In this article, we learned the basic difference between a window manager and a desktop environment. “Fancying” your setup by installing scripts, building software from scratch, writing your own scripts is also a very good way to get familiar with Linux. The extensive use of keyboard shortcuts might feel overwhelming at first but the more you practice, the better you will get. However, that one week of learning is definitely worth it if you want a faster, more efficient workflow. It can be hard to get into a Window manager if you are not used to a keyboard-driven workflow.

Stacking Window managers: Fluxbox, Openbox, Enlightenment etcĪ customised dwm setup Should I use a Window manager? Tiling Window managers: i3wm, awesome, bspwm, dwm A lot of standalone window managers also offer features like tiling (any new window tiles up with another making efficient use of space and providing for swift switching between the windows) and stacking. If the user doesn’t want a theme changing application taking but space in the hard drive, they can simply choose not to install it.Įfficient workflow: A lot of power users always want faster, more keyboard-driven workflows in which they don’t have to waste time searching for an application when they can simply use a keyboard shortcut to launch it. The user can choose everything and anything about the UI. Then why would anyone ever use a Window manager? The answer lies in flexibility. A lot of window managers are also totally keyboard-dependent with minimal mouse support. In fact, a window manager is so barebones that I had to install feh just to change the wallpaper when I first used i3. If you love screenshotting things, you need to install an application like scrot or Fireshot. If you want transparent windows, you can install a compositor. If you want a menu bar, you can install your favourite one. By default, it doesn’t ship with any extra applications.

It just ships with a minimal status bar and workspace switcher Why even use a Window manager?Īs you can see above, a window manager out of the box is not very useful.

Windows tiling window manager