KDE-Rounded-Corners

This effect rounds the corners of your windows and adds an outline around them without much affecting the performance of the KDE Plasma desktop (see #49 and #50).

This effect started as a fork of shapecorners with some additional contributions in Alex47's project, then I optimized and reimplemented the effect with shaders with influences from the invert effect.

Tested on:

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before-after.mp4

Contributions:

• Compatibility of the effect with other effects like Wobbly windows
• Compatibility with KWin for Plasma versions 5.27 to 6.0
• Compatibility with HDR in Plasma 6.0
• Optimize the effect to render once instead of 5 times - see #49
• Smooth animation when a window moves to an active state
• Reimplementation with shaders to include shadows at corners and an outline
• Ability to disable effect when windows get maximized or tiled
• Cleanups for the plugin logic, remove unneeded dependencies from CMakeLists.txt file - by alex1701c
• Separate outline color for active and inactive windows - by OrkenWhite
• Add natural shadows using parametric blend - by paletteOvO

How to build from source code:

You need to install development packages for your distribution first:

Debian based (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, KDE Neon)

• Plasma 5 - by alex47:

  sudo apt install git cmake g++ extra-cmake-modules kwin-dev libkf5configwidgets-dev 
  

• Plasma 6

  sudo apt install git cmake g++ extra-cmake-modules kwin-dev qt6-base-private-dev qt6-base-dev-tools libkf6kcmutils-dev
  

Fedora

• Plasma 5 (Fedora 39)

  sudo dnf install git cmake gcc-c++ extra-cmake-modules kwin-devel kf5-kconfigwidgets-devel libepoxy-devel

• Plasma 6 (Fedora 40 and later)

  sudo dnf install git cmake gcc-c++ extra-cmake-modules kwin-devel kf6-kconfigwidgets-devel libepoxy-devel kf6-kcmutils-devel qt6-qtbase-private-devel wayland-devel

Arch - by https://github.com/hexa-one

sudo pacman -S git cmake extra-cmake-modules base-devel
yay -S qt5-tools

or AUR package by xiota

sudo pamac build kwin-effect-rounded-corners-git

OpenSUSE - by https://github.com/mathiasgredal, https://github.com/Richardsause, and https://github.com/aaronkirschen

• Plasma 5 (by https://github.com/mathiasgredal, https://github.com/Richardsause)

sudo zypper install git cmake gcc-c++ extra-cmake-modules libqt5-qttools-devel kconfigwidgets-devel kwindowsystem-devel kguiaddons-devel ki18n-devel knotifications-devel kwin5-devel libQt5Gui-devel libQt5OpenGL-devel libepoxy-devel libqt5-qtnetworkauth-devel

• Plasma 6 (by https://github.com/aaronkirschen)

sudo zypper in git cmake gcc-c++ kf6-kconfigwidgets-devel kf6-kcmutils-devel kwin6-devel kf6-kwindowsystem-devel qt6-quick-devel qt6-core-private-devel

Void - by https://github.com/lay-by and https://github.com/tre-flip

xbps-install git cmake make extra-cmake-modules gettext-devel kwin-devel kf6-kconfigwidgets-devel kf6-kcmutils-devel

NixOS - by https://github.com/flexagoon

nix-env -iA nixos.kde-rounded-corners

Then clone the source code and compile it:

git clone https://github.com/matinlotfali/KDE-Rounded-Corners
cd KDE-Rounded-Corners
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build . -j
sudo make install

Load & Unload

To activate the effect, you can now log out and log back in, or run the command below inside the build directory:

sh ../tools/load.sh

To fully uninstall the effect, run the following commands inside the build directory:

sh ../tools/unload.sh
sudo make uninstall

Auto install after KWin update

After each kwin package update, the effect becomes incompatible. So it won't load without a rebuild.

As long as the effect is not part of the kwin yet (being discussed here), you can automate the re-installation by running the command below inside the build directory:

sh ../tools/install-autorun-test.sh

The command above adds a desktop file inside the autorun directory which checks if the effect is still supported, if it is not supported, it will automatically rebuild and reinstall the effect.

Note

The script uses qdbus to show a progress bar. On Plasma 6, it is not installed by default. You need to manually install the package qtchooser.

Settings

You can change the corner radius, or disable the effect in:

[ System Settings ] --> [ Workspace Behavior ] --> [ Desktop Effects ] --> [ ShapeCorners ]

Tips

Disable conflicting native window outline

If using Breeze (default) window decorations with Plasma 5.27 or higher you may wish to disable the native window outline, to prevent it from overlapping and causing visual glitches.

• System settings -> Themes -> Window Decorations -> Breeze -> Edit icon -> Shadows and Outline tab -> Outline intensity (Off)

Add shadow to windows without decoration (like Steam)

You can add shadows for specific windows using the hack below. I don't know how to enforce it in my code.

1. In [ System settings ] -> [ Window management ] -> [ Window rules ] -> [ Appearance & Fixes ]:

   Add [steam] and set [ No titlebar ] and frame to [ No ]

2. In [ System settings ] -> [ Application Style ] -> [ Window decoration ] -> [ Breeze theme setting ] -> [ Window specific overrides ]:

   Add [steam] and set [ Hide Window title bar ] to [ Yes ].

After that, the Steam window gets its shadows back.

Add Debug Messages

When troubleshooting or reporting an issue, it might be useful to enable Debug logs during the build time using:

cmake .. --DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
cmake --build . -j

After the installation and loading the effect, debug messages would appear in journalctl:

journalctl -f | grep kwin

or have some colorful logs with

sh ../tools/show-kwin-logs.sh