metacity-window-demo

metacity-window-demo [--display=DISPLAY] [--screen=SCREEN] [--type=TYPE] [OPTIONS]

--display=DISPLAY
    Connects to the specified X server display. Useful for running the demo on a remote or specific display.

--screen=SCREEN
    Specifies which screen to use on a multi-screen display setup, if applicable.

--type=TYPE
    Sets the window type hint for the created window, such as normal, dialog, utility, splash, or various menu and toolbar types. This tests how Metacity handles different window roles.

--sticky
    Creates a sticky window, meaning it will appear on all workspaces or virtual desktops.

--maximized
    Starts the demo window in a maximized state.

--fullscreen
    Starts the demo window in fullscreen mode, without any window decorations or desktop elements.

--no-decorations
    Creates a window without any client-side decorations (title bar, borders), relying on the window manager to provide them or making it borderless.

--always-on-top
    Sets the window's 'always on top' hint, making it appear above other windows.

--help
    Displays a help message with available options and exits.

--version
    Shows the version information of the metacity-window-demo utility and exits.

The metacity-window-demo command is a specialized utility primarily used by developers and testers of the Metacity window manager, or the GNOME desktop environment itself. Its main purpose is to demonstrate various window manager features and behaviors by opening one or more example windows. These windows can be configured to display different window decorations (title bars, borders), unique window states (e.g., maximized, minimized, sticky, fullscreen), and specific window properties that test how Metacity handles them.

This tool is invaluable for debugging window manager issues, testing new Metacity themes, or understanding the nuances of window handling within the GNOME environment. While Metacity has largely been superseded by Mutter in modern GNOME versions, metacity-window-demo remains a relevant diagnostic tool for legacy systems or for those studying window manager mechanics.

This command is highly specialized and primarily relevant for environments using the Metacity window manager, such as older GNOME 2.x setups. It may not function as expected or be relevant on modern Linux distributions running GNOME 3.x with Mutter, or other desktop environments like KDE Plasma, XFCE, or LXQt. Its purpose is solely for demonstration and testing of window manager behaviors, not for general user productivity. The output is visual, requiring a running X server.

As Metacity is largely deprecated, this tool is mostly for historical study or maintenance of legacy systems.

This command is not intended for typical end-user interaction or daily productivity. Instead, it serves as a crucial diagnostic and demonstration tool for developers, theme designers, and testers involved with the Metacity window manager or the GNOME 2.x desktop environment. It helps in visualizing how Metacity handles various window attributes and states, aiding in debugging and ensuring proper rendering of applications.

Metacity was the default window manager for the GNOME 2 desktop environment, designed to be simple and robust compared to its highly configurable predecessor, Sawfish. The metacity-window-demo utility was developed as an internal tool during Metacity's active development phase to thoroughly test various window manager capabilities, window types, and decorations. It allowed developers to quickly verify how Metacity would render and manage different window properties.

With the transition to GNOME 3, Metacity was largely superseded by Mutter, which combines a window manager with a Wayland compositor and X.Org display server. Consequently, while metacity-window-demo might still exist in some distributions for historical compatibility or specific diagnostic needs, its primary relevance is within the context of Metacity-based GNOME 2.x environments.

metacity(1), gnome-shell(1), xprop(1), xwininfo(1)