Atuin-desktop opens empty window on i3-wm (Failed to create GBM buffer)

Desktop
1

I just got the invite to Atuin Desktop, thanks for that. I’m using arch so I used the PKGBUILD from Arch and its Derivatives PKGBUILD to install atuin-dekstop. It worked without errors, but when open atuin-desktop I just get a blank white window with mostly empty menu bar.

I’m using i3-wm, and I think the error might be related to that.

Console shows this error:

❯ atuin-desktop                                                                                                                                                                        10:22:32
[2025-06-17T07:22:34Z DEBUG atuin_desktop::runtime::exec_log] opening exec_log sqlite database at "/home/mikko/.config/sh.atuin.app/exec_log.db"
starting executor command loop
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 1
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 2
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 3
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 4
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 5
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 6
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 7
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 8
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 9
target window state:  size: PhysicalSize { width: 960, height: 1057 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 4400, y: 360 }
current window state: size: PhysicalSize { width: 0, height: 0 }, pos: PhysicalPosition { x: 0, y: 0 }
adjustment attempt: 10
Failed to create GBM buffer of size 960x1030: Invalid argument
2

Check out the FAQ entry re: Wayland here and see if that fixes it for ya: Frequently Asked Questions

You can also try running Atuin Desktop with WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1

3

Looks like my issue was with the nvidia drivers as with second try on different device it works, same configuration otherwise but different gpu

4

Gotcha. Unfortunately the Nvidia bug has existed in WebKitGTK for a long time; we’d like to move away from WebKitGTK to something like CEF but we don’t currently have an ETA for this.