dwm

dwm

dwm (dynamic window manager) is a minimalist tiling window manager for X11. It manages windows in tiled, monocle, and floating layouts with keyboard-driven operation and minimal resource usage.Windows are organized into tags (similar to workspaces). The master/stack layout places the primary window prominently with others stacked alongside. Configuration is done by editing the C source code and recompiling.dwm is designed to be extremely small (under 2000 lines of code) and fast, following the suckless philosophy of simplicity and efficiency.

config.h

Source-level configuration file that must be edited and recompiled to change keybindings, colors, layouts, bar settings, rules, and behavior. Mod1 is Alt by default.

Mod1-Shift-Enter - Open terminalMod1-p - Launch dmenuMod1-j / Mod1-k - Focus next/previous windowMod1-h / Mod1-l - Resize master areaMod1-Enter - Promote focused window to masterMod1-t - Tiled layoutMod1-f - Floating layoutMod1-m - Monocle layoutMod1-Shift-c - Close focused windowMod1-Shift-q - Quit dwmMod1-[1-9] - Switch to tag 1-9Mod1-Shift-[1-9] - Move window to tag 1-9

Configuration requires recompilation. Learning curve for keyboard shortcuts. No built-in configuration file. Limited mouse support compared to floating WMs.

dwm was created by the suckless.org community, led by Anselm R. Garbe, released around 2006. It established the template for many other tiling window managers and the suckless software philosophy.

dmenu(1), st(1), i3(1), awesome(1)