awesome

awesome is an open source and tiling window manager initially based on a dwm code rewriting. It has a small codebase and footprint, it's extremely fast, stable, dynamic, and above all, awesome. It can be installed on any Linux distribution, directly from the default software repositories.

The window manager does not recognizes between tiled and floating layouts. It applies the layout on the fly, optimizing the environment for the application in use and the task performed, and uses tags instead of virtual workspaces.

It is the first window manager that uses asynchronous XCB libraries, instead of the old synchronous Xlib (also known as libX11) library. In addition, it very well documented and does not require a mouse for basic operations, but only a keyboard.

Features at a glance

Key features include real multi-head support with tags (Xinerama, Zaphod or XRandR modes), D-Bus support, as well as support for many Freedesktop standards, including XDG Base Directory, EWMH, XEmbed, System Tray or Desktop Notification.

While the project comes with a very stable, minimal and extremely fast footprint and codebase, it tries to be highly configurable and extensible through Lua extensions, which can add dynamic tagging, layouts, tabs, or even widget feeding.

It provides users with fine-grained control over their desktop sessions, allowing them to place clients on various tags, as well as to display multiple tags at the same time. Additionally, it supports themes that can be created in the Lua programming language.

Another interesting feature is the ability to act as a framework window manager. It has been engineered to automatically discover your installed applications, and uses panels for interacting with running applications, tags, and the system tray area.

Bottom line

In conclusion, awesome is an awesome window manager, but only for programmers and power users who prefer a minimal desktop session instead of one of those full featured desktop environments.

What is new in this release:

• Gregor Best (1): naughty: localize obj
• Ignas Anikevicius (gns_ank) (1): Add match_any function and rule_any definition for different client matching.
• Julien Danjou (2): Revert "tag.lua: check name argument to add() is valid" change codename
• Roman Kosenko (1): Fix image cropping/enlarging
• immerrr (1): awful.prompt: insert selection at cursor position

What is new in version 4.1:

• Gregor Best (1): naughty: localize obj
• Ignas Anikevicius (gns_ank) (1): Add match_any function and rule_any definition for different client matching.
• Julien Danjou (2): Revert "tag.lua: check name argument to add() is valid" change codename
• Roman Kosenko (1): Fix image cropping/enlarging
• immerrr (1): awful.prompt: insert selection at cursor position

What is new in version 3.5.9:

• Gregor Best (1): naughty: localize obj
• Ignas Anikevicius (gns_ank) (1): Add match_any function and rule_any definition for different client matching.
• Julien Danjou (2): Revert "tag.lua: check name argument to add() is valid" change codename
• Roman Kosenko (1): Fix image cropping/enlarging
• immerrr (1): awful.prompt: insert selection at cursor position

What is new in version 3.5.6:

• Gregor Best (1): naughty: localize obj
• Ignas Anikevicius (gns_ank) (1): Add match_any function and rule_any definition for different client matching.
• Julien Danjou (2): Revert "tag.lua: check name argument to add() is valid" change codename
• Roman Kosenko (1): Fix image cropping/enlarging
• immerrr (1): awful.prompt: insert selection at cursor position

What is new in version 3.4.7:

• Bugfix release

What is new in version 3.4 RC2:

• This version fixes a bunch of regression since 3.3. It also fixes a memory leak with raw images creation, and adds smart placement by default.

What is new in version 3.4 RC 1:

• This version implements an unified object model, a new Zenburn theme, the new widget layout system, and much more.

What is new in version 3.3.4:

• This version fixes some loops with bad usage of WM_TRANSIENT_FOR and a problem with ignoring signals when using os.execute() from Lua.

What is new in version 3.3.3:

• This version fixes compatibility with libev 3.80 and higher, as well as new XCB libraries.

What is new in version 3.2:

• This version fixes a major bug in the handling of some D-Bus messages.

What is new in version 3.2 RC4:

• This release enhances notification compatibility, fixes submenu positioning, and auto-expands on menus.

What is new in version 3.2 RC3:

• This version fixes configure event handling.