IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System. It is fast and memory-efficient, and it provides many different looks including Windows, OS/2 Warp 3,4, and Motif. It tries to take the best features of the above systems.
The IceWM suite consists of the following core applications provided by the main package:
- icewm.
- icewmbg – the background setting applications. It can assign plain background color or images in different formats to the X background, shared or separated for different workspaces.
- icewmtray – catches the Docklet objects installed by various applications like PSI.
- icewm-session – runs all of the above when needed.
- icewm-menu-gnome1 – used internally, generates IceWM program menus from located GNOME(1) menus.
- icewm-menu-gnome2 – used internally, generates IceWM program menus from FreeDesktop .desktop files.
- icewmhint – used internally.
IceWM can be configured from plain text files stored in a user’s home directory, making it simple to customize and copy settings.
There is also an even lighter version of IceWM called IceWM-lite. It doesn’t have all the features of the regular version but is perfect for very slow CPUs (<200MHz) or even for network terminals.
Key Features
- Fully usable with keyboard.
- Alt+Tab window switching.
- Efficient resource usage.
- Task bar (optional).
- Multiple workspaces.
- Opaque move/resize.
- Window list.
- Mailbox status.
- Digital clock.
- Themes.
- Usable with GNOME and KDE environments.
- Internationalization support.
Website: github.com/bbidulock/icewm
Support: Wiki
Developer: Marko Macek, Mathias Hasselmann
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
IceWM is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Stacking Window Managers | |
|---|---|
| Openbox | Standards compliant, fast, light-weight, extensible window manager |
| KWin | Window manager for the KDE Plasma Desktop |
| Mutter | Wayland display server and X11 window manager and compositor library |
| FVWM | Powerful ICCCM-compliant multiple virtual desktop window manager |
| berry | Healthy, bite-sized window manager |
| xfwm | Part of the Xfce desktop environment |
| Window Maker | NeXTSTEP-like window manager |
| JWM | Joe’s Window Manager |
| Gala | Designed by elementary for use with Pantheon |
| Fluxbox | Highly configurable and low resource |
| evilwm | Maximises screen real estate and provides good keyboard control |
| Worm | Tiny, dynamic, tag-based window manager |
| Blackbox | Similar to the NeXT interface and Window Maker |
| Enlightenment | Focuses on pushing the limits of existing technologies |
| PekWM | Originally based on the aewm++ window manager |
| Marco | MATE default window manager |
| 2bwm | Offers 2 borders, and written over the XCB library |
| cwm | OpenBSD fork of calmwn, a clean and lightweight window manager |
| IceWM | Win95-OS/2-Motif-like window manager |
| Sawfish | Extensible window manager using an Emacs Lisp-like scripting language |
| Moksha | Modern iteration of the Enlightenment window manager |
| Magpie | X11 window manager and compositor library |
| sowm | Itsy bitsy floating window manager |
| Compiz | OpenGL window and compositing manager |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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