cwm (Calm Window Manager)
is a
stacking window manager
A stacking window manager (also called floating window manager) is a window manager that draws and allows windows to overlap, without using a compositing algorithm. All window managers that allow the overlapping of windows but are not compositing ...
for the
X Window System. While it is primarily developed as a part of
OpenBSD
OpenBSD is a security-focused, free and open-source, Unix-like operating system based on the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD). Theo de Raadt created OpenBSD in 1995 by forking NetBSD 1.0. According to the website, the OpenBSD project em ...
's base system,
portable versions are available on other
Unix-like operating systems.
History
Development of cwm started from patches to
evilwm by Marius Aamodt Eriksen.
To ease the implementation of new features, cwm was eventually rewritten using some code from
9wm.
The last release by the original author came out in August 2005.
In April 2007, cwm was imported into OpenBSD source tree.
By January 2008, a substantial part of the original source code, including all of the 9wm code, was rewritten.
cwm has been distributed with OpenBSD since version 4.2, where it replaced
wm2
wm2 is a minimalist reparenting window manager for the X Window System written by Chris Cannam. It provides support for moving, resizing, and deleting windows, but does not support icons. Instead of icons, wm2 allows temporary hiding of wind ...
.
A third-party
Linux port also exists.
Description
cwm is a stacking window manager oriented towards heavy keyboard usage,
small footprint and ease of use. While it lacks explicit
virtual desktops
In computing, a virtual desktop is a term used with respect to user interfaces, usually within the WIMP paradigm, to describe ways in which the virtual space of a computer's desktop environment is expanded beyond the physical limits of the sc ...
functionality, it can be emulated by using the window groups mechanism.
cwm does not draw window decorations except for a 1-pixel border around windows.
cwm includes several menus:
* exec menu (launch an application)
* window menu (search for a running application)
* ssh to menu (start a
Secure Shell session)
* exec wm menu (switch to a different
window manager)
All these menus operate in a "search as you type" manner.
cwm allows raising, hiding, switching between, and searching for windows using just the keyboard, making it suitable to use as
terminal emulator multiplexer.
Furthermore, it allows manipulating pointing devices, such as mice, with the keyboard.
Additional
key bindings and configuration options can be specified in the configuration file
~/.cwmrc.
Reception
cwm is generally well received in
software minimalist communities.
cwm is noted to be used mainly due to its status as one of the default window managers in OpenBSD,
though other reasons are sometimes cited.
cwm is also praised for its flexibility, ease of use, and the fact that it can be used without a mouse.
See also
*
Comparison of X window managers
References
External links
*
*
*
{{OpenBSD
Free software programmed in C
Free X window managers
OpenBSD
OpenBSD software using the ISC license