6.18.18-1-lts
+=== Sway ===
+sway version 1.9
+=== xdg-desktop-portal (installed packages) ===
+xdg-desktop-portal 1.20.3-2
+xdg-desktop-portal-wlr 0.8.1-1
+xdg-desktop-portal-gtk 1.15.3-1
+```
+
+**Logs**
+
+```
+Mar 15 09:22:00 andreas-laptop systemd[1178]: xdg-desktop-portal-gtk.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
+Mar 15 09:22:00 andreas-laptop systemd[1178]: xdg-desktop-portal-gtk.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
+Mar 15 09:22:00 andreas-laptop systemd[1178]: Failed to start Portal service (GTK/GNOME implementation).
+Mar 15 09:22:00 andreas-laptop /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[1347]: Failed to ReadAll() from Settings implementation: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Could not activ>
+```
+
+**Solution**
+
+We first have to tell `xdg-desktop-portal` that it should use the wlr backend
+to route screen capture requests. In `~/.config/environment.d/sway.conf` add
+```
+XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=sway
+```
+
+We also have to set up the link between the wayland compositor and
+`xdg-desktop-portal`. In `~/.config/sway/config`, add
+```
+exec systemctl --user import-environment DISPLAY WAYLAND_DISPLAY SWAYSOCK XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP
+exec dbus-update-activation-environment --systemd DISPLAY WAYLAND_DISPLAY SWAYSOCK XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP
+```
+
+## References
+
+1. https://jgrulich.cz/2018/07/04/how-to-enable-and-use-screen-sharing-on-wayland/
+2. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/XDG_Desktop_Portal