Gurjaka

About Me

I'm a systems-focused engineer obsessed with low-level detail and exact control.

I specialize in C, Linux internals, terminals, graphics paths, and Wayland/wlroots. I enjoy understanding the entire stack — from CPU architecture and memory allocation to window managers and UI tooling.

I work on Pretty, contribute to Qtile’s Wayland backend, and engineer production systems for Asklaw.ge.

How I Think

Simplicity

Strip noise. Make the system speak for itself through structure, not ornament.

Control

I prefer layers where behavior is explicit: memory, processes, rendering, IPC.

Breaking to Learn

I intentionally break tools to learn their internals and failure patterns.

Systems Thinking

I like understanding how low-level mechanisms form the foundations for UX.

Engineering Focus

C & Memory

Pointers, allocation, terminal emulation, event loops.

Wayland / wlroots

Compositor behavior, rendering, protocol flows.

NixOS

Flakes, reproducible systems, declarative environments.

Linux Internals

Processes, syscalls, IPC, TTYs, terminals.

My Path

2023

First Steps Into Programming

Started learning Python, basic algorithms, and tooling. Explored Linux for the first time and discovered the terminal.

2023

NixOS & Declarative Systems

Built my first NixOS setup. Learned declarative configs, flakes, and reproducible workflows. This completely shifted how I think about systems.

2024

Diving Into C & Low-Level Concepts

Took a deep dive into memory, pointers, allocation, terminals, and system internals. Started building real software in C.

2024

Terminal Internals & Rendering Paths

Became obsessed with how terminals actually draw text. Learned about glyph rasterization, font metrics, ring buffers, escape sequence parsing, and low-level I/O. This groundwork led directly to the architecture behind Pretty.

2025

Wayland / wlroots Exploration

Learned rendering paths, compositor logic, protocol behavior, and window management internals. Contributed to Qtile’s Wayland backend.

2025

Systems Engineering in Practice

Worked deeply on Qtile’s Wayland backend: border painting, layout logic, input handling, and wlroots integration. Learned how real window manager internals behave under pressure and how to design stable, maintainable low-level code.

2025

Production Systems & Backend Work

Engineered and deployed production-level systems for Asklaw.ge using Python, TypeScript, and Nix. Learned real-world reliability, service design, and deployment discipline.

2025

Building Real Systems

Engineering Pretty, improving Qtile’s backend, and developing production-grade features at Asklaw.ge.

2026 →

Toward My Own Wayland Compositor

Exploring compositor architecture in depth and researching scheduling, damage tracking, GPU paths, and protocol design. Building the foundation for ZirtikWC, a fast, minimal Wayland compositor inspired by the suckless philosophy and wlroots compositors.