Cairo Dock Black Background Fix

Cairo Dock Black Background Fix: Cairo-Dock is an open source desktop dock for Linux. It provides an application launcher, taskbar, and shortcuts on a desktop-like interface. The dock is designed to be visually appealing and customizable, allowing users to enhance their desktop experience.

How to Fix the Cairo Black Background Issue

Quickly fixing the Cairo Dock Black Background problem:

On many Linux systems when hardware rendering is disabled and a composite manager is disabled, Cairo themes will display a black box or rectangle behind the dock. This issue can be fixed by installing a video hardware driver, activating desktop effects, starting compiz or activating composition in metacity. However, to quickly address the issue, we can simply emulate a transparent background. Here's How:

  1. Start your Cairo-Dock.
  2. Right Click on the Dock and select Cairo-Dock > Configure
    Cairo Dock Black Background
  3. Under the Behaviour Section, Click System
    Cairo-Dock Configuration System
  4. Then, within the System Menu:
    (1) Scroll down to Composition and check the box "Emulates composition with fake transparency".
    (2) Click OK
    Emulate Composition Cairo Dock

If all goes well, your Cairo Dock should now look similar to below:

Cairo Dock with Emulated Transparency

That's all there is to it. Enjoy!