Comparison of X window managers
Updated: 11/6/2025, 1:57:22 AM Wikipedia source
This article compares variety of different X window managers. For an introduction to the topic, see X Window System.
Tables
· General information
Version
Version
Name
Version
Type
Date
9wm
9wm
Name
9wm
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1994
Latest release
1.4.2
Latest release
2022-01-19
License
MIT
Memory (MB)
0.4
aewm
aewm
Name
aewm
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1999
Latest release
1.3.12
Latest release
2007-12-27
License
MIT
awesome
awesome
Name
awesome
Type
Dynamic
Language
C, Lua
Initial release
2007-09-18
Latest release
4.3
Latest release
2019-01-28
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
9
Berry
Berry
Name
Berry
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2018-08-24
Latest release
0.1.12
Latest release
2022-10-24
License
MIT
Blackbox
Blackbox
Name
Blackbox
Type
Stacking
Language
C++
Initial release
1997
Latest release
0.77
Latest release
2021-05-12
License
MIT
Memory (MB)
3
bspwm
bspwm
Name
bspwm
Type
Tiling
Language
C
Initial release
2013-04-23
Latest release
0.9.12
Latest release
2025-10-08
License
BSD-2-clause
Compiz
Compiz
Name
Compiz
Type
Compositing
Language
C (OpenGL)
Initial release
2006
Latest release
0.9.14.2
Latest release
2022-08-22
License
MIT
CTWM
CTWM
Name
CTWM
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1992
Latest release
4.1.0
Latest release
2023-03-26
License
MIT
cwm
cwm
Name
cwm
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2004-07-10
Latest release
3
Latest release
2005-08-28
License
ISC
Memory (MB)
8
dkwm
dkwm
Name
dkwm
Type
Dynamic
Language
C
Initial release
2019-12-01
Latest release
1.9-1
Latest release
2023-06-18
License
MIT/X
dwm
dwm
Name
dwm
Type
Dynamic
Language
C
Initial release
2006-07-14
Latest release
6.6
Latest release
2025-08-09
License
MIT
Memory (MB)
1
Enlightenment
Enlightenment
Name
Enlightenment
Type
Compositing
Language
C
Initial release
1997
Latest release
0.27.1
Latest release
2025-03-14
License
BSD-2-clause
Enlightenment 16
Enlightenment 16
Name
Enlightenment 16
Type
Compositing
Language
C
Initial release
2009-06-03
Latest release
1.0.30
Latest release
2024-08-10
evilwm
evilwm
Name
evilwm
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2000
Latest release
1.4.3
Latest release
2024-03-09
License
aewm/9wm
EXWM
EXWM
Name
EXWM
Type
Tiling
Language
Emacs Lisp
Initial release
2018
Latest release
0.32
Latest release
2024-10-05
License
GPL-3.0-or-later
Fluxbox
Fluxbox
Name
Fluxbox
Type
Stacking
Language
C++
Initial release
2001-09-12
Latest release
1.3.7
Latest release
2015-02-08
License
MIT
Memory (MB)
16
FLWM
FLWM
Name
FLWM
Type
Stacking
Language
C++ (FLTK)
Initial release
1998
Latest release
1.02
Latest release
2006-06-30
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
FVWM
FVWM
Name
FVWM
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1993-06-01
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
4
herbstluftwm
herbstluftwm
Name
herbstluftwm
Type
Dynamic
Language
C++
Initial release
2011-10-02
Latest release
0.9.5
Latest release
2022-07-30
License
BSD-2-clause
i3
i3
Name
i3
Type
Dynamic
Language
C
Initial release
2009-03-15
Latest release
4.24
Latest release
2024-11-06
License
BSD-3-clause
Memory (MB)
3
IceWM
IceWM
Name
IceWM
Type
Stacking
Language
C++
Initial release
1997
Latest release
3.9.0
Latest release
2025-08-31
License
LGPL-2.0-only
Memory (MB)
4.5
Ion
Ion
Name
Ion
Type
Tiling
Language
C, Lua
Initial release
2000
Latest release
Final
Latest release
2009-01-10
License
LGPL-2.1-only
JWM
JWM
Name
JWM
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2003
Latest release
2.4.5
Latest release
2024-10-05
License
MIT
Memory (MB)
3
KWin (KDE)
