Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Phoenix VS Xmonad

Compare Phoenix VS Xmonad 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.

Xmonad logo Xmonad

xmonad is a dynamically tiling X11 window manager that is written and configured in Haskell.
  • Phoenix Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19
  • Xmonad Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-01

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.

Xmonad features and specs

  • Highly Customizable
    Xmonad is written in Haskell and allows for extensive customization. Users can write custom configurations and extensions to tailor the window manager to their exact needs.
  • Efficient and Minimalist
    Xmonad is designed to be efficient and lightweight. It uses minimal system resources, making it ideal for older hardware or systems where performance is a priority.
  • Keyboard-Centric
    Xmonad is optimized for keyboard operation, providing a highly efficient and fast way to manage windows without relying on a mouse, which can improve productivity.
  • Tiling Window Manager
    As a tiling window manager, Xmonad automatically arranges windows to use screen space efficiently, reducing the need to manually resize and position windows.
  • Stable and Reliable
    Xmonad is known for its stability and reliability, with a strong track record of stable releases and robust performance.

Possible disadvantages of Xmonad

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users may find Xmonad difficult to learn due to its reliance on Haskell for customization and a lack of graphical configuration tools.
  • Limited Out-of-the-Box Functionality
    Xmonad comes with a very basic setup by default, requiring significant configuration and customization to fully utilize its capabilities.
  • Haskell Knowledge Required
    Customization of Xmonad requires knowledge of Haskell, which can be a barrier for users unfamiliar with the language.
  • Sparse Community and Documentation
    Compared to more popular window managers, Xmonad has a smaller community and less extensive documentation, which can make troubleshooting and learning more challenging.
  • Not Newbie-Friendly
    Xmonad is not the most user-friendly option for beginners. Its lack of GUI tools and reliance on command-line configuration can be intimidating for new users.

Phoenix videos

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

More videos:

  • Review - Phoenix Review and Bonuses

Xmonad videos

Xmonad Review

More videos:

  • Review - Hacking on Xmonad - GridSelect, ToggleStruts, ToggleBorders
  • Review - Obscure Window Manager Project - Xmonad

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Phoenix and Xmonad)
Window Manager
26 26%
74% 74
OSX Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Linux
15 15%
85% 85
Utilities
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

Phoenix Reviews

We have no reviews of Phoenix yet.
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Xmonad Reviews

Top 13 Best Tiling Window Managers For Linux In 2022
XMonad is a dynamic tiling X11 window manager that allows you to automate window finding and alignment. It may be customised with its own extension library, which includes choices for status bars and window decorations. It’s also simple to set up, stable, and minimal.
Source: www.hubtech.org
13 Best Tiling Window Managers for Linux
spectrwm is a small, dynamic, xmonad, and dwm-inspired reparenting and tiling window manager built for X11 to be fast, compact, and concise. It was created with the aim of solving the issues of xmonad and dwm face.
Source: www.tecmint.com
5 Great Tiling Window Managers for Linux
Xmonad is a tiling window manager written in Haskell. Like most (if not all) window managers, it comes with no frills or window decorations. The keyboard shortcuts are top notch. It works out-of-the-box and is very user friendly. On top of all that, Xmonad sports a fairly big extension library (which can add on even more functionality).

Social recommendations and mentions

Xmonad might be a bit more popular than Phoenix. We know about 15 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 / 11 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

Xmonad mentions (15)

  • Rubywm: An X11 window manager in pure Ruby
    If you want tiling, but i3 requires too much manual work, you might like the more managed layouts that are the default in XMonad: https://xmonad.org/ XMonad works fine with multiple monitors. Each monitor displays one of the many virtual desktops. The normal keys for desktops and for windows work pretty intuitively with multiple monitors. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • [Media] shrs: a shell that is configurable and extensible in rust
    Hey everyone 👋 ! I'm currently working on a rust library for building and configuring your own shell! It's inspired by projects like xmonad and penrose where the configuration of the program is done in code. This means that for example, instead of using Bash's arcane syntax for configuring the prompt, it can be configured instead using a rust builder pattern! The project itself is still at a very young stage, so... Source: about 2 years ago
  • What LaTeX setup do you use?
    There are a few other things I could mention, but there are more like side issues, and not relevant to my actual LaTeX setup. First and foremost—and thus perhaps noteworthy after all—is bibliography management with arxiv-citation (see here for more words). This is integrated very well with the XMonad window manager, which makes it even more of a joy to use. Source: about 2 years ago
  • How to map arrows keys to CapsLock+(h,i,j,k) shortcuts in i3
    Another way to do it (and works on Linux and other platforms) is with XMonad, defining Caps Lock as a layer key. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Can ISTP like abstract things and theories?
    I tried it once, it was alright. https://xmonad.org/ But I prefer to build my own. Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Phoenix and Xmonad, 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.

i3 - A dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C.

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

awesome - A dynamic window manager for the X Window System developed in the C and Lua programming languages.