With the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10, one major change stands out: the removal of native X11 support in favor of Wayland. While Red Hat includes XWayland to keep legacy X11 applications running, the experience isn’t identical — and some limitations are immediately noticeable.
Other distributions are following suit including Alma Linux, Rocky Linux, SuSE and Ubuntu.
One of the most common pain points appears when running desktop environments like GNOME. Under RHEL 10, you can no longer dynamically scale the GNOME desktop window the way you could under X11. For users who rely on flexible window resizing — especially in remote desktop workflows — this can be frustrating.
Fortunately, there are several practical ways with FastX to work around this limitation.
1. Stay on RHEL 9 (Supported Through 2032)
If your workflow depends heavily on X11 behavior, the simplest solution is to remain on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. Red Hat has committed to supporting RHEL 9 until 2032, giving organizations a long runway before needing to adopt Wayland-only environments.
This option is ideal for enterprises that prioritize stability and compatibility over new platform features.
2. Adjust GNOME Resolution
When running RH 10, on the inside the GNOME application button, click the Edit icon (as shown in the screenshot).
From there, change the resolution to something that fits your monitor more naturally. For example:
- Set the resolution to something like 2300 × 1150. This will make the GNOME desktop appear nearly full screen.
- You can experiment with multiple resolutions until you find the one that feels right.
- When the desktop comes up, open a task like Terminal. The desktop will now extend. The black border all but vanishes and you can once again resize the desktop by grabbing one of the corners of the window with your mouse.
This isn’t true dynamic scaling, but it does allow you to approximate the window size you want.
3 – Create a Custom Application
To avoid having to change the resolution every time you start a Gnome session (the settings do not stick) you can click on “Custom” and create a Gnome application. Simply change the command to “gnome-session”, change the display mode to “Single” and then update the resolution to 2300 x 1150 or whatever combination works for you. Finally Name the application the application. Now you have a permanent Gnome session with your preferred resolution.
4 – Use the FastX GNOME-Wayland Desktop (Available this Fall)
After introducing Wayland support for individual applications in FastX 5.1, StarNet is introducing a GNOME-Wayland desktop mode that restores the ability to natively scale the Gnome-Wayland desktop window using your mouse — just like you could under X11.
This upcoming feature is designed specifically to address the scaling limitations users encounter under RHEL 10. Once available, it will likely become the most seamless workaround for teams that rely on graphical Linux desktops in remote environments.
5. Run X11 Applications in Multiple Window Mode (Rootless Windows)
If your primary need is running X11 applications — not a full GNOME desktop — you can bypass the GNOME scaling issue entirely.
FastX supports Multiple Window Mode, also known as rootless windows, which allows X11 applications to appear directly on your Windows, macOS, or Linux workstation desktop. In this mode:
- You don’t run a GNOME or Linux desktop at all.
- FastX manages each X11 application window individually.
- You regain full native window control, including resizing and positioning.
For those who are not insisting on having a Linux desktop, this ends up being the most efficient and flexible workflow.
Final Thoughts
The transition from X11 to Wayland is a major shift in the Linux ecosystem, and RHEL 10 marks a significant milestone in that evolution. While the loss of dynamic GNOME scaling can be inconvenient, the workarounds above ensure you can continue using Linux desktops and X11 applications effectively — whether you stay on RHEL 9, adjust resolution settings, adopt FastX’s upcoming Wayland-Gnome support, or switch to rootless X11 windows.