Bug 504534

Description
This report details a persistent issue in KDE Plasma on Wayland where certain native 3-finger and 4-finger touchpad swipe gestures conflict with, or cannot be overridden by, custom configurations using libinput-gestures. This behavior prevents complete user control over touchpad input, leading to inconsistent desktop interactions.

The core problem is observed with the following gestures:

3-finger horizontal swipes (left/right, typically for browser navigation or custom actions).
4-finger horizontal swipes (left/right, typically for virtual desktop switching).
4-finger vertical swipes (up/down, typically for virtual desktop switching or "Present Windows" actions).
Observed Behavior:
When these gestures are performed, KDE Plasma's native Wayland gesture actions (e.g., virtual desktop switching, "Present Windows") are triggered, even when libinput-gestures is running and configured with a custom command for the same gesture. This results in:

Conflicting actions: Both the native KDE action and the libinput-gestures command might execute simultaneously or unpredictably.
Override failure: The libinput-gestures command is frequently ignored in favor of the native KDE action.
Inconsistent user experience: The touchpad does not respond as configured, disrupting muscle memory and workflow.
Expected Behavior:
Users should be able to fully disable or override all native touchpad gestures within KDE Plasma on Wayland. This allows external tools like libinput-gestures to assume complete control over touchpad input, consistent with the expected level of customization in a robust desktop environment. A seamless and predictable response to custom gesture configurations is crucial for an efficient user experience, as demonstrated by other operating systems (e.g., Windows) and the KDE Plasma X11 session, where libinput-gestures functions without conflict.

Steps Taken to Reproduce and Mitigate (without success):

libinput-gestures Setup:

libinput-gestures was installed and the user was added to the input group.
The libinput-gestures.service user unit was enabled and verified as active (running).
The ~/.config/libinput-gestures.conf file was configured using the correct syntax as documented in the installed package's default configuration (gesture <action> <motion> [finger_count] <command>). Example configurations that exhibit conflict:
Ini, TOML

# Example conflicting gestures:
gesture swipe left 3 xdotool key alt+left
gesture swipe right 3 xdotool key alt+right
gesture swipe left 4 xdotool key ctrl+alt+left
gesture swipe right 4 xdotool key ctrl+alt+right
gesture swipe up 4 xdotool key super+w
xdotool is installed and functional for other keybinding needs.
Attempts to Disable Native KDE Gestures via System Settings:

Desktop Effects (System Settings > Workspace Behavior > Desktop Effects): The following effects were explicitly unchecked and disabled:
"Desktop Grid"
"Present Windows (All Activities)"
"Present Windows (Current Activity)"
"Present Windows (Current Desktop)"
All other potentially conflicting overview/window management effects.
Global Shortcuts (System Settings > Shortcuts > Global Shortcuts > KWin): Relevant keyboard shortcuts associated with desktop switching, window presentation, and desktop grid actions were unassigned or disabled.
After each configuration change, the libinput-gestures.service was restarted (systemctl --user restart libinput-gestures.service), and the KDE Plasma session was logged out and back in to ensure changes were applied.
Conclusion:
Despite thorough troubleshooting, including verifying libinput-gestures configuration and attempting to disable all relevant KDE Plasma settings, the aforementioned 3-finger and 4-finger Wayland gestures continue to conflict. This strongly suggests these gestures are deeply integrated or hard-coded within KWin's Wayland compositor, without a user-accessible option to disable or override them.

Impact:
This limitation significantly detracts from the user experience, particularly for power users who rely on precise gesture control. It hinders the ability to fully customize a core input device and creates a usability barrier for those seeking a highly personalized and efficient Wayland environment. Addressing this issue would substantially enhance KDE Plasma's appeal and functionality on Wayland.

System Information
KDE Plasma Version: [Milon, please fill this in from System Settings -> About System]
KDE Frameworks Version: [Milon, please fill this in from System Settings -> About System]
Qt Version: [Milon, please fill this in from System Settings -> About System]
Kernel Version: Linux-6.12.28-1-MANJARO-x86_64
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Operating System: Manjaro KDE
libinput-gestures Version: 2.80
python Version: 3.13.3
libinput Version: 1.28.1
xdotool status: Installed and verified.