Sway (window manager)

Sway
Original author(s)	Drew DeVault (SirCmpwn)
Initial release	March 24, 2016;9 years ago (2016-03-24) [1]
Stable release	1.11 / June 8, 2025;3 months ago (2025-06-08) [2]
Repository	github.com/swaywm/sway.git
Written in	C
Operating system	Unix-like
Size	5.33 MiB
Type	Window manager
License	MIT License
Website	swaywm.org

Sway is a tiling window manager and Wayland compositor, inspired by i3, and written in C. ^[3] Sway is designed as a drop-in replacement for i3 using the Wayland display server protocol and wlroots compositor library. ^[4] Sway works with existing i3 configuration files and supports most of i3's features while providing several new features of its own. ^[5]

Like i3, Sway can be extended and manipulated using its Unix domain socket and JSON-based IPC interface from many programming languages. ^[6]

Sway's first stable release was on March 11, 2019, after 3.6 years of development. ^[7]

Features

Sway replicates several of i3's features:

• Configuration is performed via a plain text file. ^[6]
• Window tiling is handled manually, rather than dynamically.
• Controls are the same as i3, with a $mod modifier key (Super or Alt by default) pressed with an arrow key to change focus to a window. Window movement is performed with the same combination of $mod and an arrow key, but with the Shift key pressed as well.
• Supports vi controls for window manipulation with the h, j, k, and l keys. ^[8]
• Windows can be split horizontally or vertically.
• Windows can be arranged in a tabbed (horizontal) or stacked (vertical) list layout.
• Windows can be floated similar to a floating window manager.
• Tiled and floated windows can be resized or moved using both the mouse and keyboard. ^[9]
• Sway can be completely driven from the keyboard. ^[10]

Sway also provides several unique features:

• Supports multiple non-modifier keys when assigning key bindings. ^[11]
• Windows on the same workspace can be split into multiple containers, such that one set of windows might be arranged in a tabbed layout while the other windows on the workspace might be tiled normally, floating, or arranged in a stacked layout.
• Handles input, output, and wallpaper configurations instead of relying on separate programs.
• Has its own ecosystem of utilities such as swaybg, swaybar, and swayidle.
• Gestures.

References

1. Sway Initial Release, Sway, 2019-08-09, retrieved 2019-08-09
2. Sway Latest Release, Sway, 2025-06-08, retrieved 2025-06-27
3. "State of Sway - December 2015". Drew DeVault’s Blog. 2015-12-20. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
4. "Wlroots Is A New, Modular Wayland Compositor Library - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
5. "Linux Hardware Reviews, Open-Source Benchmarks & Linux Performance - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
6. Sway - FLOSS Weekly 501, 10 October 2018, retrieved 2019-08-09
7. "Announcing the release of sway 1.0". Drew DeVault’s Blog. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
8. "sway/config.in at master · swaywm/sway". GitHub. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
9. "Sway - A Tiling Wayland i3-Compatible Compositor". FOSSMint: Everything About Linux and FOSS. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
10. "Sway: A Tiling Window Manager Specially Crafted for Wayland". itsfoss.com. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
11. Differences from i3, Sway, 2019-08-09, retrieved 2019-08-09

External links

• Official website
• Official Github