JWM
Joe's Window Manager, a lightweight stacking window manager for X11 written in C.
These buttons open the developer's own site, repository or store listing in a new tab. wares.gg does not host downloads.
About JWM
JWM is a light-weight window manager for the X11 Window System, written in C and needing only Xlib at a minimum. Its small footprint makes it a good fit for older computers and low-powered systems such as the Raspberry Pi, and it ships in small distributions like Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux.
Optional libraries add multi-monitor support through Xinerama, PNG, JPEG and SVG icons and backgrounds, rounded windows and antialiased fonts. It follows ICCCM and supports MWM and EWMH hints. It is MIT licensed and widely packaged.
Strengths
- Very small footprint, needing only Xlib
- Runs well on old hardware and the Raspberry Pi
- Optional multi-monitor, SVG and antialiased font support
- Available as a package in many distributions
Limitations
- X11 only, no Wayland support
- Stacking only, with no tiling layouts
- Plain appearance compared with full desktop environments
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the MIT licence.
- License
- MIT
- Developer
- Joe Wingbermuehle
- Platforms
- Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Lightweight desktops on older or low-powered Linux machines
- Categories
- Window tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to JWM
Compare allSoftware that can replace JWM for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
IceWM
A lightweight X11 window manager with a taskbar, workspaces and a familiar Windows-like layout.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 necessarily a direct replacement.
Tint2
Lightweight panel and taskbar for Linux and BSD window managers.
picom
A lightweight standalone compositor for X11 that adds shadows, transparency, blur, fading and animations.
BunsenLabs Linux
A Debian-based distribution with a preconfigured, lightweight Openbox desktop, continuing CrunchBang Linux.
LXQt
A lightweight, modular Qt-based desktop environment for Linux and BSD with X11 and Wayland sessions.
rofi
A keyboard-driven window switcher, application launcher and dmenu replacement for Linux desktops.
