Comparison of X window managers

Last updated

This article compares variety of different X window managers . For an introduction to the topic, see X Window System.

Contents

General information

NameTypeLanguageInitial releaseLatest release License Memory (MB) [1]
VersionDate
9wm Stacking C 19941.4.2 [2]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2022-01-19 MIT 0.4
aewm [ citation needed ] Stacking C 1.3.12 [3]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2007-12-27 MIT
awesome Dynamic C, Lua 2007-09-184.3 [4]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2019-01-28 GPL-2.0-or-later 9
Berry [ citation needed ] Stacking C 2018-08-242019-09-21 MIT
Blackbox Stacking C++ 0.77 [5]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2021-05-12 MIT 3
bspwm [ citation needed ] Tiling C 2013-04-230.9.10 [6]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2020-08-02 BSD-2-clause [7]
Compiz Compositing C (OpenGL)20060.9.14.2 [8]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2022-08-22 MIT
cwm Stacking C 2004-07-103 [9]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2005-08-28 ISC 8
dkwm Dynamic C 2019-12-011.9-12023-06-18 MIT/X
dwm Dynamic C 2006-07-146.4 [10]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2022-10-04 MIT 1
Enlightenment Compositing C 19970.26.0 [11]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-12-23 BSD-2-clause
evilwm [12] Stacking C 20001.3.1 [13]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2021-07-30aewm/9wm [14]
EXWM [ citation needed ] Tiling Emacs Lisp 0.28 [15]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-10-06 GPL-3.0-or-later
Fluxbox Stacking C++ 2001-09-121.3.7 [16]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2015-02-08 MIT 16
FLWM Stacking C++ (FLTK)19981.02 [17]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2006-06-30 GPL-2.0-or-later
FVWM Dynamic C 1993-06-013-1.0.4 [18]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2021-07-20 GPL 4
herbstluftwm Dynamic C++ 2011-10-02 BSD-2-clause
i3 Dynamic C 2009-03-154.23 [19]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-10-29 BSD-3-clause 3
IceWM Stacking C++ 19973.4.5 [20]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-12-28 LGPL-2.0-only 4.5
Ion Tiling C, Lua 2000 LGPL-2.1-only [lower-alpha 1]
JWM Stacking C 20032.4.3 [21]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2022-10-22 MIT 3
KWin (KDE) Compositing C++ (Qt)5.24.3 [22]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2022-03-08 GPL 41
LeftWM Tiling Rust 20190.5.12023-11-16 MIT
Matchbox Stacking C 2007-04-131.2.2 [23]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2016-12-05 GPL-2.0-or-later
Metacity (GNOME 2) Compositing C, C++ (GTK+)2002-103.50.0 [24]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-09-23 GPL-2.0-or-later
Mutter (GNOME 3+/MeeGo) Compositing C (Clutter)2011-0445.4 [25]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2024-02-11 GPL-2.0-or-later 18.6
Motif Window Manager (mwm) Stacking C 19892.3.8 [26]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2017-12-05 LGPL-2.1-or-later
Openbox Stacking C 2002-09-183.6.1 [27]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2015-07-01 GPL-2.0-or-later 7
PekWM Stacking C++ 0.3.0 [28]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-01-23 GPL-2.0-or-later 5.3
PlayWM [ citation needed ] Stacking C GPL
Qtile Dynamic Python 2008-08-310.24.0 [29]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2024-01-20 MIT 2
Ragnar Tiling C 2023-05-151.3.02023-06-12 GPL
Ratpoison Tiling C 2000-12-041.4.9 [30]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2017-04-04 GPL-2.0-or-later 1
Sawfish Stacking Lisp, C 2000-01-011.13.0 [31]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2021-12-24 GPL-2.0-or-later 3.1
SithWM Stacking C 1.2.3 [32]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2008-04-25 GPL
spectrwm [ citation needed ] Dynamic C 3.5.1 [33]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-11-25 ISC
steamcompmgr [ citation needed ] Compositing C [34] 2013 BSD-2-clause [35]
StumpWM Tiling Common Lisp 23.11 [36]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-11-26 GPL-2.0-or-later
twm Stacking C 19871.0.12 [37] [38]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2022-04-02 MIT-open-group
MIT-CMU
XFree86-1.0		1.2
Ultrix Window Manager (uwm) Stacking C 1985Similar to BSD licenses
Window Maker Stacking C 19970.96.0 [39]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2023-08-05 GPL-2.0-or-later 7
Wingo [ citation needed ] Dynamic Go WTFPL
WMFS [ citation needed ] Tiling C 201003 [40]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2010-03-28 BSD-3-clause
wmii Dynamic C 2005-06-013.9.2 [41]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2010-06-10 MIT
Xfwm (Xfce) Compositing C, C++ (GTK+)19964.18 [42]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2022-12-15 GPL, LGPL 70
xmonad Dynamic Haskell 2007-03-060.18.0 [43]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2024-02-03 BSD-3-clause 2
worm Dynamic Nim 2021-12-120.322023-2-3 MIT
NameTypeLanguageInitial releaseLatest release License Memory (MB)
VersionDate
  1. ↑ LGPL-2.1-only with naming restrictions on modified versions.

