Fluxbox

Last updated
Fluxbox
Developer(s) Henrik Kinnunen
Stable release
1.3.7 [1]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg / 8 February 2015
Repository
Written in C++ [2] [3]
Operating system Unix/Unix-like [note 1]
Type Stacking window manager
License MIT
Website fluxbox.org
Fluxbox 1.3 Xsession running on Debian GNU/Linux 7

Fluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox [2] 0.61.1 in 2001, [4] with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop, [2] and minimal support for graphical icons. All basic configurations are controlled by text files, including the construction of menus and the mapping of key-bindings. [5] Fluxbox has high compliance to the Extended Window Manager Hints specification. [6]

Contents

Fluxbox is basic in appearance, but it can show a few options for improved attractiveness: colors, gradients, [2] borders, and several other basic appearance attributes can be specified. Recent versions support rounded corners and graphical elements. Effects managers such as xcompmgr, cairo-compmgr and transset-df (deprecated) can add true transparency to desktop elements and windows. Enhancements can also be provided by using iDesk or fbdesk, SpaceFM, PCMan File Manager or the ROX Desktop. Fluxbox also has several features Blackbox lacks, including tabbed windows and a configurable titlebar. [7]

Because of its small memory footprint and quick loading time, Fluxbox is popular in many Live CDs such as GParted. It was the default window manager of Damn Small Linux and antiX, but was replaced with JWM in 2007 and 2009, respectively. It is currently the default window manager of PCFluxboxOS, a remaster of PCLinuxOS, and of Linux Mint Fluxbox CE. Fluxbuntu, [8] an Ubuntu derivative with lightweight applications, was released in October 2007. [9]

On December 12, 2019, MX Linux released MX-fluxbox as a fully integrated overlay of MX Linux 19. Previously it had been available from 2014 onward through the Package Installer. [10] A Fluxbox edition has been added to the MX-21 series with Fluxbox in use by default. [11] Fluxbox is also a featured window manager on antiX. [12]

The early versions of Lumina, a desktop environment created for TrueOS, were based on Fluxbox. [13]

As of December 2021 there are 22 flavors of Linux using Fluxbox in some way. [14]

Features

Customization

Customization is done by editing configuration files in the .fluxbox subdirectory in the user's home directory:

See also

Notes

  1. Including:

Related Research Articles

In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphical shell. The desktop environment was seen mostly on personal computers until the rise of mobile computing. Desktop GUIs help the user to easily access and edit files, while they usually do not provide access to all of the features found in the underlying operating system. Instead, the traditional command-line interface (CLI) is still used when full control over the operating system is required.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xfce</span> Desktop environment

Xfce or XFCE is a free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IceWM</span> X11 window manager

IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, originally written by Marko Maček. It was written from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. It is customizable, relatively lightweight in terms of memory and CPU usage, and comes with themes that allow it to imitate the GUI of Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows 7, OS/2, Motif, and other graphical user interfaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoboLinux</span> Linux distribution

GoboLinux is a Linux distribution whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where all of its files may be found. Thus, a program "Foo" has all of its specific files and libraries in /Programs/Foo, under the corresponding version of this program at hand. For example, the commonly known GCC compiler suite version 8.1.0, would reside under the directory /Programs/GCC/8.1.0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Openbox</span> Stacking window manager for X11 displays

Openbox is a free, stacking window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0, Openbox has been completely re-written in the C programming language and since version 3.0 is no longer based upon any code from Blackbox. Since at least 2010, it has been considered feature complete, bug free and a completed project. Occasional maintenance is done to keep it working, but only if needed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slax</span> Linux distribution

Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution developed by Tomáš Matějíček and based on upstream customizable Linux distributions. Packages can be added by apt package manager or can be prepared as modules. The tagline for Slax refers to itself as "your pocket operating system".

The taskbar is a graphical user interface element that has been part of Microsoft Windows since Windows 95, displaying and facilitating switching between running programs. The taskbar and the associated Start Menu were created and named in 1993 by Daniel Oran, a program manager at Microsoft who had previously collaborated on great ape language research with the behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner at Harvard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TrueOS</span> Unix-like, desktop-oriented operating system

TrueOS is a discontinued Unix-like, server-oriented operating system built upon the most recent releases of FreeBSD-CURRENT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiling window manager</span> Window manager with non-overlapping frames

In computing, a tiling window manager is a window manager with the organization of the screen often dependant on mathematical formulas to organise the windows into a non-overlapping frame. This is opposed to the more common approach used by stacking window managers, which allow the user to drag windows around, instead of windows snapping into a position. This allows for a different style of organization, although it strays from the traditional desktop metaphor.

