Synergy 1 + Waynergy on Omarchy Arch Linux (Hyprland Wayland Setup)

Overview

After many hours of testing, trying:

Synergy 3 on macOS and Linux
Flatpak builds
AUR variants
Deskflow and other alternatives

I finally landed on a combo that actually works well on Wayland with Hyprland:

macOS (server): Synergy 1
Arch Linux (client): Waynergy
Desktop: Omarchy / Hyprland
Backend: wlr
Keyboard fix: using Waynergy raw-keymap instead of xkb

Mouse was perfect from the start. The hard part was the keyboard, especially the letters A, E, R and the Command / Option keys from the Mac mapping correctly on the Arch client.

The final working solution uses:

Hyprland’s own keyboard map (wl_keyboard_map = true)
Synergy key codes (syn_raw_key_codes = true)
A custom [raw-keymap] section

Huge thanks to ghost for this comment and mapping reference:
https://github.com/r-c-f/waynergy/issues/84

1. Synergy 1 on macOS (server)

Download and install Synergy 1 from the official Symless archive:

https://help.symless.com/hc/en-us/articles/33745162318225-Installing-Synergy-1-on-macOS

Basic server setup:

Set your Mac as Server
Add a client with the name: xps
Place xps at the correct position on the grid
Use port 24800
Enable SSL if you want, but remember that Waynergy handles TLS in its own way (more on that below)

2. Install Waynergy on Arch Linux (Hyprland)

yay -S waynergy

Useful dependencies:

sudo pacman -S wl-clipboard libxkbcommon libinput

Create the config directory:

mkdir -p ~/.config/waynergy

3. Final working `config.ini` for Mac Synergy 1 → Waynergy (Hyprland)

Path:

~/.config/waynergy/config.ini

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Waynergy main configuration
# ---------------------------------------------------------

# Server hostname or IP (macOS running Synergy 1)
host = Mac-2.local
# host = 192.168.145.121   # Alternative: static IP

# Synergy 1 default port
port = 24800

# This must match the screen name configured on Synergy 1 (macOS)
name = xps

# Wayland backend for Hyprland (important!)
backend = wlr

# Physical screen resolution (Waynergy uses this for pointer scaling)
width = 3200
height = 1800

# Disable xkb keymaps and rely on raw key mappings instead (more reliable for macOS)
# xkb_key_offset = 7
wl_keyboard_map = true

# Enable Synergy raw keycode interpretation (needed for Macs)
syn_raw_key_codes = true

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Screensaver / Idle Behavior
# ---------------------------------------------------------

[screensaver]
# What to run when macOS tells the client to start screensaver
start = pkill -SIGUSR1 #swayidle

# What to run when macOS exits screensaver
stop = pkill swaylock

[idle-inhibit]
# Prevent screen from sleeping by sending a dummy key event
method = key
keyname = HYPR

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# TLS Settings
# ---------------------------------------------------------

[tls]
enable = true     # Enable encryption
tofu = true       # Trust-On-First-Use (accept first certificate automatically)

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Logging Settings
# ---------------------------------------------------------

[log]
level = 4         # More verbose logging (0 = none, 6 = very noisy)
mode = a          # Append to log file
path = /tmp/waynergy.log

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Raw Keymap (macOS → Arch Linux)
# These remap raw keycodes received from Synergy 1
# to local Linux Wayland keycodes. This is the magic that
# fixes A, E, R, CMD, OPTION, etc.
# ---------------------------------------------------------

[raw-keymap]
54 = 9
19 = 10
20 = 11
21 = 12
22 = 13
24 = 14
23 = 15
27 = 16
29 = 17
26 = 18
30 = 19
28 = 20
25 = 21
52 = 22
49 = 23
13 = 24
14 = 25
15 = 26
16 = 27
18 = 28
17 = 29
33 = 30
35 = 31
36 = 33
31 = 35
37 = 36
60 = 37
1 = 38
2 = 39
3 = 40
4 = 41
6 = 42
5 = 43
39 = 44
41 = 45
38 = 46
42 = 47
40 = 48
51 = 49
43 = 51
7 = 52
8 = 53
9 = 54
10 = 55
12 = 56
46 = 57
47 = 58
44 = 59
48 = 60
45 = 61
57 = 62

# Function keys / arrows
68 = 63
56 = 133   # CMD key (Super)
50 = 65
58 = 66
123 = 67
121 = 68
100 = 69
119 = 70
97 = 71
98 = 72
99 = 73
101 = 74
102 = 75
110 = 76
72 = 77

# Numeric + arrow block
90 = 79
92 = 80
93 = 81
79 = 82
87 = 83
88 = 84
89 = 85
70 = 86
84 = 87
85 = 88
86 = 89
83 = 90
69 = 91

# More media/navigation keys
104 = 95
112 = 96
77 = 104
76 = 106
116 = 110
127 = 111
117 = 112
124 = 113
125 = 114
120 = 115
126 = 116
122 = 117
118 = 119

# Mac OPTION → Linux ALT
59 = 64

You can tune mappings further by using:

waynergy-mapper -r

This lets you press each key on the Mac and see what Synergy sends, then map it into the proper Linux keycode.

