Blackbox WM
Blackbox WM is a fast, lightweight window manager for the X Window System. It is very customizable and flexible, using plain text configuration files. It has minimal dependencies and system requirements.
Blackbox WM: Fast & Flexible Window Managers
A lightweight X Window System window manager with customizable configuration options, minimal dependencies, and low system requirements.
What is Blackbox WM?
Blackbox WM is a fast, lightweight, and highly customizable stacking window manager for the X Window System. Some key features include:
- Minimal system resource usage - it is designed to use less CPU and RAM than most other window managers
- Plain text configuration using XML-like tags - no need to learn a programming language
- Highly customizable aesthetics and behavior through themes and styles
- Support for customizable menus, application launchers, iconified application handling, and more
- Advanced features like slit support, multihead capabilities, session management
- Right click desktop menus for convenience
- Light dependency footprint - utilises very few external libraries
Blackbox WM is a good choice for older or less powerful hardware that still needs to run Linux or BSD. Its large collection of user-created themes provides ample ability to customize the interface as desired. It stays out of the way with minimal bells and whistles, while providing excellent speed and responsiveness.
Blackbox WM Features
Features
- Tiling window manager
- Keyboard-driven
- Plain text configuration
- Highly customizable layouts and keybindings
- Minimal resource usage
- Support for multiple monitors
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Lightweight and fast
Very flexible and customizable
Easy to configure
Low system resource usage
Actively developed and maintained
Cons
Steep learning curve
No built-in panel or tray
Less features than full desktop environments
May require more manual configuration
Official Links
Reviews & Ratings
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