dwl Alternatives

dwl is described as 'Compact, hackable compositor for Wayland based on wlroots. It is intended to fill the same space in the Wayland world that dwm does in X11, primarily in terms of functionality, and secondarily in terms of philosophy. Like dwm, dwl is:' and is a wayland compositor in the os & utilities category. There are more than 50 alternatives to dwl for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Wayland, BSD, Mac and Windows apps. The best dwl alternative is Hyprland, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like dwl are niri, Sway, i3 and Openbox.

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Alternatives list

  1. Hyprland icon

    Hyprland

     37 likes

    An independent tiling Wayland compositor written in C++. Noteworthy features of Hyprland include dynamic tiling, tabbed windows, a clean and readable C++ code-base, and a custom renderer that provides window animations, rounded corners, and Dual-Kawase Blur on transparent windows.

    26 Hyprland alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • openSUSE
    • Arch Linux
    • Gentoo
    • Fedora
    • Ubuntu
    • Debian
    • FreeBSD
    • Alpine Linux
    • Slackware
    • Wayland
    Screenshot of a preconfigured setup
     

    • Hyprland is the most popular Linux alternative to dwl.

    • Hyprland is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to dwl.

    • Hyprland is Free and Open Sourcedwl is also Free and Open Source
    • Hyprland is Customizable and Lightweightdwl is not according to our users
  2. niri icon

    niri

     10 likes

    Windows are arranged in columns on an infinite strip going to the right. Opening a new window never causes existing windows to resize.

    77 niri alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Wayland
    niri screenshot 1
     
  4. Sway icon

    Sway

     22 likes

    Sway is a Tiling Wayland Compositor and a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager for X11. It works with your existing i3 configuration and supports most of i3's features, plus a few extras.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Sway screenshot 1
     
  5. i3 icon

    i3

     71 likes

    i3 is a dynamic tiling window manager with clean, readable and documented code, featuring extended Xinerama support, usage of libxcb instead of xlib and several improvements over wmii.

    79 i3 alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    i3 with VIM, git, MPlayer, i3bar
     
  6. Openbox icon

    Openbox

     78 likes

    Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.

    75 Openbox alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    BlackWhite theme by lyrae @ box-look.org
     
  7. GlazeWM icon

    GlazeWM

     8 likes

    A tiling window manager for Windows inspired by i3 and Polybar.

    31 GlazeWM alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Rust
    GlazeWM screenshot 1
     

    • GlazeWM is the most popular Windows alternative to dwl.

    • GlazeWM is Free and Open Sourcedwl is also Free and Open Source
    • GlazeWM is Lightweightdwl is not according to our users
  9. awesome icon

    awesome

     39 likes

    awesome is a highly configurable, next generation framework window manager for X. It is very fast, extensible and licensed under the GNU GPLv2 license.

    81 awesome alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    awesome screenshot 1
     
  10. Fluxbox icon

    Fluxbox

     33 likes

    Fluxbox is a window manager for X that was based on the Blackbox 0.61.1 code. It is very light on resources and easy to handle but yet full of features to make an easy, and extremely fast, desktop experience. It is built using C++ and licensed under the MIT license.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • C++
    fluxbox with a custom theme
     
  12. Sxmo icon

    Sxmo

     2 likes

    A minimalist Linux smartphone environment that is truly yours to control. Sxmo, or Simple X Mobile, is a collection of simple and suckless X programs and scripts used together to create a fully functional mobile UI adhering to the Unix philosophy for the PinePhone and other...

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • postmarketOS
    • Linux Mobile
    Sxmo screenshot 1
    Sxmo screenshot 2
    Sxmo screenshot 3
     

  13. KWin

     9 likes

    KWin is a window manager for the X Window System, and is in the process of becoming a Wayland compositor. It is an integral part, and the default window manager of the Plasma Workspaces, but it can also be used on its own or with other desktop environments.

    56 KWin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    KWin's desktop cube.
     
  14. Qtile icon

    Qtile

     8 likes

    A full-featured, hackable tiling window manager written and configured in Python.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Qtile screenshot 1
     
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