Optimized picom.conf config (tested on an NVIDIA card)

picom.conf

# Optimized picom.conf configuration (tested on an NVIDIA card)
# Gits URL: https://gist.github.com/jamescherti/59f61eeaf17ccc16e1eab2c98d699d31
# License: MIT
# Maintainer of this picom.conf: James Cherti

#################################
#             Shadows           #
#################################

# Enabled client-side shadows on windows. Note desktop windows
# (windows with '_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DESKTOP') never get shadow,
# unless explicitly requested using the wintypes option.
# shadow = false
shadow = true;

# The blur radius for shadows, in pixels. (defaults to 12)
# shadow-radius = 12
shadow-radius = 16;
# shadow-radius = 7;

# The opacity of shadows. (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0.75)
# shadow-opacity = .75
shadow-opacity = .5;

# The left offset for shadows, in pixels. (defaults to -15)
# shadow-offset-x = -15
# shadow-offset-x = -7;
# shadow-offset-x = -7;

# The top offset for shadows, in pixels. (defaults to -15)
# shadow-offset-y = -15
# shadow-offset-y = -7;

# Red color value of shadow (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0).
# shadow-red = 0

# Green color value of shadow (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0).
# shadow-green = 0

# Blue color value of shadow (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0).
# shadow-blue = 0

# Hex string color value of shadow (#000000 - #FFFFFF, defaults to #000000). This option will override options set shadow-(red/green/blue)
# shadow-color = "#000000"

# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should have no shadow.
#
# examples:
#   shadow-exclude = "n:e:Notification";
#
# shadow-exclude = []
shadow-exclude = [
  "name = 'Notification'",
  "class_g = 'Conky'",
  "class_g ?= 'Notify-osd'",
  "class_g = 'Cairo-clock'",
  "_GTK_FRAME_EXTENTS@:c"
];

# The shadow exclude options are helpful if you have shadows enabled. Due to the way picom draws its shadows, certain applications will have visual glitches
# (most applications are fine, only apps that do weird things with xshapes or argb are affected).
# This list includes all the affected apps I found in my testing. The "! name~=''" part excludes shadows on any "Unknown" windows, this prevents a visual glitch with the XFWM alt tab switcher.
# shadow-exclude = [
#     "! name~=''",
#     "name *= 'VLC'",
#     "name *= 'compton'",
#     "name *= 'picom'",
#     "name *= 'Chromium'",
#     "name *= 'Chrome'",
#     "name *= 'brave'",
#     "name *= 'BitwigStudio'",
#     "class_g = 'Firefox' && argb",
#     "class_g = 'Conky'",
#     "class_g ?= 'Notify-osd'",
#     "_GTK_FRAME_EXTENTS@:c",
#     "_NET_WM_STATE@:32a *= '_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN'"
# ];

# Avoid drawing shadow on all shaped windows (see also: --detect-rounded-corners)
shadow-ignore-shaped = false;

# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should have no shadow painted over, such as a dock window.
# clip-shadow-above = []

# Specify a X geometry that describes the region in which shadow should not
# be painted in, such as a dock window region. Use
#    shadow-exclude-reg = "x10+0+0"
# for example, if the 10 pixels on the bottom of the screen should not have shadows painted on.
#
# shadow-exclude-reg = ""

# Crop shadow of a window fully on a particular monitor to that monitor. This is
# currently implemented using the X RandR extension.
# crop-shadow-to-monitor = false


#################################
#           Fading              #
#################################

# Fade windows in/out when opening/closing and when opacity changes,
#  unless no-fading-openclose is used.
# fading = false
fading = true;

# Opacity change between steps while fading in. (0.01 - 1.0, defaults to 0.028)
# fade-in-step = 0.028
# fade-in-step = 0.03;
fade-in-step = 0.05;

# Opacity change between steps while fading out. (0.01 - 1.0, defaults to 0.03)
# fade-out-step = 0.03
# fade-out-step = 0.03;
fade-out-step = 0.05;

# The time between steps in fade step, in milliseconds. (> 0, defaults to 10)
# fade-delta = 10

# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should not be faded.
# fade-exclude = []

# Do not fade on window open/close.
# no-fading-openclose = false

# Do not fade destroyed ARGB windows with WM frame. Workaround of bugs in Openbox, Fluxbox, etc.
# no-fading-destroyed-argb = false


#################################
#   Transparency / Opacity      #
#################################