4. Manual test: run Waynergy from terminal

Once config.ini is in place, you can simply run:

waynergy

Because host, port, name, and backend are defined in the config file, waynergy will read them from there.

If you prefer to be explicit:

waynergy -b wlr -c Mac-2.local -p 24800 -N xps

If everything is correct, you should see something like:

[INFO] Compositor seems to be Hyprland
[INFO] Using wlroots virtual input protocols
[INFO] Using ext-idle-notify-v1 idle inhibition protocol
[INFO] Going to connect to Mac-2.local at port 24800
[INFO] Server is Synergy 1.8
[INFO] Connected as client "xps"

At that point:

Mouse moves from macOS → Arch when you cross the edge
Keyboard works including A, E, R, and modifier keys like cmd, alt, etc.

5. Run Waynergy in the background (and close the terminal)

You don’t want to keep a terminal open forever just to keep waynergy alive.
Here are the best ways to run it in the background and detach it from your terminal.

Option A — One-off background run with `nohup`

This is great when you just want to launch it manually and forget:

nohup waynergy &> ~/.local/share/waynergy.log &

nohup keeps the process running even if you close the terminal.
&> redirects stdout/stderr to the log file.
& sends it to the background.

You can safely close the terminal afterwards.

To check if it is running:

pgrep -a waynergy

To stop it:

killall waynergy

Option B — Systemd user service (recommended)

For a cleaner long-term setup, use a user-level systemd service.
This starts Waynergy automatically at login and restarts it if it ever crashes.

Create the service file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
nano ~/.config/systemd/user/waynergy.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=Waynergy Synergy Client (Hyprland)
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/waynergy
Restart=always
RestartSec=2

# Optional: environment for XDG + Wayland
Environment=WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-1
Environment=XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=%t

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Reload and enable:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now waynergy.service

Check logs:

journalctl --user -u waynergy.service -f

Stop it:

systemctl --user stop waynergy.service

This way:

Waynergy runs completely in the background
It is started automatically on login
You can close all terminals and it will keep working

Option C — Hyprland `exec-once` (session-level)

You can also start Waynergy from your Hyprland config:

nano ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

Add:

exec-once = waynergy

This launches it once per Hyprland session.
You still manage it like any other process, but it starts automatically when your session starts.

6. Optional: small launcher script

If you like having a simple alias-style launcher, you can wrap the nohup command:

mkdir -p ~/bin
nano ~/bin/waynergy-start

#!/usr/bin/env bash
nohup waynergy &> ~/.local/share/waynergy.log &

Make it executable:

chmod +x ~/bin/waynergy-start

Then run:

waynergy-start

and close the terminal.
This works nicely even without systemd if you prefer something simpler.

Final notes

This setup is: Synergy 1 macOS server → Waynergy client on Arch (Hyprland).
No custom xkb keymap is required, only a raw-keymap block.
cmd and option are mapped to Super and Alt, so shortcuts feel natural.
Using a systemd user service makes it feel “native” and hands-off after the first configuration.

If future Hyprland / Wayland protocols make Synergy-style apps easier, I’ll probably revisit Synergy 3 or Deskflow.
But for now, this combo works reliably and feels smooth enough to forget it’s even there.

Franco Lopez

Modern tech. Old-school curiosity.

Synergy 1 + Waynergy on Omarchy Arch Linux (Hyprland Wayland Setup)

Overview

1. Synergy 1 on macOS (server)

2. Install Waynergy on Arch Linux (Hyprland)

3. Final working `config.ini` for Mac Synergy 1 → Waynergy (Hyprland)

4. Manual test: run Waynergy from terminal

5. Run Waynergy in the background (and close the terminal)

Option A — One-off background run with `nohup`

Option B — Systemd user service (recommended)

Option C — Hyprland `exec-once` (session-level)

6. Optional: small launcher script

Final notes

Synergy 1 + Waynergy on Omarchy Arch Linux (Hyprland Wayland Setup)

Overview

1. Synergy 1 on macOS (server)

2. Install Waynergy on Arch Linux (Hyprland)

3. Final working config.ini for Mac Synergy 1 → Waynergy (Hyprland)

4. Manual test: run Waynergy from terminal

5. Run Waynergy in the background (and close the terminal)

Option A — One-off background run with nohup

Option B — Systemd user service (recommended)

Option C — Hyprland exec-once (session-level)

6. Optional: small launcher script

Final notes

3. Final working `config.ini` for Mac Synergy 1 → Waynergy (Hyprland)

Option A — One-off background run with `nohup`

Option C — Hyprland `exec-once` (session-level)