Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 3, 2026

Composite Extension

The Composite Extension of the X Window System renders the graphical output of clients "...to an off-screen buffer. Applications can then take the contents of that buffer and do whatever they like. The off-screen buffer can be automatically merged into the parent window or merged by external programs, called compositing managers."

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Jun 3, 2026
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The Composite Extension of the X Window System renders the graphical output of clients "...to an off-screen buffer. Applications can then take the contents of that buffer and do whatever they like. The off-screen buffer can be automatically merged into the parent window or merged by external programs, called compositing managers."1

This enabled the creation of compositing managers for X, capable of effects like transparency, 3D rotation, and jiggly windows.

The composite extension was added to X.org in version X11R6.82 in September 2004.3

References

References

  1. "Software/CompositeExt". 2008-08-23.
  2. "Summary of new features in X11R6.8". Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  3. "PR: X.Org Foundation Announces X11R6.8 Release of the X Window System". 2004-09-09. Archived from the original on 2015-05-16. Retrieved 2011-01-02.