KWin (KDE)
Name
KWin (KDE)
Type
Compositing
Language
C++ (Qt)
Initial release
2002
Latest release
6.4.3
Latest release
2025-07-15
License
GPL
Memory (MB)
41
LeftWM
LeftWM
Name
LeftWM
Type
Tiling
Language
Rust
Initial release
2019
Latest release
0.5.3
Latest release
2024-10-20
License
MIT
Matchbox
Matchbox
Name
Matchbox
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2007-04-13
Latest release
1.2.3
Latest release
2023-03-15
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Metacity (GNOME 2/LiMo)
Metacity (GNOME 2/LiMo)
Name
Metacity (GNOME 2/LiMo)
Type
Compositing
Language
C, C++ (GTK+)
Initial release
2002-10
Latest release
3.56.0
Latest release
2025-04-26
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Moksha (E17)
Moksha (E17)
Name
Moksha (E17)
Type
Compositing
Language
C
Initial release
2015-08-11
Latest release
0.4.1
Latest release
2023-07-23
Motif Window Manager (mwm)
Motif Window Manager (mwm)
Name
Motif Window Manager (mwm)
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1989
Latest release
2.3.8
Latest release
2017-12-05
License
LGPL-2.1-or-later
Mutter (GNOME 3+/MeeGo)
Mutter (GNOME 3+/MeeGo)
Name
Mutter (GNOME 3+/MeeGo)
Type
Compositing
Language
C (Clutter)
Initial release
2011-04
Latest release
48.4
Latest release
2025-06-29
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
18.6
Openbox
Openbox
Name
Openbox
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2002-09-18
Latest release
3.6.1
Latest release
2015-07-01
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
7
PekWM
PekWM
Name
PekWM
Type
Stacking
Language
C++
Initial release
2009
Latest release
0.3.2
Latest release
2024-12-29
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
5.3
PlayWM
PlayWM
Name
PlayWM
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2013-31-01
Latest release
Final
Latest release
2013-02-10
License
GPL
Qtile
Qtile
Name
Qtile
Type
Dynamic
Language
Python
Initial release
2008-08-31
Latest release
0.33.0
Latest release
2025-07-25
License
MIT
Memory (MB)
2
Ragnar
Ragnar
Name
Ragnar
Type
Tiling
Language
C
Initial release
2023-05-15
Latest release
1.5.0
Latest release
2024-08-17
License
GPL
Ratpoison
Ratpoison
Name
Ratpoison
Type
Tiling
Language
C
Initial release
2000-12-04
Latest release
1.4.9
Latest release
2017-04-03
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
1
Sawfish
Sawfish
Name
Sawfish
Type
Stacking
Language
Lisp, C
Initial release
2000-01-01
Latest release
1.13.0
Latest release
2021-12-24
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
3.1
SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
Name
SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
2007
Latest release
1.2.3
Latest release
2008-04-25
License
GPL
spectrwm
spectrwm
Name
spectrwm
Type
Dynamic
Language
C
Initial release
2012-02-07
Latest release
3.6.0
Latest release
2025-08-27
License
ISC
steamcompmgr
steamcompmgr
Name
steamcompmgr
Type
Compositing
Language
C
Initial release
2013
License
BSD-2-clause
StumpWM
StumpWM
Name
StumpWM
Type
Tiling
Language
Common Lisp
Initial release
2017-01-12
Latest release
23.11
Latest release
2024-11-29
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
sxwm
sxwm
Name
sxwm
Type
Dynamic
Language
C
Initial release
2025
Latest release
1.6
Latest release
2025-06-26
License
GPL-3.0-or-later
twm
twm
Name
twm
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1987
Latest release
1.0.13.1
Latest release
2025-05-06
License
MIT-open-groupMIT-CMUXFree86-1.0
Memory (MB)
1.2
Ultrix Window Manager (uwm)
Ultrix Window Manager (uwm)
Name
Ultrix Window Manager (uwm)
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1985
Latest release
Final
Latest release
1988-10-27
License
Similar to BSD licenses
Window Maker
Window Maker
Name