# Opacity of inactive windows. (0.1 - 1.0, defaults to 1.0)
inactive-opacity = 1;
# inactive-opacity = 0.8;

# Opacity of window titlebars and borders. (0.1 - 1.0, disabled by default)
# frame-opacity = 1.0
# frame-opacity = 0.7;
frame-opacity = 1;

# Let inactive opacity set by -i override the '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' values of windows.
# inactive-opacity-override = true
inactive-opacity-override = false;

# Default opacity for active windows. (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 1.0)
active-opacity = 1;

# Dim inactive windows. (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0.0)
# inactive-dim = 0.0
inactive-dim = 0.3;

# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should never be considered focused.
# focus-exclude = []
focus-exclude = [ "class_g = 'Cairo-clock'" ];
# focus-exclude = [
#     "name *= 'Chromium'",
#     "name *= 'Chrome'",
#     "name *= 'Brave'",
#     "name *= 'Freeplane'",
#     "name *= 'Hive'",
#     "name *= 'BitwigStudio'",
#     "class_g = 'R_x11'",
#     "class_g = 'Firefox'",
#     "class_g = 'firefox'",
#     "class_g = 'feh'",
#     "class_g = 'vlc'",
#     "class_g = 'Rofi'",
#     "class_g = 'zoom'",
#     "class_g = 'Zathura'"
# ];

# Use fixed inactive dim value, instead of adjusting according to window opacity.
# Do not let dimness adjust based on window opacity: inactive-dim-fixed = true;
# inactive-dim-fixed = 1.0

# Specify a list of opacity rules, in the format `PERCENT:PATTERN`,
# like `50:name *= "Firefox"`. picom-trans is recommended over this.
# Note we don't make any guarantee about possible conflicts with other
# programs that set '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' on frame or client windows.
# example:
#    opacity-rule = [ "80:class_g = 'URxvt'" ];
#
# opacity-rule = []

# i3 trasparent borders and windows
# opacity-rule = [
#     # "80:class_g = 'i3-frame' && !_NET_WM_STATE@:32a",
#     "0:_NET_WM_STATE@:32a *= '_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN'",
#     "70:class_g = 'Termite' && !focused",
#     "70:class_g = 'kitty' && !focused",
#     "0:_NET_WM_STATE@[0]:32a *= '_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN'",
#     "0:_NET_WM_STATE@[1]:32a *= '_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN'",
#     "0:_NET_WM_STATE@[2]:32a *= '_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN'",
#     "0:_NET_WM_STATE@[3]:32a *= '_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN'",
#     "0:_NET_WM_STATE@[4]:32a *= '_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN'"
# ];


#################################
#           Corners             #
#################################

# Sets the radius of rounded window corners. When > 0, the compositor will
# round the corners of windows. Does not interact well with
# `transparent-clipping`.
# corner-radius = 0

# corner-radius = 8;
# rounded-corners-exclude = [
#   # "class_g = 'URxvt'",
#   # "class_g = 'XTerm'",
#   # "class_g = 'Termite'",
#   # "class_g = 'kitty'",
#   # "class_g = 'firefox'",
#   "class_g = 'Polybar'",
#   "class_g = 'Google-chrome'",
#   "class_g = 'brave'",
# ];

# Exclude conditions for rounded corners.
rounded-corners-exclude = [
  "window_type = 'dock'",
  "window_type = 'desktop'"
];


#################################
#     Background-Blurring       #
#################################

# Parameters for background blurring, see the *BLUR* section for more information.
# blur-method = "kawase";
# blur-method =
# blur-size = 12
#
# blur-deviation = false
#
# blur-strength = 10
# blur-strength = 5

# Blur background of semi-transparent / ARGB windows.
# Bad in performance, with driver-dependent behavior.
# The name of the switch may change without prior notifications.
#
# blur-background = false

# Blur background of windows when the window frame is not opaque.
# Implies:
#    blur-background
# Bad in performance, with driver-dependent behavior. The name may change.
#
# blur-background-frame = false


# Use fixed blur strength rather than adjusting according to window opacity.
# blur-background-fixed = false


# Specify the blur convolution kernel, with the following format:
# example:
#   blur-kern = "5,5,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1";
#
# blur-kern = ""
blur-kern = "3x3box";


# Exclude conditions for background blur.
# blur-background-exclude = []
blur-background-exclude = [
  "window_type = 'dock'",
  "window_type = 'desktop'",
  "_GTK_FRAME_EXTENTS@:c"
];


#################################
#       General Settings        #
#################################

# Enable remote control via D-Bus. See the man page for more details.
# dbus = true

# Daemonize process. Fork to background after initialization. Causes issues with certain (badly-written) drivers.
# daemon = false

# Specify the backend to use: `xrender`, `glx`, `egl` or `xr_glx_hybrid`.
# `xrender` is the default one.
# GLX backend is typically much faster but depends on a sane driver.
#
backend = "glx";
# backend = "xrender";

# Use higher precision during rendering, and apply dither when presenting the
# rendered screen. Reduces banding artifacts, but might cause performance
# degradation. Only works with OpenGL.
dithered-present = false;

# Enable/disable VSync.
# vsync = false
vsync = true;

# Specify refresh rate of the screen.
# If not specified or 0, picom will try detecting this with X RandR extension.
# refresh-rate = 0;

# Enable DBE painting mode, intended to use with VSync to (hopefully) eliminate tearing.
# Reported to have no effect, though.
dbe = false;

# Limit picom to repaint at most once every 1 / refresh_rate second to boost performance.
# This should not be used with --vsync drm/opengl/opengl-oml as they essentially does --sw-opti's job already,
# unless you wish to specify a lower refresh rate than the actual value.
# --> DEPRECATED
# sw-opti = false;

# Unredirect all windows if a full-screen opaque window is detected,
# to maximize performance for full-screen windows, like games. Known to cause
# flickering when redirecting/unredirecting windows.
#
# unredir-if-possible = false
unredir-if-possible = false;

# Try to detect WM windows (a non-override-redirect window with no
# child that has 'WM_STATE') and mark them as active.
# mark-wmwin-focused = false
mark-wmwin-focused = true;

# Mark all non-WM but override-redirect windows active (e.g. menus).
# Mark override-redirect windows that doesn't have a child window with 'WM_STATE' focused.
# mark-ovredir-focused = false
mark-ovredir-focused = true;

# Try to detect windows with rounded corners and don't consider them
# shaped windows. The accuracy is not very high, unfortunately.
#
# detect-rounded-corners = false
detect-rounded-corners = true;

# Detect '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' on client windows, useful for window managers
# not passing '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' of client windows to frame windows.
#
# detect-client-opacity = false
detect-client-opacity = true;

# Use EWMH '_NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW' to determine currently focused window,
# instead of using FocusIn/Out events.
# Usually more reliable but depends on a EWMH-compliant WM.
# rather than listening to 'FocusIn'/'FocusOut' event. Might have more accuracy,
# provided that the WM supports it.
# use-ewmh-active-win = false
use-ewmh-active-win = true;

# Delay before unredirecting the window, in milliseconds. Defaults to 0.
# unredir-if-possible-delay = 0

# Conditions of windows that shouldn't be considered full-screen for unredirecting screen.
# unredir-if-possible-exclude = []

# Use 'WM_TRANSIENT_FOR' to group windows, and consider windows
# in the same group focused at the same time.
#
# detect-transient = false
detect-transient = true;

# Use 'WM_CLIENT_LEADER' to group windows, and consider windows in the same
# group focused at the same time. This usually means windows from the same application
# will be considered focused or unfocused at the same time.
# 'WM_TRANSIENT_FOR' has higher priority if detect-transient is enabled, too.
#
# detect-client-leader = false
#
# Use WM_CLIENT_LEADER to group windows, and consider windows in the same group
# focused at the same time. WM_TRANSIENT_FOR has higher priority if
# --detect-transient is enabled, too.
detect-client-leader = true;

# Resize damaged region by a specific number of pixels.
# A positive value enlarges it while a negative one shrinks it.
# If the value is positive, those additional pixels will not be actually painted
# to screen, only used in blur calculation, and such. (Due to technical limitations,
# with use-damage, those pixels will still be incorrectly painted to screen.)
# Primarily used to fix the line corruption issues of blur,
# in which case you should use the blur radius value here
# (e.g. with a 3x3 kernel, you should use `--resize-damage 1`,
# with a 5x5 one you use `--resize-damage 2`, and so on).
# May or may not work with *--glx-no-stencil*. Shrinking doesn't function correctly.
#
# resize-damage = 1

# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should be painted with inverted color.
# Resource-hogging, and is not well tested.
#
# invert-color-include = []

