Discovering the Best bspwm Alternatives for Your Workflow
bspwm is a popular tiling window manager renowned for its unique binary space partitioning approach. While it offers unparalleled control and a minimalist aesthetic, its highly configurable nature and specific workflow might not suit everyone. Perhaps you're looking for something with a different philosophy, a simpler setup, or features better aligned with your daily computing habits. This guide explores some of the best bspwm alternatives available, helping you find the perfect window manager for your Linux or BSD setup.
Top bspwm Alternatives
Whether you prioritize simplicity, extensibility, or specific platform compatibility, there's a fantastic window manager out there for you. Let's dive into some of the leading contenders that offer a compelling alternative to bspwm.
i3
i3 is a dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C. It's a free and open-source option available for Linux and BSD. i3 stands out as a strong bspwm alternative due to its keyboard-centric control, intuitive tiling, and lightweight nature, making it highly efficient for managing your workspace with features like Tiling Window Manager, Lightweight, Tiling, and X server.
Openbox
Openbox is a highly configurable, next-generation window manager with extensive standards support. As a free and open-source solution for Linux and BSD, it offers a lightweight and fast alternative to bspwm, especially if you prefer a stacking window manager over a tiling one, providing a minimalist yet powerful desktop experience.
awesome
awesome is a dynamic window manager for the X Window System developed in the C and Lua programming languages. It's a free and open-source option for Linux and BSD. For those seeking an extensible bspwm alternative, awesome offers deep customization through Lua scripting, allowing users to tailor its behavior precisely, featuring an Extensible window manager, Tiling capabilities, and X server support.
Xmonad
xmonad is a dynamically tiling X11 window manager that is written and configured in Haskell. It is a free and open-source solution available for Mac and Linux. Xmonad provides a highly stable and powerful tiling experience, making it an excellent bspwm alternative for users who appreciate functional programming and a highly robust system. Its features include being an Extensible window manager, Tiling, and X server support.
Fluxbox
Fluxbox is a window manager for X that was based on the Blackbox 0.61.1 code. It is free and open-source, written in C++, and available for Linux and BSD. Fluxbox is a very light on resources and easy to handle, yet full of features, making it a great bspwm alternative for users who prioritize minimal resource usage and a traditional, stacking window management style.
dwm
dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, monocle, and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically, optimising the workspace. It's a free and open-source option for Linux and BSD. dwm is a highly regarded bspwm alternative for its extremely lightweight footprint and straightforward, yet powerful, approach to window management, including Lightweight design and X server support.
Amethyst
Amethyst is a tiling window manager for Mac similar to the xmonad tiling window manager popular on Linux. Amethyst is written in Objective-C and has configurable keyboard shortcuts. It's a free and open-source option for Mac. As a bspwm alternative for macOS users, Amethyst brings the efficiency of tiling window management to Apple's ecosystem, featuring Tiling Layouts, Support for Keyboard Shortcuts, and Tiling.
Sway
Sway is a tiling Wayland compositor and a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager for X11. It's a free and open-source option for Linux. For those looking to move to Wayland while retaining a bspwm-like tiling workflow, Sway is an ideal alternative, offering similar functionality and features like Tiling, Tiling Layouts, and Tiling Window Manager within the modern Wayland environment.
Bluetile
Bluetile is a tiling window manager for Linux, designed to integrate with the GNOME desktop environment. It provides both a traditional, stacking layout mode as well as tiling functionality. As a free and open-source option, Bluetile serves as a good bspwm alternative for users who want tiling capabilities but prefer to stay within the GNOME ecosystem, offering features like Snap windows.
IceWM
IceWM is a Window Manager for X Window System. It is fast and memory-efficient, and it provides many different looks including Windows'95, OS/2 Warp 3,4, Motif. It's a free and open-source option for Linux and BSD. IceWM is an excellent bspwm alternative for users prioritizing speed, low resource consumption, and a more traditional, yet highly customizable, desktop experience with X server support.
Choosing the right window manager is a personal journey, deeply influenced by your workflow, system resources, and aesthetic preferences. Each of these bspwm alternatives offers a unique set of advantages. We encourage you to explore them, experiment with their configurations, and find the one that truly empowers your computing experience.