https://github.com/jichu4n/basic_wm

An example basic X11 window manager.
https://github.com/jichu4n/basic_wm

window-manager x11 x11-wm

Last synced: 15 days ago
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An example basic X11 window manager.

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/jichu4n/basic_wm
• Owner: jichu4n
• Created: 2014-03-25T23:18:43.000Z (over 10 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2024-07-03T23:05:54.000Z (4 months ago)
• Last Synced: 2024-08-01T16:23:22.046Z (3 months ago)
• Topics: window-manager, x11, x11-wm
• Language: C++
• Size: 53.7 KB
• Stars: 479
• Watchers: 16
• Forks: 72
• Open Issues: 2
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md

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README

        
# Basic Window Manager

[![Build Status][build-status-image]][github-url]

basic_wm is a simple reparenting, non-compositing X window manager that demonstrates

how to implement the fundamental functionality of a window manager:

- Managing the life cycle of windows

- Reparenting windows

- Basic window operations (moving, resizing, closing)

It serves as a pedagogical example for my series of articles,

[_How X Window Managers Work, And How To Write One_](https://jichu4n.com/posts/how-x-window-managers-work-and-how-to-write-one-part-i/).

## Building and Running

To build this example window manager, you will need:

- A C++-11 enabled C++ compiler

- [GNU Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/)

- Xlib headers and libraries

- [google-glog](https://code.google.com/p/google-glog/) library

To run and test it, you will need:

- [Xephyr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xephyr)

- `xinit`

- Some X utilities such as `xclock`, `xeyes`, and `xterm` to play with

On Debian / Ubuntu:

    sudo apt-get install \

        build-essential pkg-config libx11-dev libgoogle-glog-dev \

        xserver-xephyr xinit x11-apps xterm

On Fedora:

    sudo yum install \

        make gcc gcc-c++ libX11-devel glog-devel \

        xorg-x11-server-Xephyr xorg-x11-apps xterm

On Arch Linux:

    sudo pacman -S base-devel libx11 google-glog \

        xorg-server-xephyr xorg-xinit xorg-xclock xorg-xeyes xterm

Once you have all the dependencies, building and running it is as simple as:

    ./build_and_run.sh

This will launch a simple Xephyr session like in the following screenshot:

![Screenshot](basic_wm_screenshot.png)

## Usage

Supported keyboard shortcuts:

- **Alt + Left Click**: Move window

- **Alt + Right Click**: Resize window

- **Alt + F4**: Close window

- **Alt + Tab**: Switch window

[github-url]: https://github.com/jichu4n/basic_wm

[build-status-image]: https://github.com/jichu4n/basic_wm/actions/workflows/build.yaml/badge.svg