Window Maker
Type
Stacking
Language
C
Initial release
1997
Latest release
0.96.0
Latest release
2023-08-05
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
Memory (MB)
7
Wingo
Wingo
Name
Wingo
Type
Dynamic
Language
Go
Initial release
2012
Latest release
Final
Latest release
2018
License
WTFPL
wmii
wmii
Name
wmii
Type
Dynamic
Language
C
Initial release
2005-06-01
Latest release
3.9.2
Latest release
2010-06-10
License
MIT
Xfwm (Xfce)
Xfwm (Xfce)
Name
Xfwm (Xfce)
Type
Compositing
Language
C, C++ (GTK+)
Initial release
1996
Latest release
4.19
Latest release
2024-11-01
License
GPL, LGPL
Memory (MB)
70
xmonad
xmonad
Name
xmonad
Type
Dynamic
Language
Haskell
Initial release
2007-03-06
Latest release
0.18.0
Latest release
2024-02-03
License
BSD-3-clause
Memory (MB)
2
worm
worm
Name
worm
Type
Dynamic
Language
Nim
Initial release
2021-12-12
Latest release
0.3.3
Latest release
2024-03-30
License
MIT
Name
Name
Name
Name
Type
Type
Language
Language
Initial release
Initial release
Latest release
Latest release
Latest release
License
License
Memory (MB)
Version
Version
Name
Version
Type
Date
| Name | Type | Language | Initial release | Latest release | License | Memory (MB) | |
| Version | Date | ||||||
| 9wm | Stacking | C | 1994 | 1.4.2 | 2022-01-19 | MIT | 0.4 |
| aewm | Stacking | C | 1999 | 1.3.12 | 2007-12-27 | MIT | |
| awesome | Dynamic | C, Lua | 2007-09-18 | 4.3 | 2019-01-28 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 9 |
| Berry | Stacking | C | 2018-08-24 | 0.1.12 | 2022-10-24 | MIT | |
| Blackbox | Stacking | C++ | 1997 | 0.77 | 2021-05-12 | MIT | 3 |
| bspwm | Tiling | C | 2013-04-23 | 0.9.12 | 2025-10-08 | BSD-2-clause | |
| Compiz | Compositing | C (OpenGL) | 2006 | 0.9.14.2 | 2022-08-22 | MIT | |
| CTWM | Stacking | C | 1992 | 4.1.0 | 2023-03-26 | MIT | |
| cwm | Stacking | C | 2004-07-10 | 3 | 2005-08-28 | ISC | 8 |
| dkwm | Dynamic | C | 2019-12-01 | 1.9-1 | 2023-06-18 | MIT/X | |
| dwm | Dynamic | C | 2006-07-14 | 6.6 | 2025-08-09 | MIT | 1 |
| Enlightenment | Compositing | C | 1997 | 0.27.1 | 2025-03-14 | BSD-2-clause | |
| Enlightenment 16 | Compositing | C | 2009-06-03 | 1.0.30 | 2024-08-10 | ||
| evilwm | Stacking | C | 2000 | 1.4.3 | 2024-03-09 | aewm/9wm | |
| EXWM | Tiling | Emacs Lisp | 2018 | 0.32 | 2024-10-05 | GPL-3.0-or-later | |
| Fluxbox | Stacking | C++ | 2001-09-12 | 1.3.7 | 2015-02-08 | MIT | 16 |
| FLWM | Stacking | C++ (FLTK) | 1998 | 1.02 | 2006-06-30 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
| FVWM | Stacking | C | 1993-06-01 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 4 | ||
| herbstluftwm | Dynamic | C++ | 2011-10-02 | 0.9.5 | 2022-07-30 | BSD-2-clause | |
| i3 | Dynamic | C | 2009-03-15 | 4.24 | 2024-11-06 | BSD-3-clause | 3 |
| IceWM | Stacking | C++ | 1997 | 3.9.0 | 2025-08-31 | LGPL-2.0-only | 4.5 |
| Ion | Tiling | C, Lua | 2000 | Final | 2009-01-10 | LGPL-2.1-only | |
| JWM | Stacking | C | 2003 | 2.4.5 | 2024-10-05 | MIT | 3 |
| KWin (KDE) | Compositing | C++ (Qt) | 2002 | 6.4.3 | 2025-07-15 | GPL | 41 |
| LeftWM | Tiling | Rust | 2019 | 0.5.3 | 2024-10-20 | MIT | |
| Matchbox | Stacking | C | 2007-04-13 | 1.2.3 | 2023-03-15 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
| Metacity (GNOME 2/LiMo) | Compositing | C, C++ (GTK+) | 2002-10 | 3.56.0 | 2025-04-26 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
| Moksha (E17) | Compositing | C | 2015-08-11 | 0.4.1 | 2023-07-23 | ||
| Motif Window Manager (mwm) | Stacking | C | 1989 | 2.3.8 | 2017-12-05 | LGPL-2.1-or-later | |
| Mutter (GNOME 3+/MeeGo) | Compositing | C (Clutter) | 2011-04 | 48.4 | 2025-06-29 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 18.6 |
| Openbox | Stacking | C | 2002-09-18 | 3.6.1 | 2015-07-01 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 7 |
