Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Phoenix VS spectrwm

Compare Phoenix VS spectrwm and see what are their differences

Phoenix logo Phoenix

Brief Description of Phoenix software: Phoenix is a light platform that acts as a macOS and windows application manager and is scriptable with JavaScript. Read more about Phoenix.

spectrwm logo spectrwm

spectrwm is a small dynamic tiling window manager for X11.
  • Phoenix Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19
  • spectrwm Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-01

Phoenix features and specs

  • Customizability
    Phoenix offers extensive options for customization through its configuration using JavaScript, allowing users to define precise window management behaviors tailored to their preferences.
  • Lightweight
    The application is lightweight, not consuming excessive system resources, ensuring that it runs smoothly even on older hardware.
  • Open Source
    Being open source, Phoenix allows users to audit the codebase for security and modify it to suit their needs, fostering community collaboration and improvements.
  • Highly Scriptable
    Phoenix supports extensive scripting capabilities, enabling users to automate tasks and create complex workflows that enhance productivity.

Possible disadvantages of Phoenix

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Because Phoenix requires writing code for configuration, it can be challenging for users who are not familiar with programming, particularly JavaScript.
  • Limited Documentation
    The documentation available for Phoenix may not be comprehensive, posing difficulties for users who need guidance on advanced configurations and features.
  • MacOS Exclusive
    Phoenix is only available for macOS, restricting its use to Mac users and excluding those on other operating systems like Windows or Linux.
  • Potential Stability Issues
    As with many highly customizable and scriptable applications, user scripts can sometimes lead to unexpected behavior or crashes if not correctly written.

spectrwm features and specs

  • Lightweight
    spectrwm is designed to be a minimalistic and lightweight window manager, which results in fast performance and low system resource consumption.
  • Keyboard-driven
    It has strong keyboard-focused navigation, allowing users to efficiently manage windows and enhance productivity without relying on a mouse.
  • Customizability
    Users can customize key bindings and appearance by editing a straightforward configuration file, providing flexibility to tailor the window manager to individual preferences.
  • Multi-head support
    spectrwm provides built-in support for multiple monitors, making it a good choice for users who require multi-display setups.
  • Scriptable
    The window manager supports scripting, which lets users automate tasks and create custom scripts to further extend functionality.

Possible disadvantages of spectrwm

  • Steeper learning curve
    The lack of a graphical user interface might pose a challenge for new users, as it requires familiarity with configuration files and command-line operations.
  • Requires manual configuration
    Initial setup may require manual editing of configuration files, which can be inconvenient for users who prefer plug-and-play solutions.
  • Limited features out-of-the-box
    Compared to more comprehensive desktop environments, spectrwm might lack certain features and conveniences that users expect, requiring additional setup and configuration.
  • Community and support
    Being one of several niche tiling window managers, it might not have as large a community or extensive documentation as some other options, potentially making it harder to find support.

Phoenix videos

Phoenix Review ⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ DON'T GET THIS WITHOUT MY 👷 CUSTOM 👷 BONUSES!!

More videos:

  • Review - Phoenix Review and Bonuses

spectrwm videos

Spectrwm Is An Impressive Tiling Window Manager

More videos:

  • Review - Spectrwm - More Adventures in Tiling WM Land
  • Review - Discovered Some Cool Stuff In Spectrwm and Qtile

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Phoenix and spectrwm)
Window Manager
34 34%
66% 66
OSX Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Linux
24 24%
76% 76
Utilities
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Phoenix and spectrwm. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Phoenix and spectrwm

Phoenix Reviews

We have no reviews of Phoenix yet.
Be the first one to post

spectrwm Reviews

Top 13 Best Tiling Window Managers For Linux In 2022
spectrwm has a plain text configuration file, defaults that are identical to xmonad and dwm, and built-in keyboard shortcuts. Other features include colour and border width customization, drag-to-float, quick launch menu customization, adjustable status bar, dynamic RandR compatibility, and more.
Source: www.hubtech.org
13 Best Tiling Window Managers for Linux
spectrwm uses a plain text configuration file, boasts defaults similar to those in xmonad and dwm, and features built-in keyboard shortcuts. Its other features include customizable colors and border width, drag-to-float, quick launch menu, customizable status bar, dynamic RandR support, etc.
Source: www.tecmint.com

Social recommendations and mentions

spectrwm might be a bit more popular than Phoenix. We know about 12 links to it since March 2021 and only 11 links to Phoenix. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Phoenix mentions (11)

  • macOS Sequoia Preview
    I'll probably still use phoenix since I can code it to do whatever I want. https://github.com/kasper/phoenix. - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • Ask HN: What software sparks joy when using?
    In no particular order: Prologue [0] - iOS Audiobook player, used Plex as a media source Overcast [1] - iOS Podcast player CleanShotX [2] - macOS screenshot/video/gif capture with annotation Drafts [3] - iOS/macOS note taking tool Paprika [4] - Cross platform recipe app YNAB [5] - "You Need A Budget" - web/mobile budgeting app 1Password [6] - Cross platform password manager Carrot Weather [7] - iOS weather app... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Yabai – A tiling window manager for macOS
    Phoenix [0] is another option in this space if you want to write JS/TS instead of Lua. I just commented about it here [1]. [0] https://github.com/kasper/phoenix. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Yabai – A tiling window manager for macOS
    Have you heard of Phoenix [1]? It seems relatively unknown but I actually found it to work better than Yabai in some ways. The gist is that it basically simulates a tiling wm and virtual desktops by internally tracking state. It's also highly hackable/extensible being written in JS. Spin2Win [2] is a config that's worked well for me. [1] https://github.com/kasper/phoenix That said, it seems there are no perfect... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?
    When I was annoyed with this I went ahead and downloaded phoenix (https://github.com/kasper/phoenix) wrote a little javascript and now I have a bunch of globally accessable hotkeys so I can lay my windows out in a number of combinations. Right now I have setups for over/under left/right, two by two grid, and three by three grid. I've got some plans to spend some time... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
View more

spectrwm mentions (12)

  • GTK Krell Monitors
    Does not help you but the question nerd sniped me to try it as an exercise in my preferred tiling WM spectrwm. https://github.com/conformal/spectrwm in .spectrwmrc add
        #shrink the region by 112 to allow space for the widget.
    - Source: Hacker News / 16 days ago
  • Rubywm: An X11 window manager in pure Ruby
    I am not sure what you want out of I3, but if it is "i3 configuration is too complicated" might I suggest spectrwm. I like it because it hits that sweet spot for a tilling WM between "more configurable than dwm" and "less configurable than i3" https://github.com/conformal/spectrwm Plus I find it handles multiple monitors well. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?
    I use the tiling WM spectrwm. It lets me pull windows out of tiling mode and into window mode. I think a common operation on most tiling window managers. Most of the time I don't want overlapping windows(thus the tiling WM) but every once in a while I do, so the best of both worlds. It is a bit obscure but I quite like spectrwm, it fills this sweet spot where it is much simpler than I3 but much more feature... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Easy window manager?
    Spectrwm is by far the easiest WM I've tested. Also Fluxbox is pretty much straightforward. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Which WM should I use ?
    Spectrwm is by far the most beginner-friendly WM I've ever tested. Im now running EXWM the buffers management is something else. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Phoenix and spectrwm, you can also consider the following products

Magnet Window Manager - Magnet Developers

dwm - 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.

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

Xmonad - xmonad is a dynamically tiling X11 window manager that is written and configured in Haskell.

yabai - A tiling window manager for macOS based on binary space partitioning

bspwm - A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning