Ratpoison vs Xmonad

Struggling to choose between Ratpoison and Xmonad? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Ratpoison is a Os & Utilities solution with tags like tiling, keyboard, lightweight, customizable, x11.

It boasts features such as Keyboard driven tiling window manager, Minimalist and lightweight, Customizable through plain text configuration files, Keyboard shortcuts for window management and navigation, Support for multiple desktops and layouts, Can be controlled without a mouse and pros including Very efficient for keyboard users, Low resource usage and system overhead, Highly customizable, Promotes keyboard-centric workflows, Tiling layout improves screen space utilization.

On the other hand, Xmonad is a Os & Utilities product tagged with tiling, haskell, unix, linux, window-manager.

Its standout features include Tiling window manager, Configurable in Haskell, Dynamic window management, Keyboard-driven workflow, Extensible through plugins, and it shines with pros like Highly customizable, Very efficient use of screen space, Keyboard shortcuts for everything, Lightweight and fast.

Feature	Ratpoison	Xmonad
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Os & Utilities	Os & Utilities

Product Overview

Ratpoison

Description: Ratpoison is an open-source tiling window manager for the X Window System. It aims to provide keyboard-only interaction, with no reliance on the mouse. It has minimal aesthetics and is configured through plain text files, making it lightweight and customizable.

Xmonad

Description: Xmonad is a tiling window manager for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It is written in Haskell and dynamically manages windows to maximize screen space and productivity.

Key Features Comparison

Ratpoison Features

• Keyboard driven tiling window manager
• Minimalist and lightweight
• Customizable through plain text configuration files
• Keyboard shortcuts for window management and navigation
• Support for multiple desktops and layouts
• Can be controlled without a mouse

Xmonad Features

• Tiling window manager
• Configurable in Haskell
• Dynamic window management
• Keyboard-driven workflow
• Extensible through plugins

Pros & Cons Analysis

Ratpoison

Pros

• Very efficient for keyboard users
• Low resource usage and system overhead
• Highly customizable
• Promotes keyboard-centric workflows
• Tiling layout improves screen space utilization

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• No mouse support
• Minimal aesthetics and theming
• Less intuitive than mainstream window managers
• Limited integration with desktop environments

Xmonad

Pros

• Highly customizable
• Very efficient use of screen space
• Keyboard shortcuts for everything
• Lightweight and fast

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Configuration requires Haskell knowledge
• Not beginner friendly

Pricing Comparison

Ratpoison

• Open Source

Xmonad

• Open Source