Openbox

Openbox

Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support. It is very fast, extensible and licensed under the GNU General Public License.
Openbox image
lightweight configurable extensible gnu-gpl

Openbox: Highly Configurable Window Manager

A fast, extensible, and free window manager with comprehensive standards support, available under the GNU General Public License.

What is Openbox?

Openbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, derived from Blackbox 0.65.1. It is written in C and licensed under the GNU General Public License.

Here are some key features of Openbox:

  • Highly configurable - Openbox allows extensive customization of window decorations, menus, keybindings and more through XML configuration files.
  • Lightweight - Openbox aims to be fast, yet still feature-rich. It avoids GNOME/KDE dependencies and unnecessary libraries.
  • Supports modern X standards - Includes support for NetWM, Xinerama, Xrandr, EWMH and more.
  • Themeable - Customize the look and feel with different themes and icon sets. Supports Gtk+ theming as well.
  • Stable and mature - Openbox has been around since 2002 and is included in many Linux distributions.

Some use cases for Openbox include:

  • Standalone window manager for a lightweight desktop environment
  • Supplement existing desktop environments like GNOME or Xfce
  • Basis for building custom tailored desktop environments

Overall, Openbox offers extensive flexibility and customizability for advanced Linux users without sacrificing performance or ease of use.

Openbox Features

Features

  1. Highly configurable and customizable window manager
  2. Supports modern standards like EWMH, NetWM
  3. Very lightweight and fast
  4. Keyboard driven operation
  5. Themeable visual style
  6. Supports multiple desktops/workspaces

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Lightweight and fast

Very customizable

Good keyboard support

Low resource usage

Actively developed and maintained

Cons

Steep learning curve

Manual configuration required

Not many graphical configuration tools

Less features than full desktop environments


The Best Openbox Alternatives

Top Os & Utilities and Window Managers and other similar apps like Openbox


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