spectrwm is a small, dynamic tiling window manager for Xorg. It tries to stay out of the way so that valuable screen real estate can be used for much more important stuff. It seeks inspiration from xmonad and dwm.
spectrwm is written by hackers for hackers, and it strives to be small, compact, and fast.
spectrwm is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Dynamic RandR support (multi-head).
- Navigation anywhere on all screens with either the keyboard or mouse.
- Customizable status bar.
- Human readable configuration file.
- Restartable without losing state.
- Quick launch menu.
- Many screen layouts possible with a few simple key strokes.
- Windows can be added or removed from master area.
- Windows can be moved to any workspace or within a region.
- Resizable master area.
- Move/resize floating windows.
- Drag-to-float.
- Extended Window Manager Hints (EWMH) support.
- Configurable tiling.
- Adjustable tile gap allows for a true one pixel border.
- Customizable colors and border width.
- User definable regions.
- User definable modkey and key bindings.
- User definable quirk bindings.
- User definable key bindings to launch applications.
- Reparenting window manager.
- Cross-platform support – runs under Linux, BSD, OS X, and Windows/Cygwin.
Website: github.com/conformal/spectrwm
Support:
Developer: Conformal Systems, LLC.
License: ISC License
spectrwm is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Dynamic Window Managers | |
|---|---|
| Xmonad | Minimalist, tiling window manager written in Haskell |
| dwm | Manages windows in tiled, monocle and floating layouts |
| Qtile | Full-featured, hackable tiling window manager |
| spectrwm | Small dynamic tiling and reparenting window manager |
| LeftWM | Window manager for adventurers |
| awesome | Highly configurable, tiling window manager initially based on dwm code |
| plwm | Keyboard-focused X11 environment designed for fast and efficient workflows |
| wmii | Lightweight tabbed and tiled |
| sxwm | Lean X11 environment with flexible layouts and efficient keyboard control |
| dusk | dwm-inspired desktop environment offering extensive customisation and control |
| dk | List-based desktop window manager balancing simple configuration and flexibility |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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