herbstluftwm AlternativesWindow Managers and other similar apps like herbstluftwm

herbstluftwm is described as 'Manual tiling window manager for X11 using Xlib and Glib' and is a Window Manager in the os & utilities category. There are more than 50 alternatives to herbstluftwm for a variety of platforms, including Linux, BSD, Wayland, Mac and Windows apps. The best herbstluftwm alternative is Hyprland, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like herbstluftwm are i3, Openbox, Sway and Sxmo.

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herbstluftwm alternatives are mainly Window Managers but may also be Wayland Compositors. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of herbstluftwm.
herbstluftwm iconherbstluftwm
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herbstluftwm is a manual tiling window manager for X11 using Xlib and Glib.

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herbstluftwm alternatives page was last updated Jun 30, 2024
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  1. Hyprland icon
    Hyprland icon

    Hyprland

     15 likes
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    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.

    16 Hyprland alternatives
    Screenshot of a preconfigured setup

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • openSUSE
    • Arch Linux
    • Gentoo
    • Fedora
    • Ubuntu
    • Debian
    • FreeBSD
    • Alpine Linux
    • Slackware
    Hyprland screenshot 1
    Hyprland screenshot 2
    +3
    Hyprland screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Tiling Window Manager
    2.  Compositor
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Support for scripting
    5.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    Hyprland iconherbstluftwm Icon

    Hyprland VS herbstluftwm

    Is Hyprland a good alternative to herbstluftwm?
     

    • Hyprland is the most popular Linux alternative to herbstluftwm.

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

    • Hyprland is Free and Open Sourceherbstluftwm is also Free and Open Source
    • Hyprland is Customizable and Lightweightherbstluftwm is not according to our users
  2. i3 icon
    i3 icon

    i3

     70 likes
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    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.

    72 i3 alternatives
    i3 with VIM, git, MPlayer, i3bar

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    dzen2, VIM, bash, top
    Screenshot by Michael Stapelberg
    +1
    i3pystatus, mpd, watson time tracker, nerd fonts

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Tiling Window Manager
    2.  Tiling
    3.  X server
    4.  Built-in bar/panel
    5.  Mod Keys
    6.  Tabbed interface
    i3 iconherbstluftwm Icon

    i3 VS herbstluftwm

    Is i3 a good alternative to herbstluftwm?
     
  4. Openbox icon
    Openbox icon

    Openbox

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

    69 Openbox alternatives
    BlackWhite theme by lyrae @ box-look.org

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Dyne theme by lyrae @ box-look.org
    Clearlooks theme by davidbarr @ box-look.org

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    6.  KDE
    Discontinued

    No actively developed anymore. Last commit was in 2015.

    Openbox iconherbstluftwm Icon

    Openbox VS herbstluftwm

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  5. Sway icon
    Sway icon

    Sway

     17 likes
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    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.

    16 Sway alternatives
    Sway screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  Wayland Support
    3.  Tiling Window Manager
    4.  Tiling Layouts
    5.  Tiling
    Sway iconherbstluftwm Icon

    Sway VS herbstluftwm

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  6. Sxmo icon
    Sxmo icon

    Sxmo

     2 likes
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    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...

    64 Sxmo alternatives
    Sxmo screenshot 1
    Sxmo screenshot 2
    Sxmo screenshot 3

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • postmarketOS
    • Linux Mobile

    Sxmo Features

    1.  Support for scripting
    2.  Support for Gestures
    3.  SSH
    4.  Tiling Window Manager
    Sxmo iconherbstluftwm Icon

    Sxmo VS herbstluftwm

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  7. Fluxbox icon
    Fluxbox icon

    Fluxbox

     33 likes
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    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.

    67 Fluxbox alternatives
    fluxbox with a custom theme

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • C++
    Fluxbox iconherbstluftwm Icon

    Fluxbox VS herbstluftwm

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  9. bspwm icon
    bspwm icon

    bspwm

     10 likes
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    A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning.

    66 bspwm alternatives
    bspwm screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Tiling
    7.  Tiling Window Manager
    bspwm iconherbstluftwm Icon

    bspwm VS herbstluftwm

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  10. awesome icon
    awesome icon

    awesome

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

    75 awesome alternatives
    awesome screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    awesome Features

    1.  X server
    2.  Tiling
    3.  Extensible window manager
    awesome screenshot 1
    awesome with a number of terminals open.
    +2
    Screenshot by folcraed Source: https://github.com/awesomeWM/awesome/issues/1395#issuecomment-272668779
    awesome iconherbstluftwm Icon

    awesome VS herbstluftwm

    Is awesome a good alternative to herbstluftwm?
     
  11. Qtile icon
    Qtile icon

    Qtile

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

    68 Qtile alternatives
    Qtile screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Qtile screenshot 1
    Qtile screenshot 2
    +2
    Qtile screenshot 3

    Qtile Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Command line interface
    4.  Tiling
    5.  Extensible window manager
    Qtile iconherbstluftwm Icon

    Qtile VS herbstluftwm

    Is Qtile a good alternative to herbstluftwm?
     
    Comments about Qtile as an Alternative to herbstluftwm
     
    Guest

    Its python and also configurable

    Positive comment •May 6, 2016
    0
    herbstluftwm Icon
    Qtile icon
    • Qtile is Free and Open Sourceherbstluftwm is also Free and Open Source
  12. Amethyst icon
    Amethyst icon

    Amethyst

     21 likes
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    Amethyst is a tiling window manager for Mac similar to the xmonad tiling window manager popular on Linux. Amethyst is written in Objective-C and has configurable shortcuts, multi-monitor support, multiple layouts, and the option to float certain applications.

    91 Amethyst alternatives
    Amethyst screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Amethyst screenshot 1

    Amethyst Features

    1.  Snap windows
    2.  Tiling Layouts
    3.  Customize Windows
    4.  Multi Column View
    5.  Autostart
    6.  Mouse tracking
    7.  Application whitelisting
    8.  Floating windows
    9.  Toggle
    10.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    Amethyst iconherbstluftwm Icon

    Amethyst VS herbstluftwm

    Is Amethyst a good alternative to herbstluftwm?
     

    • Amethyst is the most popular Mac alternative to herbstluftwm.

    • Amethyst is Free and Open Sourceherbstluftwm is also Free and Open Source
  13. IceWM icon
    IceWM icon

    IceWM

     11 likes
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    IceWM is a Window Manager for X Window System. It is fast and memory-efficient, and it provides many different looks including Windows'95, OS/2 Warp 3,4, Motif.

    63 IceWM alternatives
    IceWM screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    IceWM Features

    1.  X server
    IceWM screenshot 1
    IceWM screenshot 2
    +2
    IceWM screenshot 3
    IceWM iconherbstluftwm Icon

    IceWM VS herbstluftwm

    Is IceWM a good alternative to herbstluftwm?
     
  14. dwm icon
    dwm icon

    dwm

     24 likes
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    dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, monocle and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically, optimising the environment for the application in use and the task performed.

    73 dwm alternatives
    dwm screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  X server
    dwm iconherbstluftwm Icon

    dwm VS herbstluftwm

    Is dwm a good alternative to herbstluftwm?
     
12 of 63 herbstluftwm alternatives