| PekWM | Stacking | C++ | 2009 | 0.3.2 | 2024-12-29 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 5.3 |
| PlayWM | Stacking | C | 2013-31-01 | Final | 2013-02-10 | GPL | |
| Qtile | Dynamic | Python | 2008-08-31 | 0.33.0 | 2025-07-25 | MIT | 2 |
| Ragnar | Tiling | C | 2023-05-15 | 1.5.0 | 2024-08-17 | GPL | |
| Ratpoison | Tiling | C | 2000-12-04 | 1.4.9 | 2017-04-03 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 1 |
| Sawfish | Stacking | Lisp, C | 2000-01-01 | 1.13.0 | 2021-12-24 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 3.1 |
| SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine | Stacking | C | 2007 | 1.2.3 | 2008-04-25 | GPL | |
| spectrwm | Dynamic | C | 2012-02-07 | 3.6.0 | 2025-08-27 | ISC | |
| steamcompmgr | Compositing | C | 2013 | BSD-2-clause | |||
| StumpWM | Tiling | Common Lisp | 2017-01-12 | 23.11 | 2024-11-29 | GPL-2.0-or-later | |
| sxwm | Dynamic | C | 2025 | 1.6 | 2025-06-26 | GPL-3.0-or-later | |
| twm | Stacking | C | 1987 | 1.0.13.1 | 2025-05-06 | MIT-open-groupMIT-CMUXFree86-1.0 | 1.2 |
| Ultrix Window Manager (uwm) | Stacking | C | 1985 | Final | 1988-10-27 | Similar to BSD licenses | |
| Window Maker | Stacking | C | 1997 | 0.96.0 | 2023-08-05 | GPL-2.0-or-later | 7 |
| Wingo | Dynamic | Go | 2012 | Final | 2018 | WTFPL | |
| wmii | Dynamic | C | 2005-06-01 | 3.9.2 | 2010-06-10 | MIT | |
| Xfwm (Xfce) | Compositing | C, C++ (GTK+) | 1996 | 4.19 | 2024-11-01 | GPL, LGPL | 70 |
· Features
9wm
9wm
Name
9wm
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
No
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
No
aewm[citation needed]
aewm[citation needed]
Name
aewm[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
No
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
No
awesome
awesome
Name
awesome
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
Berry[citation needed]
Berry[citation needed]
Name
Berry[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
No
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
Blackbox
Blackbox
Name
Blackbox
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
Depends
Hotkeys
Depends
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
bspwm[citation needed]
bspwm[citation needed]
Name
bspwm[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Partial
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
No
Compiz
Compiz
Name
Compiz
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Depends
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
CTWM
CTWM
Name
CTWM
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Partial
Panel for window switching
Yes
Themeable
Yes
cwm
cwm
Name
cwm
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
dkwm
dkwm
Name
dkwm
dwm
dwm
Name
dwm
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
Enlightenment
Enlightenment
Name
Enlightenment
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
evilwm
evilwm
Name
evilwm
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Partial
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
EXWM[citation needed]
EXWM[citation needed]
Name
EXWM[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Partial
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
Depends
Themeable
Yes
Fluxbox
Fluxbox
Name
Fluxbox
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Depends
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
FLWM
FLWM
Name
FLWM
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
No
FVWM
FVWM
Name
FVWM
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Depends
herbstluftwm
herbstluftwm
Name
herbstluftwm
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
i3
i3
Name
i3
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
