According to Phoronix, the developers of the open-source Flowblade video editor are considering a major shift that could drop X11 support entirely. They originally estimated a GTK4 port attempt for autumn 2025 but now believe a launchable version could be ready in about a month of focused work. The core issue is that GTK4’s “windowless” widgets require a completely new video display system, forcing a choice between building new consumers for both Wayland and X11 or just for Wayland. The team is leaning heavily toward creating only a Wayland video consumer and then waiting over two years for GNOME and KDE to release their Wayland-only versions. In preparation, they’ve already done significant work this cycle, including a new keyboard shortcut framework and removing deprecated elements like Gtk.FileChooserButton. This sets the stage for a potentially X11-free future for the application.
Wayland Or Bust
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just a technical decision, it’s a massive bet on the Linux desktop ecosystem’s timeline. The plan to wait “2+ years” for GNOME and KDE to go Wayland-only feels optimistic, to say the least. Major distros, especially the enterprise-focused ones, are notoriously slow to make these kinds of foundational shifts. What happens if Ubuntu LTS or RHEL derivatives are still shipping X11 sessions as a fallback in 2027? Flowblade could effectively cut off a huge chunk of its userbase. And let’s be honest, the kind of user running a prosumer video editor might be on an older, stable system where everything just works. Forcing a display server change for one app is a big ask.
The GTK4 Reality Check
This situation highlights the often painful ripple effects of toolkit upgrades. GTK4 brings modern features, but its architectural changes are breaking things in fundamental ways. The move to “windowless” widgets basically breaks the old method of using SDL2 for video playback on X11. So it’s not just a simple recompile; it’s a ground-up rewrite of a core component. I think a lot of users don’t appreciate how much work is hidden behind a version number bump. The developers have already done a ton of prep work, like the new shortcut framework, which is good. But the video consumer is the big, scary, unresolved problem. It’s the classic open-source dilemma: limited developer time forcing hard choices about who gets left behind.
A Fragmented Future
So what does this mean for the average user? If you’re already all-in on a Wayland session, you probably won’t notice. You’ll get a modernized Flowblade eventually. But for anyone on X11, or using a mixed environment, the future looks uncertain. Will there be a final GTK3 version that’s maintained for years as a legacy option? Probably not. The blog post suggests the GTK4 port is the main focus, and maintaining two separate display backends is explicitly framed as extra work they’d like to avoid. This is how transitions happen—one app at a time, pushing users toward the new standard. But it can feel abrupt. For professionals who rely on a stable, consistent system for critical work, this kind of forced migration is exactly the sort of disruption that makes platform loyalty tricky. It’s a reminder that on the open-source desktop, the ground can shift beneath your feet when you least expect it.
