diff --git a/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig b/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig
index f9a3ab160..eb9a11c18 100644
--- a/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig
@@ -223,19 +223,6 @@ pub fn init(core_app: *CoreApp, opts: Options) !App {
         _ = internal_os.setenv("GDK_DISABLE", value[0 .. value.len - 1 :0]);
     }
 
-    if (version.runtimeAtLeast(4, 14, 0)) {
-        switch (config.@"gtk-gsk-renderer") {
-            .default => {},
-            else => |renderer| {
-                // Force the GSK renderer to a specific value. After GTK 4.14 the
-                // `ngl` renderer is used by default which causes artifacts when
-                // used with Ghostty so it should be avoided.
-                log.warn("setting GSK_RENDERER={s}", .{@tagName(renderer)});
-                _ = internal_os.setenv("GSK_RENDERER", @tagName(renderer));
-            },
-        }
-    }
-
     c.gtk_init();
     const display: *c.GdkDisplay = c.gdk_display_get_default() orelse {
         // I'm unsure of any scenario where this happens. Because we don't
diff --git a/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig b/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig
index 6c39677d5..de0a8f812 100644
--- a/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig
@@ -1325,14 +1325,35 @@ fn gtkRealize(area: *c.GtkGLArea, ud: ?*anyopaque) callconv(.C) void {
 /// This is called when the underlying OpenGL resources must be released.
 /// This is usually due to the OpenGL area changing GDK surfaces.
 fn gtkUnrealize(area: *c.GtkGLArea, ud: ?*anyopaque) callconv(.C) void {
-    _ = area;
-
-    log.debug("gl surface unrealized", .{});
     const self = userdataSelf(ud.?);
-    self.core_surface.renderer.displayUnrealized();
+    log.debug("gl surface unrealized", .{});
 
     // See gtkRealize for why we do this here.
     c.gtk_im_context_set_client_widget(self.im_context, null);
+
+    // There is no guarantee that our GLArea context is current
+    // when unrealize is emitted, so we need to make it current.
+    c.gtk_gl_area_make_current(area);
+    if (c.gtk_gl_area_get_error(area)) |err| {
+        // I don't know a scenario this can happen, but it means
+        // we probably leaked memory because displayUnrealized
+        // below frees resources that aren't specifically OpenGL
+        // related. I didn't make the OpenGL renderer handle this
+        // scenario because I don't know if its even possible
+        // under valid circumstances, so let's log.
+        const message: []const u8 = if (err.*.message) |v|
+            std.mem.span(v)
+        else
+            "(no message)";
+        log.warn(
+            "gl_area_make_current failed in unrealize msg={s}",
+            .{message},
+        );
+        log.warn("OpenGL resources and memory likely leaked", .{});
+        return;
+    } else {
+        self.core_surface.renderer.displayUnrealized();
+    }
 }
 
 /// render signal
diff --git a/src/config/Config.zig b/src/config/Config.zig
index 802c77e2e..681984c7d 100644
--- a/src/config/Config.zig
+++ b/src/config/Config.zig
@@ -2089,13 +2089,11 @@ keybind: Keybinds = .{},
 /// debug builds, `false` for all others.
 @"gtk-opengl-debug": bool = builtin.mode == .Debug,
 
-/// After GTK 4.14.0, we need to force the GSK renderer to OpenGL as the default
-/// GSK renderer is broken on some systems. If you would like to override
-/// that bekavior, set `gtk-gsk-renderer=default` and either use your system's
-/// default GSK renderer, or set the GSK_RENDERER environment variable to your
-/// renderer of choice before launching Ghostty. This setting has no effect when
-/// using versions of GTK earlier than 4.14.0.
-@"gtk-gsk-renderer": GtkGskRenderer = .opengl,
+/// Obsolete configuration that should not be set. This was deprecated in
+/// Ghostty 1.1.3 and no longer has any effect. The configuration key will
+/// be fully removed in 1.2.0. You can manually override the GSK renderer
+/// using standard environment variables such as `GSK_RENDERER` (from GTK).
+@"gtk-gsk-renderer": GtkGskRenderer = .default,
 
 /// If `true`, the Ghostty GTK application will run in single-instance mode:
 /// each new `ghostty` process launched will result in a new window if there is