# Disable the use of damage information.
# This cause the whole screen to be redrawn every time, instead of the part of the screen
# has actually changed. Potentially degrades the performance, but might fix some artifacts.
# The opposing option is use-damage
#
# no-use-damage = false
use-damage = true;

# Use X Sync fence to sync clients' draw calls, to make sure all draw
# calls are finished before picom starts drawing. Needed on nvidia-drivers
# with GLX backend for some users.
#
# Needed on nvidia-drivers with GLX backend for some users.
#
# xrender-sync-fence = false
xrender-sync-fence = true;

# GLX backend: Use specified GLSL fragment shader for rendering window
# contents. Read the man page for a detailed explanation of the interface.
#
# window-shader-fg = "default"

# Use rules to set per-window shaders. Syntax is SHADER_PATH:PATTERN, similar
# to opacity-rule. SHADER_PATH can be "default". This overrides window-shader-fg.
#
# window-shader-fg-rule = [
#   "my_shader.frag:window_type != 'dock'"
# ]

# Force all windows to be painted with blending. Useful if you
# have a glx-fshader-win that could turn opaque pixels transparent.
#
# force-win-blend = false

# Do not use EWMH to detect fullscreen windows.
# Reverts to checking if a window is fullscreen based only on its size and coordinates.
#
# no-ewmh-fullscreen = false

# Dimming bright windows so their brightness doesn't exceed this set value.
# Brightness of a window is estimated by averaging all pixels in the window,
# so this could comes with a performance hit.
# Setting this to 1.0 disables this behaviour. Requires --use-damage to be disabled. (default: 1.0)
#
# max-brightness = 1.0

# Make transparent windows clip other windows like non-transparent windows do,
# instead of blending on top of them.
#
# transparent-clipping = false

# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should never have transparent
# clipping applied. Useful for screenshot tools, where you need to be able to
# see through transparent parts of the window.
#
# transparent-clipping-exclude = []

# Set the log level. Possible values are:
#  "trace", "debug", "info", "warn", "error"
# in increasing level of importance. Case doesn't matter.
# If using the "TRACE" log level, it's better to log into a file
# using *--log-file*, since it can generate a huge stream of logs.
#
# log-level = "debug"
log-level = "warn";

# Set the log file.
# If *--log-file* is never specified, logs will be written to stderr.
# Otherwise, logs will to written to the given file, though some of the early
# logs might still be written to the stderr.
# When setting this option from the config file, it is recommended to use an absolute path.
#
# log-file = "/path/to/your/log/file"

# Show all X errors (for debugging)
# show-all-xerrors = false

# Write process ID to a file.
# write-pid-path = "/path/to/your/log/file"

# Window type settings
#
# 'WINDOW_TYPE' is one of the 15 window types defined in EWMH standard:
#     "unknown", "desktop", "dock", "toolbar", "menu", "utility",
#     "splash", "dialog", "normal", "dropdown_menu", "popup_menu",
#     "tooltip", "notification", "combo", and "dnd".
#
# Following per window-type options are available: ::
#
#   fade, shadow:::
#     Controls window-type-specific shadow and fade settings.
#
#   opacity:::
#     Controls default opacity of the window type.
#
#   focus:::
#     Controls whether the window of this type is to be always considered focused.
#     (By default, all window types except "normal" and "dialog" has this on.)
#
#   full-shadow:::
#     Controls whether shadow is drawn under the parts of the window that you
#     normally won't be able to see. Useful when the window has parts of it
#     transparent, and you want shadows in those areas.
#
#   clip-shadow-above:::
#     Controls whether shadows that would have been drawn above the window should
#     be clipped. Useful for dock windows that should have no shadow painted on top.
#
#   redir-ignore:::
#     Controls whether this type of windows should cause screen to become
#     redirected again after been unredirected. If you have unredir-if-possible
#     set, and doesn't want certain window to cause unnecessary screen redirection,
#     you can set this to `true`.
#
wintypes:
{
    tooltip =
    {
        # fade: Fade the particular type of windows.
        fade = true;
        # shadow: Give those windows shadow
        shadow = false;
        # opacity: Default opacity for the type of windows.
        opacity = 0.85;
        # focus: Whether to always consider windows of this type focused.
        focus = true;
    };
    dropdown_menu = { shadow = false; };
    popup_menu    = { shadow = false; };
    utility       = { shadow = false; };
};