IceWM
IceWM
Name
IceWM
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Depends
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
Ion
Ion
Name
Ion
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
JWM
JWM
Name
JWM
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Depends
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
EWMH
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
KWin (KDE)
KWin (KDE)
Name
KWin (KDE)
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
LeftWM
LeftWM
Name
LeftWM
Matchbox
Matchbox
Name
Matchbox
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
EWMH compliance
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
Metacity (GNOME)
Metacity (GNOME)
Name
Metacity (GNOME)
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
Mutter (GNOME/MeeGo)
Mutter (GNOME/MeeGo)
Name
Mutter (GNOME/MeeGo)
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Gnome Shell
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
Moody
Moody
Name
Moody
Motif Window Manager (mwm)
Motif Window Manager (mwm)
Name
Motif Window Manager (mwm)
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Themeable
No
Openbox
Openbox
Name
Openbox
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Depends
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Depends
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
PekWM
PekWM
Name
PekWM
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Partial
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
PlayWM[citation needed]
PlayWM[citation needed]
Name
PlayWM[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
Qtile
Qtile
Name
Qtile
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
Ragnar
Ragnar
Name
Ragnar
Ratpoison
Ratpoison
Name
Ratpoison
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
No
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
No
Sawfish
Sawfish
Name
Sawfish
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Partial
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
primitive
Themeable
Yes
SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
Name
SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
spectrwm[citation needed]
spectrwm[citation needed]
Name
spectrwm[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
no titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
solid colors
steamcompmgr[citation needed]
steamcompmgr[citation needed]
Name
steamcompmgr[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
No
StumpWM
StumpWM
Name
StumpWM
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
No
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
No
sxwm
sxwm
Name
sxwm
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
twm
twm
Name
twm
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
solid colors
uwm
uwm
Name
uwm
Window Maker
Window Maker
Name
Window Maker
Configurable titlebar buttons
No
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Partial
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
Wingo[citation needed]
Wingo[citation needed]
Name
Wingo[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
WMFS[citation needed]
WMFS[citation needed]
Name
WMFS[citation needed]
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
wmii
wmii
Name
wmii
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
No
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
Xfwm (Xfce)
Xfwm (Xfce)
Name
Xfwm (Xfce)
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
Yes
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes
Panel for window switching
Yes
Tabbed windows
No
Themeable
Yes
xmonad
xmonad
Name
xmonad
Configurable titlebar buttons
Yes
Graphical configuration
No
Hotkeys
Yes
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Yes / ?