A compositing manager, or compositor, is software that provides applications with an off-screen buffer for each window. The compositing manager composites the window buffers into an image representing the screen and writes the result into the display memory.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LXDE</span> Lightweight desktop environment for Linux and BSD

LXDE was a free desktop environment with comparatively low resource requirements. This makes it especially suitable for use on older or resource-constrained personal computers such as netbooks or system on a chip computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grml</span> Linux distribution

Grml is a Linux distribution based on Debian. It is designed to run mainly from a live CD, but can be made to run from a USB flash drive. Grml aims to be well-suited to system administrators (sysadmin) and other users of text tools. It includes an X Window System server and a few minimalist window managers such as wmii, Fluxbox, and openbox to use the graphical programs like Mozilla Firefox which are included in the distribution.

antiX Lightweight systemd free Linux distribution

antiX is a Linux distribution, originally based on MEPIS, which itself is based on the Debian stable distribution. antiX initially replaced the MEPIS KDE desktop environment with the Fluxbox and IceWM window managers, making it suitable for older, less powerful x86-based systems. Unlike Debian, antiX does not use the systemd init system, instead, antiX provides images in which either SysVinit or Runit are set as the default init system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peppermint OS</span> Linux computer operating system

Peppermint OS is a Linux distribution based on Debian and Devuan Stable, and formerly based on Ubuntu. It uses the Xfce desktop environment. It aims to provide a familiar environment for newcomers to Linux, which requires relatively low hardware resources to run.

cwm (window manager) Stacking window manager

cwm is a stacking window manager for the X Window System. While it is primarily developed as a part of OpenBSD's base system, portable versions are available on other Unix-like operating systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raspberry Pi OS</span> Debian-based operating system for Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi OS is a Unix-like operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution for the Raspberry Pi family of compact single-board computers. Raspbian was developed independently in 2012, became the primary operating system for these boards since 2013, was originally optimized for the Raspberry Pi 1 and distributed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Raspberry Pi Foundation renamed it in 2020 as Raspberry Pi OS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MX Linux</span> Mid-weight family of operating systems

MX Linux is a Linux distribution based on Debian stable and using core antiX components, with additional software created or packaged by the MX community. The development of MX Linux is a collaborative effort between the antiX and former MEPIS communities. The MX name comes from the "M" in MEPIS and the "X" in antiX — an acknowledgment of their roots. The community's stated goal is to produce "a family of operating systems that are designed to combine elegant and efficient desktops with high stability and solid performance".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumina (desktop environment)</span> Desktop environment for X Window System

Lumina Desktop Environment, or simply Lumina, is a plugin-based desktop environment for Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It was designed specifically as a system interface for TrueOS and systems derived from Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) in general, but it has been ported to various Linux distributions.

References

  1. "Fluxbox 1.3.7 - Bam! Zero Bugs!!11!". 8 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Saunders, Mike (March 2008). "Lightweight window managers". Linux Format (103). UK: Future Publishing. Archived from the original on 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  3. Сондерс, Майк (March 2008). Легковесные ОМ (PDF). Linux Format (in Russian) (103). Russia: Mezon.ru: 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  4. Fluxbox - Browse /fluxbox at. Sourceforge.net. Retrieved on 2013-07-13.
  5. Jordan, Michael J. "Using the Fluxbox Window Manager". Linux Online Inc. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  6. "Fluxbox EWMH Support". Archived from the original on 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  7. "Eye candy - Fluxbox-wiki". Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  8. "DistroWatch.com: Fluxbuntu Linux". distrowatch.com. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  9. Fluxbuntu Home Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "MX-fluxbox released as fully integrated overlay – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. December 14, 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  11. "MX-21 Fluxbox beta 1 iso images for testing – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. August 20, 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  12. "antiX Linux – Proudly anti-fascist "antiX Magic" in an environment suitable for old and new computers". antixlinux.com. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  13. Moore, Ken (September 2015). "Basis Of The Lumina Desktop Environment". BSD Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-11-24. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  14. "The following distributions match your criteria: Desktop interface = Fluxbox". distrowatch.com. Retrieved 26 December 2021.

Further reading

Useful tools