# wintypes:
# {
#     tooltip =
#     {
#         # fade: Fade the particular type of windows.
#         fade = false;
#         # shadow: Give those windows shadow
#         shadow = false;
#         # opacity: Default opacity for the type of windows.
#         opacity = 1;
#         # focus: Whether to always consider windows of this type focused.
#         focus = true;
#     };
# };

# wintypes:
# {
#   tooltip = { fade = true; shadow = true; opacity = 0.75; focus = true; full-shadow = false; };
#   dock = { shadow = false; clip-shadow-above = true; }
#   dnd = { shadow = false; }
#   popup_menu = { opacity = 0.8; }
#   dropdown_menu = { opacity = 0.8; }
# };

# wintypes:
# {
#   tooltip = { fade = true; shadow = true; opacity = 0.75; focus = true; full-shadow = false; };
#   dock = { shadow = false; clip-shadow-above = true; }
#   dnd = { shadow = false; }
#   popup_menu = { opacity = 0.9; }
#   dropdown_menu = { opacity = 0.9; }
# };


#################################
#
# GLX backend
#
#################################

# GLX backend: Avoid using stencil buffer, useful if you don't have a stencil buffer.
# Might cause incorrect opacity when rendering transparent content (but never
# practically happened) and may not work with blur-background.
# My tests show a 15% performance boost. Recommended.
#
# glx-no-stencil = false
glx-no-stencil = true;

# GLX backend: Copy unmodified regions from front buffer instead of redrawing them all.
# My tests with nvidia-drivers show a 10% decrease in performance when the whole screen is modified,
# but a 20% increase when only 1/4 is.
# My tests on nouveau show terrible slowdown.
glx-copy-from-front = false;

# GLX backend: Use MESA_copy_sub_buffer to do partial screen update.
# My tests on nouveau shows a 200% performance boost when only 1/4 of the screen is updated.
# May break VSync and is not available on some drivers.
# Overrides --glx-copy-from-front.
# glx-use-
# copysubbuffermesa = true;

# GLX backend: Avoid rebinding pixmap on window damage.
# Probably could improve performance on rapid window content changes, but is known to break things on some drivers (LLVMpipe).
# Recommended if it works.
# glx-no-rebind-pixmap = true;

# GLX backend: GLX buffer swap method we assume.
# Could be undefined (0), copy (1), exchange (2), 3-6, or buffer-age (-1).
# undefined is the slowest and the safest, and the default value.
# copy is fastest, but may fail on some drivers,
# 2-6 are gradually slower but safer (6 is still faster than 0).
# Usually, double buffer means 2, triple buffer means 3.
# buffer-age means auto-detect using GLX_EXT_buffer_age, supported by some drivers.
# Useless with --glx-use-copysubbuffermesa.
# Partially breaks --resize-damage.
# Defaults to undefined.
#
# GLX backend: GLX buffer swap method we assume.
# Could be undefined (0), copy (1), exchange (2), 3-6, or buffer-age (-1).
# undefined is the slowest and the safest, and the default value.
# copy is fastest, but may fail on some drivers,
# 2-6 are gradually slower but safer (6 is still faster than 0).
# Usually, double buffer means 2, triple buffer means 3.
# buffer-age means auto-detect using GLX_EXT_buffer_age, supported by some drivers.
# Useless with --glx-use-copysubbuffermesa.
# Partially breaks --resize-damage.
# Defaults to undefined.
# glx-swap-method = "undefined";

# GLX backend: Avoid rebinding pixmap on window damage.
# Probably could improve performance on rapid window content changes,
# but is known to break things on some drivers (LLVMpipe, xf86-video-intel, etc.).
# Recommended if it works.
#
# glx-no-rebind-pixmap = false


#################################
#
# OTHER
#
#################################
no-dock-shadow = true;


#################################
#
# Blur
#
#################################
# experimental-backends = true;

# blur: {
#   method = "dual_kawase";
#   strength = 10;
#   background = false;
#   background-frame = false;
#   background-fixed = false;
# }

# Blur background of transparent windows. Bad performance with X Render backend. GLX backend is preferred.
# blur-background = false;
# Blur background of opaque windows with transparent frames as well.
# blur-background-frame = true;
# Do not let blur radius adjust based on window opacity.

#blur-kern = "3x3box"
#blur-kern = "7x7gaussian"
#blur-kern = "7x7gaussian";
# blur-background-fixed = false;

# blur-background-exclude = [
#     "window_type = 'dock'",
#     "window_type = 'desktop'"
# ];