Panel for window switching
Depends
Tabbed windows
Yes
Themeable
Yes
worm
worm
Name
worm
Name
Name
Name
Name
Configurable titlebar buttons
Configurable titlebar buttons
Graphical configuration
Graphical configuration
Hotkeys
Hotkeys
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
ICCCM/EWMH compliant
Panel for window switching
Panel for window switching
Tabbed windows
Tabbed windows
Themeable
Themeable
| Name | Configurable titlebar buttons | Graphical configuration | Hotkeys | ICCCM/EWMH compliant | Panel for window switching | Tabbed windows | Themeable |
| 9wm | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | |
| aewm[citation needed] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| awesome | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Berry[citation needed] | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Blackbox | No | Depends | Depends | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| bspwm[citation needed] | No | No | Yes | Partial | No | No | No |
| Compiz | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Depends | Yes | Yes |
| CTWM | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | |||
| cwm | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| dkwm | |||||||
| dwm | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Enlightenment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| evilwm | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | Partial | No | No | Yes |
| EXWM[citation needed] | No | No | Yes | Partial | No | Depends | Yes |
| Fluxbox | Yes | Depends | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FLWM | No | Yes | No | No | No | ||
| FVWM | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Depends |
| herbstluftwm | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| i3 | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| IceWM | Yes | Depends | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ion | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| JWM | Yes | Depends | Yes | EWMH | Yes | No | Yes |
| KWin (KDE) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LeftWM | |||||||
| Matchbox | EWMH compliance | No | No | Yes | |||
| Metacity (GNOME) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mutter (GNOME/MeeGo) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Gnome Shell | No | Yes |
| Moody | |||||||
| Motif Window Manager (mwm) | No | No | Yes | No | |||
| Openbox | Yes | Depends | Yes | Yes | Depends | No | Yes |
| PekWM | Yes | No | Yes | Partial | No | Yes | Yes |
| PlayWM[citation needed] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Qtile | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Ragnar | |||||||
| Ratpoison | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Sawfish | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | primitive | Yes |
| SithWM Archived 2022-03-26 at the Wayback Machine | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| spectrwm[citation needed] | no titlebar buttons | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | solid colors |
| steamcompmgr[citation needed] | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
| StumpWM | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| sxwm | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| twm | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | solid colors | |
| uwm | |||||||
| Window Maker | No | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wingo[citation needed] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| WMFS[citation needed] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| wmii | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Xfwm (Xfce) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| xmonad | Yes | No | Yes | Yes / ? | Depends | Yes | Yes |
References
- LGPL-2.1-only with naming restrictions on modified versions.
- Via CLI client.
- Via CLI client and third party (e.g. sxhkd).
- Via third party.
- With bbkeys.
- Through 0.65 / from 0.70.
- With sxhkd.
- There is a window list menu.
- Can change colours.
- l3net - a layer 3 networking bloghttps://l3net.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/a-memory-comparison-of-light-linux-desktops/
