A developer known as dec05eba has released Phoenix, a new X server written from scratch in Zig. Not a fork of X.Org—a complete rewrite.
The project appeared on Phoronix on December 25, 2025, generating 123 comments. The project README lays out both the goals and the explicit non-goals, which makes Phoenix’s intentions clear.
What Phoenix Is
According to the project documentation, Phoenix aims to be a modern alternative to the X.Org server with several specific goals:
Simplicity — Phoenix only supports a subset of the X11 protocol: the features needed by applications written or updated in the last 20 years. This includes GTK2 applications. It also only targets hardware from the last 15-20 years that supports Linux DRM and Mesa GBM.
Security — Zig’s ReleaseSafe option catches illegal behaviors like out-of-bounds access automatically. Applications are isolated by default and can only interact with other applications through explicit GUI permission prompts.
Modern hardware support — Better handling of multiple monitors with different refresh rates, variable refresh rate (VRR), and HDR. The project documentation specifically calls out that X.Org uses a single framebuffer for all displays.
Improved graphics — No tearing by default via a built-in compositor. The goal is lower vsync/compositor latency than X.Org.
What Phoenix Is Not
The README explicitly lists non-goals:
- Not replacing X.Org — The documentation states that X.Org will always support more X11 protocol features and a wider range of hardware, especially older devices.
- Not supporting remote GLX — The project notes that modern remote streaming options are more efficient.
- Not supporting X11 screens — Multiple monitors are supported, but not the legacy X11 “screens” concept.
Current State
Phoenix is not ready for production use. Currently, it can render simple applications using GLX, EGL, or Vulkan with full hardware acceleration, but only when running nested inside an existing X server. Nested mode will remain the only option until the project matures.
The project also mentions potential Wayland compatibility—either by supporting Wayland natively or by running as an alternative to Xwayland through a bridge like 12to11.
Why This Matters
The X.Org codebase carries decades of accumulated complexity. Phoenix represents an attempt to provide X11 compatibility for modern use cases without that baggage.
Whether Phoenix gains traction depends on whether developers and users see value in a simplified, security-focused X11 implementation versus the existing options of X.Org or Xwayland.
Source: Phoronix | Phoenix Git Repository
