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SPECIFICTION
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Hydra vs Waypaper

Hydra

github.com

Waypaper

github.com

Side by side

FigureHydraWaypaper
Price fromFreeFree
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Open sourceYesYes
WebYes—
macOS—Yes
LinuxYesYes
APIYes—
Self-hostedYes—
Plans published11
Spec score · Desktop Wallpaper Software8.7 (#5)8.0 (#10)
LicenseHydra is distributed under the GNU General Public License version 3.The source repository contains the GNU General Public License version 3 dated 29 June 2007.
Self-hostingHydra can be self-hosted through the NixOS services.hydra module.Waypaper is distributed as local Python software and the source code is publicly available on GitHub.
What it doesHydra is a continuous-integration service for projects based on Nix.Waypaper is a graphical wallpaper setter that fronts external wallpaper backends.

Plans

Hydra

  • HydraFree

Hydra pricing →

Waypaper

  • WaypaperFree

Waypaper pricing →

In their own words

Hydra

Hydra is a continuous integration service for projects based on Nix. It checks out project source periodically or continuously, builds it, runs tests, and produces reports. Work is organized into jobsets whose inputs can trigger builds when they change; jobsets can also depend on one another. Flake jobsets are supported when their outputs expose a hydraJobs attribute set. Jobs can produce packages, ISO images, or tarballs, and jobset inputs can use Git checkout sources. Hydra also provides a JSON API. It is aimed at Nix and NixOS package developers, not people who only need to use NixOS. Hydra is open source under GPL-3.0 and listed at free. It is self-hosted, with no hosted option listed, and running it is currently supported only on NixOS; the repository recommends the NixOS module for production. Flake evaluation is restricted from accessing files outside the Nix store. Some state is stored in the database, so backups are needed, and the wiki reports that hydra-queue-runner can sometimes leave queued builds unscheduled.

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Waypaper

Waypaper is a free graphical wallpaper setter for Linux window managers and macOS. It provides a single interface for backends such as swaybg, swww, awww, wallutils, hyprpaper, mpvpaper, gslapper, feh, xwallpaper, linux-wallpaperengine, and macOS. It supports multiple monitors and can restore a wallpaper when a window manager launches. The interface also offers Vim-style keyboard navigation, caching, a distraction-free Zen mode, post-change script hooks, and customizable CSS theming. Animated wallpaper support depends on the backend: selected backends handle GIFs, while mpvpaper, gslapper, or linux-wallpaperengine can provide video wallpapers. Waypaper needs at least one supported wallpaper backend installed to work. On Linux, installation options include pipx and packages or repositories for Arch-based distributions, NixOS, OpenSUSE, and Fedora. macOS setup requires GTK3 and PyGObject through Homebrew before Waypaper is installed with pipx. The repository identifies the project as GPL-3.0 licensed. Its documentation names Roman Anufriev as developer and says development began in 2023.

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