Top herbstluftwm Alternatives for Your Tiling Window Manager Needs

Are you a fan of manual tiling window managers but looking to explore options beyond herbstluftwm? herbstluftwm is a powerful and flexible manual tiling window manager for X11, built with Xlib and Glib. While it offers excellent control over your window layouts, many users seek different approaches, whether for enhanced features, a simpler configuration, or broader community support. This article dives into the best herbstluftwm alternative choices that offer similar functionalities while introducing unique benefits.

Top herbstluftwm Alternatives

If you're ready to switch things up or just curious about what else is out there, these window managers provide compelling reasons to be considered as your next desktop environment.

i3

i3 is a dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, known for its simplicity and excellent documentation. It's a Free and Open Source solution available for Linux and BSD. As a lightweight, tiling, and X server-compatible option, i3 provides a fantastic alternative for users who appreciate manual tiling but desire a more intuitive configuration experience compared to herbstluftwm.

Openbox

Openbox is a highly configurable, next-generation window manager with extensive standards support. It's a Free and Open Source option compatible with Linux and BSD. While not strictly a tiling window manager in the same vein as herbstluftwm, its lightweight nature and extreme configurability make it an excellent choice for users who want complete control over their window placement and appearance.

awesome

awesome is a dynamic window manager for the X Window System, developed in C and Lua. It's a Free and Open Source alternative available for Linux and BSD. Its extensibility, tiling capabilities, and X server support make it a powerful alternative to herbstluftwm, especially for users who enjoy scripting and customizing their environment with Lua.

Xmonad

xmonad is a dynamically tiling X11 window manager written and configured in Haskell. It's a Free and Open Source solution for Mac and Linux. Its unique approach to window management, focusing on automatic tiling and extensibility, makes it a compelling herbstluftwm alternative for those seeking a different philosophy and the power of Haskell for configuration.

Fluxbox

Fluxbox is a window manager for X that originated from the Blackbox 0.61.1 code. It is very light on resources and easy to handle while still being feature-rich. As a Free and Open Source project written in C++ and available for Linux and BSD, Fluxbox is a great herbstluftwm alternative for users prioritizing minimal resource usage and a clean, customizable environment.

dwm

dwm is a dynamic window manager for X that supports tiled, monocle, and floating layouts, all of which can be applied dynamically. It's a Free and Open Source, lightweight X server for Linux and BSD. dwm's commitment to minimalism and efficiency, with its configuration managed through C code, makes it a unique and powerful herbstluftwm alternative for those who appreciate a lean and fast system.

Amethyst

Amethyst is a tiling window manager for Mac, inspired by the popular xmonad tiling window manager on Linux. It's a Free and Open Source project written in Objective-C, offering configurable tiling layouts and support for keyboard shortcuts. For Mac users seeking a tiling experience similar to herbstluftwm but natively on macOS, Amethyst is an excellent choice.

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 solution for Linux, supporting tiling, tiling layouts, and overall tiling window management. If you're looking to transition to Wayland while maintaining a familiar tiling workflow similar to herbstluftwm or i3, Sway is the perfect modern alternative.

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 and tiling. As a Free and Open Source option, Bluetile offers a blend of classic desktop experience with tiling features, making it a unique herbstluftwm alternative for users who want to combine the best of both worlds within a GNOME setup.

IceWM

IceWM is a Window Manager for the X Window System, known for being fast and memory-efficient. It provides many different looks, including styles reminiscent of Windows '95, OS/2 Warp, and Motif. As a Free and Open Source solution for Linux and BSD, IceWM serves as a lightweight herbstluftwm alternative, particularly for users seeking a more traditional desktop feel without sacrificing performance.

Choosing the best herbstluftwm alternative ultimately depends on your specific needs, whether that's a desire for more automation, a simpler configuration, Wayland compatibility, or specific platform support. Explore these options to find the perfect window manager to enhance your productivity and personalize your desktop experience.