Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

spectrwm VS herbstluftwm

Compare spectrwm VS herbstluftwm and see what are their differences

spectrwm logo spectrwm

spectrwm is a small dynamic tiling window manager for X11.

herbstluftwm logo herbstluftwm

herbstluftwm is a manual tiling window manager for X11 using Xlib and Glib.
  • spectrwm Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-01
  • herbstluftwm Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-11

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.

herbstluftwm features and specs

  • Tiling Window Management
    Herbstluftwm is a dynamic tiling window manager, allowing users to efficiently organize open windows without overlapping, thereby optimizing screen real estate.
  • Scriptability
    The window manager is highly scriptable, providing users the ability to extend and customize its functionality using shell scripts.
  • Lightweight
    Herbstluftwm is lightweight and consumes minimal system resources, making it an excellent choice for older hardware or systems with limited resources.
  • Simple Configuration
    Configuration is straightforward and done through a simple text file, allowing users to easily adjust settings to meet their preferences.
  • EWMH and ICCCM Compliance
    It adheres to EWMH and ICCCM standards, ensuring better compatibility with various desktop environments and applications.
  • Community Support
    Herbstluftwm has an active community that provides support, documentation, and shared configurations, aiding new users and fostering improvements.

Possible disadvantages of herbstluftwm

  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Users coming from traditional desktop environments might find the tiling system and keyboard-driven interface challenging to learn initially.
  • Limited Graphical Configuration Tools
    Unlike some other window managers, herbstluftwm lacks extensive graphical tools for configuration, requiring users to edit configuration files manually.
  • Dependencies
    While lightweight, certain features or functionalities might require additional dependencies such as scripting or external programs.
  • Not as Feature-Rich as Some Alternatives
    Herbstluftwm focuses on simplicity and efficiency, which might not offer as many features or eye-candy as some other window managers.
  • Potential Compatibility Issues
    Despite EWMH and ICCCM compliance, some applications, especially older or proprietary ones, might not behave as expected.

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

herbstluftwm videos

Window Manager Hopping: Herbstluftwm

More videos:

  • Review - Herbstluftwm overview
  • Review - Obscure Window Manager Project - Herbstluftwm

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to spectrwm and herbstluftwm)
Window Manager
55 55%
45% 45
Linux
59 59%
41% 41
Utilities
62 62%
38% 38
Qt
51 51%
49% 49

User comments

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Reviews

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

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

herbstluftwm Reviews

Top 13 Best Tiling Window Managers For Linux In 2022
Tags (workspaces or virtual desktops), a startup setup script, exactly one tag per monitor, and other features are among herbstluftwm’s highlights. Learn more about herbstluftwm in our article.
Source: www.hubtech.org
13 Best Tiling Window Managers for Linux
herbstluftwm’s main features include tags (i.e. workspaces or virtual desktops), a configuration script which runs at startup, exactly one tag per monitor, etc. Learn more from our article on herbstluftwm here.
Source: www.tecmint.com

Social recommendations and mentions

spectrwm might be a bit more popular than herbstluftwm. We know about 12 links to it since March 2021 and only 9 links to herbstluftwm. 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.

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 / 7 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

herbstluftwm mentions (9)

  • The Future Is Niri
    It's X11 but whenever (tiling) window managers are mentioned, I feel a strong urge to mention Herbstluftwm [0]. It's more manual than the automatic splitting most tiling WMs do but I really enjoy how easy it is to split/tab using the keyboard in Herbstluftwm. [0] https://herbstluftwm.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Ideal Monitor Rotation for Programmers
    It's exactly how it works but only if you have mutliple screens. My comment was that, for this reason, 2 or 3 smaller (ish- ~27") 16:9 4k screens [1] (previously, 4–6 even smaller 4:3 screens) works much better for me because I can switch the spaces on my Macbook and i3/Sway virtual desktops on my Linux machine individually for each screen. If we're talking about having a smaller number of giant screens it would... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What softwares do you recommend to a daily use BSD system?
    The nicities that I pull would be the file browser from ROX, and a tiling window manager such as herbstluftwm. I could do everything I do today without these, such as with a terminal or OpenBSD's 'cwm', but I really enjoy using them! Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Berry is a healthy, byte-sized window manager written in C for Unix systems
    While people are discussing window managers, one of the most overlooked window manager is: hersbtluftwm.[0] If you even work with multiple monitors, give it a try. It uses the monitor swapping feature from xmonad but comes with simplicity of editing the config (one doesn't need to learn new programming language to edit config). It's a pretty cool window manager! [0]: https://herbstluftwm.org/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Looking for a FancyZones-like tiling manager for Linux
    Herbstluftwm (https://herbstluftwm.org/) has two ways to achieve what you want. And it plays nice with XFCE (and probably KDE) so you don't have to give up a traditional DE to use it. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

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.

bspwm - A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning

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

IceWM - icewm home page . Bug Tracking. If you have a patch, a bug report or a feature request to submit, please do so at the icewm project page at SourceForge.

qtile - Qtile is a full-featured, hackable tiling window manager written in Python.

Fluxbox - Fluxbox is a window manager for X that was based on the Blackbox 0.61.1 code.