Features

NameConfigurable titlebar buttonsGraphical configuration Hotkeys ICCCM/EWMH compliantPanel for window switching Tabbed windows Themeable
9wm NoNoNoYesNoNo
aewm [ citation needed ]NoNoNoYesYesNoNo
awesome YesNoYesYesYesNoYes
Berry [ citation needed ]NoYes [lower-alpha 1] Yes [lower-alpha 2] NoNoNoYes
Blackbox NoDepends [lower-alpha 3] Depends [lower-alpha 4] Yes [lower-alpha 5] YesNoYes
bspwm [ citation needed ]NoNoYes [lower-alpha 6] PartialNoNoNo
Compiz YesYesYesYesDepends [lower-alpha 3] YesYes
cwm no titlebar buttonsNoYesNoNoYes
dkwm
dwm no titlebar buttonsNoYesYesNoYes
Enlightenment YesYesYesYesYesNoYes
evilwm [12] no titlebar buttonsNoYesPartial [12] NoNoYes
EXWM [ citation needed ]NoNoYesPartialNoDependsYes
Fluxbox YesDepends [lower-alpha 3] YesYes [45] YesYesYes
FLWM NoYesNo [lower-alpha 7] NoNo
FVWM YesNoYesYesYesYes [46] Depends [lower-alpha 3] [47] [48]
herbstluftwm no titlebar buttonsNoYesYesNoYesYes
i3 no titlebar buttonsNoYesYesNoYesYes
IceWM YesDepends [lower-alpha 3] YesYesYesNoYes
Ion no titlebar buttonsNoYesNoYesYes
JWM YesDepends [lower-alpha 3] YesEWMHYesNoYes
KWin (KDE) YesYesYesYesYesYesYes
LeftWM
Matchbox EWMH complianceNoNoYes
Metacity (GNOME)YesYesYesYesYesNoYes
Mutter (GNOME/MeeGo)YesYesYesYesGnome ShellNoYes
Motif Window Manager (mwm)NoNoYesNo [lower-alpha 8]
Openbox YesDepends [lower-alpha 3] YesYesDepends [lower-alpha 3] NoYes
PekWM YesNoYesPartialNoYesYes
PlayWM [ citation needed ]YesNoYesYesYesNoYes
Qtile YesNoYesYesYesYes
Ragnar
Ratpoison NoNoYesNoNoNoNo
Sawfish YesYesYesPartialYesprimitiveYes
SithWM no titlebar buttonsNoYesNoNoYes
spectrwm [ citation needed ]no titlebar buttonsNoYesYesNoNosolid colors
steamcompmgr [ citation needed ]NoNoYesNoNoNo
StumpWM NoNoYesNoNoNoNo
twm YesNoYesYesNosolid colors
uwm
Window Maker NoYesYesPartialYesYesYes
Wingo [ citation needed ]YesNoYesYesYesNoYes
WMFS [ citation needed ]YesNoYesYesYesYesYes
wmii YesNoYesYesNoYesYes
Xfwm (Xfce) YesYesYesYesYesNoYes
xmonad YesNoYesYes / ?Depends [lower-alpha 3] YesYes
worm
NameConfigurable titlebar buttonsGraphical configuration Hotkeys ICCCM/EWMH compliantPanel for window switching Tabbed windows Themeable
  1. ↑ Via CLI client.
  2. ↑ Via CLI client and third party (e.g. sxhkd).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Via third party.
  4. ↑ With bbkeys.
  5. ↑ Through 0.65 / from 0.70. [44]
  6. ↑ With sxhkd.
  7. ↑ There is a window list menu.
  8. ↑ Can change colours.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X window manager</span> Type of window manager

An X window manager is a window manager that runs on top of the X Window System, a windowing system mainly used on Unix-like systems.

twm Window manager for the X Window System

twm is a window manager for the X Window System. Started in 1987 by Tom LaStrange, it has been the standard window manager for the X Window System since version X11R4. The name originally stood for Tom's Window Manager, but the software was renamed Tab Window Manager by the X Consortium when they adopted it in 1989. twm is a stacking window manager that provides title bars, shaped windows and icon management. It is highly configurable and extensible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FVWM</span>

The F Virtual Window Manager (FVWM) is a virtual window manager for the X Window System. Originally a twm derivative, FVWM has evolved into a powerful and highly configurable environment for Unix-like systems.

