Alternatives to JWM

Joe's Window Manager, a lightweight stacking window manager for X11 written in C. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as JWM.

  • IceWM

    A lightweight X11 window manager with a taskbar, workspaces and a familiar Windows-like layout.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    IceWM is another lightweight X11 window manager for older machines, adding a built-in taskbar, tray, menu and a large collection of themes.

  • Openbox

    Manage X11 windows with a configurable stacking window manager.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Openbox is a configurable X11 stacking window manager with custom menus and window rules, needing separate panels and launchers for a complete desktop.

  • FVWM3

    A highly configurable X11 window manager, the successor to fvwm2, with multi-monitor support.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    FVWM3 is a lightweight X11 window manager with extremely configurable behaviour and RandR multi-monitor support, but its configuration has a steep learning curve.

  • Window Maker

    An X11 stacking window manager that reproduces the look and feel of NeXTSTEP.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Window Maker is a light X11 stacking window manager with a NeXTSTEP look, dockapps and a graphical preferences tool.

  • labwc

    A lightweight wlroots-based stacking Wayland compositor inspired by Openbox.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    labwc is a lightweight stacking compositor inspired by Openbox that runs on Wayland only, needing separate programs for a full desktop.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.