FlameWM – lightweight window manager and desktop shell

FlameWM is a window manager and desktop shell designed to provide a complete graphical workspace with modest resource requirements. It combines window management with familiar desktop components, including a taskbar, application menu, desktop icons, widgets and bundled utilities.

The shell’s interface is compiled into native rendering code without requiring an embedded browser. FlameWM offers X11 and Wayland sessions, with X11 serving as the default. Its Wayland compositor supports native Wayland applications and XWayland clients, although the shell and some desktop components currently run through XWayland.

The project separates window management, desktop rendering, settings and applications into distinct components. Its interface follows a familiar desktop layout while offering configurable shortcuts and visual customisation.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• X11 window management with focusing, minimising, maximising, fullscreen operation, moving and resizing.
• Window snapping with previews and keyboard-controlled workspaces.
• Taskbar, Start menu, status popovers and an optional dock-style interface.
• Desktop icons, context menus and configurable wallpapers.
• Desktop widgets displaying a clock, CPU and memory usage, and media information.
• Notification server with notification history, application grouping and popup suppression.
• Screenshot utility supporting full-screen, individual monitor, window and region capture, annotations, clipboard integration and optional screen recording.
• Bundled file explorer, terminal emulator, application finder and task manager.
• On-screen volume display responding to multimedia keyboard controls.
• Screen locking with PAM authentication in the X11 session.
• Optional weather popover using Open-Meteo.
• Optional ARK AI chat assistant with support for a locally available Hermes model proxy.
• Configurable keyboard shortcuts, including workspace navigation, window closing and screenshot controls.

Website: github.com/ArkFlame/FlameWM
Support:
Developer: ArkFlame Studios
License: GNU Library General Public License v2.0

FlameWM is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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