Phoenix X server
The most recommended of 3 X11 servers
A clean, from-scratch X11 server written in Zig, praised for modern design and built-in security ideas; critics say it is incomplete and lacks many X11 features.
A clean, from-scratch X11 server written in Zig, praised for modern design and built-in security ideas; critics say it is incomplete and lacks many X11 features.
28 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 64%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Modern clean X11 rewrite with security
“Phoenix is a great project, and it clearly shows that a clean, modern X11 implementation still resonates with many developers.”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “A Proposal to Modernize Xorg as a Protocol-Only Graphics Layer” “Phoenix[0] has some good ideas about how X11 could be made more secure without breaking backwards compatibility.”
Comment from 22 Mar 2026 in “I Hate: Programming Wayland Applications” “it's an X11 server written from the ground up, with security and legacy feature removal in mind”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Preparing for KDE Plasma's Last X11-Supported Release” - Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig”
Technically interesting new approach
“by itself it looks like a fairly reasonable set of choices”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “This is very good. We can see innovation in this space.”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “don't see the point but technically interesting”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” - Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig”
Supports X preservation and new server
“This is the kind of initiative I’d prefer to see from X preservationists. Great job, I hope it succeeds.”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “I have argued for a new X server following almost exactly the steps this project outlines.”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” Possible alternative to Xwayland
“this might make a good alternative to Xwayland though, which can be exciting.”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “this looks like a better plan than XLibre”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Lacks X11 drawing features apps need
“While I appreciate and welcome this work, I still use and write software that makes use of old X draw calls”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “It sounds like currently a lot of those reasons for using X11 would prevent using this X server.”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “If you are not going to implement X11 drawing ops and XRender”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” - Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig”
- Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig”
Incomplete; few things work yet
“Why a new incomplete implementation would be better to use than a project that is stable, full-featured, and with a proven track record?”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “I'm not even even convinced about the server if talking about a minimal server like this”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “a11y aside of course... given that this was not really finished”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” - Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig”
Unclear why it beats existing servers
“don't see the point but technically interesting”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “Why a new incomplete implementation would be better to use than a project that is stable, full-featured, and with a proven track record?”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig” “It sounds like currently a lot of those reasons for using X11 would prevent using this X server.”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Phoenix: A modern X server written from scratch in Zig”
Other X11 servers people recommend
The two most recommended other X11 servers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix X serverThis page | 18 | 10 | 64% | 4 | — | — |
| XQuartz | 6 | 6 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| Yserver X11 server | 5 | 6 | 45% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
28 of the 29 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it's an X11 server written from the ground up, with security and legacy feature removal in mind”
“Phoenix[0] has some good ideas about how X11 could be made more secure without breaking backwards compatibility.”
“Phoenix is a great project, and it clearly shows that a clean, modern X11 implementation still resonates with many developers.”
“a11y aside of course... given that this was not really finished”
“Why a new incomplete implementation would be better to use than a project that is stable, full-featured, and with a proven track record?”
“I think it's a shame that they're not supporting multi-screen.”
“While I appreciate and welcome this work, I still use and write software that makes use of old X draw calls”
“2008 called and want their git web UI back”
“this might make a good alternative to Xwayland though, which can be exciting.”
“very few things work at the moment”
“So I think Phoenix is a great idea.”
“This is very good. We can see innovation in this space.”
“A lot of people would have preferred this to Wayland if it had come much earlier.”
“if they have removed features that people used, then they are in a similar situation as wayland”
“it's not actually compatible with X11”
“don't see the point but technically interesting”
“Accessibility? Sure. Everything else? Nah, I'm sorry.”
“I'm not even even convinced about the server if talking about a minimal server like this”
“I have argued for a new X server following almost exactly the steps this project outlines.”
“which this doesn't support”
“This is the kind of initiative I’d prefer to see from X preservationists. Great job, I hope it succeeds.”
“My rpi dashboards are gonna love it”
“It sounds like currently a lot of those reasons for using X11 would prevent using this X server.”
“this looks like a better plan than XLibre”
“An X11 rewrite with some security baked in is an awesome approach.”
“by itself it looks like a fairly reasonable set of choices”
“If you are not going to implement X11 drawing ops and XRender”
“This is a really really bad name.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.