Liquid Glass Plugin for Hyprland

A stunning Apple-style Liquid Glass effect for Hyprland, inspired by iOS 26's revolutionary design language.

Features

This plugin recreates Apple's Liquid Glass aesthetic with physically-accurate visual effects:

Effect	Description
Edge Refraction	Light bends dramatically at window edges, like looking through curved glass
Chromatic Aberration	RGB channels separate slightly at edges, creating subtle rainbow fringes
Fresnel Effect	Edges glow brighter based on viewing angle (real physics!)
Specular Highlights	Sharp, mirror-like light reflections dance across the glass
Interior Blur	Subtle blur gives the illusion of glass thickness

Installation

Using hyprpm (Recommended)

hyprpm add https://github.com/eq-desktop/hyprliquidglass-plugin
hyprpm enable liquid-glass

Manual Build

Requirements:

• Hyprland (with development headers)
• pkg-config
• C++23 compatible compiler (g++ or clang++)

git clone https://github.com/eq-desktop/hyprliquidglass-plugin
cd hyprliquidglass-plugin
make all

Then load manually:

hyprctl plugin load $(pwd)/liquid-glass.so

Configuration

Add to your hyprland.conf:

# ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
#                    🍎 LIQUID GLASS CONFIGURATION
# ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

plugin {
    liquid-glass {
        # Enable/disable the effect
        enabled = true
        
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # BLUR - Interior glass thickness effect
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # Range: 0.0 - 3.0 | Default: 1.5
        # Higher = more blur, feels like thicker glass
        blur_strength = 1.5
        
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # REFRACTION - Edge distortion intensity
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # Range: 0.0 - 0.2 | Default: 0.08
        # How much the background warps at edges
        refraction_strength = 0.08
        
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # CHROMATIC ABERRATION - Rainbow edge fringing
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # Range: 0.0 - 0.03 | Default: 0.012
        # RGB channel separation for that authentic glass look
        chromatic_aberration = 0.012
        
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # FRESNEL - Edge glow based on viewing angle
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # Range: 0.0 - 1.0 | Default: 0.4
        # Simulates how glass reflects more light at grazing angles
        fresnel_strength = 0.4
        
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # SPECULAR - Sharp light reflections
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # Range: 0.0 - 1.0 | Default: 0.3
        # Those crisp, bright spots where light bounces off
        specular_strength = 0.3
        
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # OPACITY - Overall glass transparency
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # Range: 0.0 - 1.0 | Default: 1.0
        glass_opacity = 1.0
        
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # EDGE THICKNESS - Width of the refractive edge zone
        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        # Range: 0.0 - 0.4 | Default: 0.15
        # How far the edge effects extend into the window
        edge_thickness = 0.15
    }
}

# ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
#                    RECOMMENDED COMPANION SETTINGS
# ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

decoration {
    # Rounded corners work beautifully with liquid glass
    rounding = 12
    
    # Disable default blur - we handle it ourselves
    blur {
        enabled = false
    }
    
    # Subtle shadow complements the glass effect
    shadow {
        enabled = true
        range = 20
        render_power = 3
        color = rgba(00000055)
    }
}

# Optional: window rules for specific apps
# windowrulev2 = opacity 0.9, class:^(firefox)$

Preset Configurations

Subtle & Professional

plugin:liquid-glass {
    blur_strength = 1.0
    refraction_strength = 0.04
    chromatic_aberration = 0.006
    fresnel_strength = 0.2
    specular_strength = 0.15
}

Maximum Apple Vibes

plugin:liquid-glass {
    blur_strength = 2.0
    refraction_strength = 0.12
    chromatic_aberration = 0.018
    fresnel_strength = 0.6
    specular_strength = 0.5
}

Frosted Glass (No Refraction)

plugin:liquid-glass {
    blur_strength = 2.5
    refraction_strength = 0.0
    chromatic_aberration = 0.0
    fresnel_strength = 0.3
    specular_strength = 0.2
}

Troubleshooting

Plugin fails to load

• Ensure Hyprland version matches plugin compilation
• Rebuild after Hyprland updates: hyprpm update

Performance issues

• Reduce blur_strength (most expensive effect)
• Lower chromatic_aberration to 0
• Disable on specific windows with window rules

Visual artifacts

• Adjust edge_thickness if edges look wrong
• Reduce refraction_strength if distortion is too strong

License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.

Credits

• Original Author: xiaoxigua-1
• Updated by: Eq Desktop
• Inspiration: Apple's iOS 26 Liquid Glass design language
• Physics Reference: Fresnel equations, chromatic dispersion