Switch your Linux session from Wayland to X11
WorkComposer tracks your time on either Wayland or X11, but tracking which application or website is in focus only works on X11. If your screenshots look fine but your app and URL data is empty, you are on Wayland and need to switch sessions.
The switch takes about a minute. You do it at the login screen, not inside the app.
On Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS, and other GNOME-based distros
Log out (or restart). At the login screen, click your username, then click the gear icon below the password field. You will see options like these:
- Ubuntu — default Wayland session. Tracking will not record apps or URLs.
- Ubuntu on Xorg — X11 session. This is what you want.
Pick the X11 option and log in. WorkComposer will start tracking apps and URLs the next time you sign in to the desktop app.
On Fedora and RHEL-family distros
At the login screen, click your username, then click the gear icon. Pick GNOME on Xorg (the default GNOME entry uses Wayland). Log in as usual.
On openSUSE Tumbleweed and other newer distros
Same pattern: gear icon at the login screen, pick the X11 entry. The wording varies (GNOME on Xorg, Plasma (X11), Xorg) — anything that is not labelled Wayland is fine.
I do not see an X11 option
A few distros now ship Wayland only and remove the X11 session entirely (Fedora Workstation 41+ in some configurations, pure-Wayland respins). On those systems WorkComposer's app and URL tracking is not available; basic time tracking and screenshots still work. Email support if you are stuck — we will tell you whether your specific distro supports an X11 install.
Why does WorkComposer need X11?
Wayland's design intentionally hides "which application is in focus right now" from other applications, as a security and isolation feature. WorkComposer needs that information to label your tracked time with the app or website you are using.
X11 exposes focused-window information through standard protocols that have been stable for decades; that is what WorkComposer reads. Switching session types only changes which display server is running while you are logged in — your files, settings, and other applications are untouched. You can switch back to Wayland the same way any time.