In computing, the Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual is a standard protocol for the X Window System. It specifies conventions for clients of a common X server about selections and cut buffers, communication with the window manager and session manager, manipulation of shared resources, and color characterization.

The landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols. Clients that use the same protocol can typically federate and talk to one another. The following table compares general and technical information for cross-platform instant messaging clients in active development, each of which have their own article that provide further information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CTWM</span> Unix window manager

In Unix computing, CTWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System in the twm family of window managers. It was created in 1992 by Claude Lecommandeur from the source code for twm, which he extended to allow for virtual desktops

Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

Altap Salamander is a freeware orthodox file manager for Microsoft Windows, originally inspired by Norton Commander. In contrast to several other file managers, it has a context aware user interface hiding complexity – for instance, the bottom function list changes on press of modifier keys, just showing the currently available hotkey function set.

This article provides basic comparisons for notable text editors. More feature details for text editors are available from the Category of text editor features and from the individual products' articles. This article may not be up-to-date or necessarily all-inclusive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FVWM95</span>

FVWM95 is a window manager for the X Window System based on the popular FVWM 2 window manager. It is similar to the original FVWM, but is designed to closely resemble the look of Windows 95.

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of notable file managers.

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of HTML editors.

This comparison contains download managers, and also file sharing applications that can be used as download managers. For pure file sharing applications see the Comparison of file sharing applications.

A desktop environment is a collection of software designed to give functionality and a certain look and feel to an operating system.

The following is a general comparison of BitTorrent clients, which are computer programs designed for peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol.

This is a comparison of notable web frameworks, software used to build and deploy web applications.

Extended Window Manager Hints, a.k.a. NetWM, is an X Window System standard for the communication between window managers and applications. It builds on the functionality of the Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual (ICCCM).

The following is a comparison of RSS feed aggregators. Often e-mail programs and web browsers have the ability to display RSS feeds. They are listed here, too.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Explorer++</span> File manager for Microsoft Windows

Explorer++ is a free and open-source navigational file manager for Microsoft Windows. It features multi-tabbed panes, bookmarks menu, and a customizable user interface. It can be configured to run portably or use the registry. It can also be set to replace Windows Explorer as the default file manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LXQt</span> Lightweight Qt Desktop Environment

LXQt is a free and open source lightweight desktop environment. It was formed from the merger of the LXDE and Razor-qt projects.

References

  1. ↑ "A Memory Comparison of Light Linux Desktops". l3net - a layer 3 networking blog. 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  2. ↑ "Release 1.4.2 · 9wm/9wm · GitHub".
  3. ↑ "aewm". Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Release 4.3". 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Release 0.77". 12 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Release 0.9.10". 2 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "bspwm License". GitHub . 2 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "Compiz 0.9.14.2 released". 22 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "cwm". Archived from the original on 8 June 2015.
  10. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  11. ↑ "Enlightenment 0.26.0 Release". 23 December 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 "evilwm - standards support". Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2009-10-26. evilwm releases following and including version 1.1.0 follow the EWMH standard.
  13. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  14. ↑ "evilwm.txt".
  15. ↑ "Exwm version 0.28". 6 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "Fluxbox 1.3.7 - Bam! Zero Bugs!!11!". 8 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  18. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  19. ↑ "Release 4.23". 29 October 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  20. ↑ "Release icewm-3.4.5". 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "v2.4.3".
  22. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  23. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  24. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  25. ↑ "Tag 45.4".
  26. ↑ "Motif 2.3.8 Source Code". 5 December 2017.
  27. ↑ "Openbox:Changelog".
  28. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  29. ↑ "Release 0.24.0". 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  30. ↑ Jeremie Courreges-Anglas (4 April 2017). "ratpoison-1.4.9 has been released" . Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  31. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  32. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  33. ↑ "Release 3.5.1". 25 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  34. ↑ "steamos-compositor debian source package". /steamos-compositor-1.35/src/steamcompmgr.c.
  35. ↑ "steamos-compositor amd64 debian package". /usr/share/doc/steamos-compositor/copyright. License: BSD-2-clause
  36. ↑ "Release 23.11". 26 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  37. ↑ "[ANNOUNCE] twm 1.0.12". 2 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  38. ↑ "twm-1.0.12 · Tags · xorg / app / twm · GitLab". 2 April 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  39. ↑ "Version 0.96.0 released". 5 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  40. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  41. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  42. ↑ "News – Xfce 4.18 released – Xfce".
  43. ↑ "Release 0.18.0". 3 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  44. ↑ "NetWM - Blackbox". Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2008-03-29. Blackbox releases up to and including version 0.65.0 follow the ICCCM standard, while 0.70 and later follow EWMH.
  45. ↑ "Tables". Archived from the original on 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  46. ↑ FvwmTabs Archived 2009-08-02 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ↑ Fvwm Themes
  48. ↑ FVWM-Crystal
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.