- "Release 1.4.2 · 9wm/9wm · GitHub"https://github.com/9wm/9wm/releases/tag/1.4.2
- "aewm"https://web.archive.org/web/20191011045208/https://www.red-bean.com/decklin/aewm/
- "Release 4.3"https://github.com/awesomeWM/awesome/releases/tag/v4.3
- "Release 0.77"https://github.com/bbidulock/blackboxwm/releases/tag/0.77
- "Release 0.9.12"https://github.com/baskerville/bspwm/releases/tag/0.9.12
- GitHubhttps://github.com/baskerville/bspwm/blob/master/LICENSE
- "Compiz 0.9.14.2 released"https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/compiz/2022-August/003539.html
- "cwm"https://web.archive.org/web/20150608154132/http://monkey.org/~marius/pages/?page=cwm
- "bump version to 6.6"https://git.suckless.org/dwm/commit/693d94d350c806e77677c35958e18590c26e19d2.html
- "Enlightenment 0.27.1 Release"https://www.enlightenment.org/news/2025-03-14-enlightenment-0.27.1
- www.enlightenment.orghttps://www.enlightenment.org/e16
- "evilwm - standards support"https://web.archive.org/web/20201027065835/http://www.6809.org.uk/evilwm/standards.shtml
- www.6809.org.ukhttps://www.6809.org.uk/evilwm/dl/
- "evilwm.txt"https://www.6809.org.uk/evilwm/doc/evilwm.txt
- GitHubhttps://github.com/emacs-exwm/exwm/releases
- "Fluxbox 1.3.7 - Bam! Zero Bugs!!11!"https://web.archive.org/web/20220124112924/https://fluxbox.org/news/all.php
- "flwm"http://flwm.sourceforge.net
- GitHubhttps://github.com/fvwmorg/fvwm3/blob/6000175467fada5d5329f2ecf9e1c0b99937b3ce/COPYING
- https://github.com/i3/i3/releases/tag/4.24https://github.com/i3/i3/releases/tag/4.24
- "Release icewm-3.9.0"https://github.com/ice-wm/icewm/releases/tag/3.9.0
- GitHubhttps://github.com/joewing/jwm/releases
- "Tagging 6.4.3"https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/tags/v6.4.3
- git.yoctoproject.orghttps://git.yoctoproject.org/matchbox-window-manager/
- "3.56.0"https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/metacity/-/tags/3.56.0
- GitHubhttps://github.com/JeffHoogland/moksha/releases
- "Motif 2.3.8 Source Code"https://sourceforge.net/projects/motif/files/Motif%202.3.8%20Source%20Code/
- https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/releases/48.4https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/releases/48.4
- "Openbox:Changelog"http://openbox.org/wiki/Openbox:Changelog#3.6.1
- "Release 0.3.2"https://github.com/pekwm/pekwm/releases/tag/release-0.3.2
- "Release 0.33.0"https://github.com/qtile/qtile/releases/tag/v0.33.0
- https://github.com/SawfishWM/sawfish/releases/tag/sawfish-1.13.0https://github.com/SawfishWM/sawfish/releases/tag/sawfish-1.13.0
- https://sithwm.darkside.no/sn/?M=Dhttps://sithwm.darkside.no/sn/?M=D
- GitHubhttps://github.com/conformal/spectrwm/releases
- "steamos-compositor debian source package"https://repo.steampowered.com/steamos/pool/main/s/steamos-compositor/steamos-compositor_1.35.tar.xz
- "steamos-compositor amd64 debian package"https://repo.steampowered.com/steamos/pool/main/s/steamos-compositor/steamos-compositor_1.35+bsos1_amd64.deb
- GitHubhttps://github.com/stumpwm/stumpwm/releases
- GitHubhttps://github.com/uint23/sxwm/releases/tag/v1.6
- GitHubhttps://github.com/uint23/sxwm/commit/8701f8dc9bfd2c4faa697a3f55f5c90ca90bcf38
- "[ANNOUNCE] twm 1.0.13.1"https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg01809.html
- "twm-1.0.13.1 · タグ · xorg / app / twm ·"https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/twm/-/tags/twm-1.0.13.1
- cdn.netbsd.orghttps://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/wm/uwm/index.html
- "Version 0.96.0 released"https://www.windowmaker.org/news/
- https://code.google.com/archive/p/wmii/downloadshttps://code.google.com/archive/p/wmii/downloads
- docs.xfce.orghttps://docs.xfce.org/xfce/xfwm4/start#latest_release
- "Release 0.18.0"https://github.com/xmonad/xmonad/releases/tag/v0.18.0
- "NetWM - Blackbox"https://web.archive.org/web/20071001170417/http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/NetWM
- "Tables"https://web.archive.org/web/20090819040039/http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/docs/ewmh-support.html
- FvwmTabs Archived 2009-08-02 at the Wayback Machinehttp://www.fvwm.org/documentation/manpages/unstable/FvwmTabs.php
- Fvwm Themeshttps://fvwm-themes.sourceforge.net/
- FVWM-Crystal