The code `exec sway -d &>/tmp/swaylog` is used in a...

June 30, 2025 at 09:04 AM

exec sway -d &>/tmp/swaylog

The code exec sway -d &>/tmp/swaylog is used in a Linux environment to start the Sway window manager with debugging enabled, redirecting all output (both standard output and standard error) to a log file located at /tmp/swaylog.

Breaking it down:

  1. exec: This replaces the current shell process with the sway process, meaning the current script or session ends, and it is replaced by sway.

  2. sway -d: This launches the Sway window manager with debugging enabled (-d stands for debug mode), which provides detailed logs on Sway's behavior. Sway is a Wayland compositor compatible with i3.

  3. &>/tmp/swaylog: This redirects both standard output (stdout) and standard error (stderr) of the sway command to a file located at /tmp/swaylog. This ensures all messages (both normal and error/debug messages) are saved in /tmp/swaylog.

So, effectively, the purpose of this code is to start Sway in debug mode and save all output to the file /tmp/swaylog for logging and troubleshooting purposes.

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