labwc
A lightweight wlroots-based stacking Wayland compositor inspired by Openbox.
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About labwc
labwc is a window-stacking compositor for Wayland built on wlroots and modelled on Openbox. It concentrates on stacking windows well and drawing window decorations, and leaves panels, screenshots, wallpapers and similar pieces to separate programs.
That makes it a good base for building a light Wayland desktop from components you choose, and a natural move for people coming from Openbox on X11. The project provides a manual and a getting-started guide on its website.
Strengths
- Lightweight stacking compositor for Wayland
- Familiar to Openbox users
- Works with separate panels and tools of your choice
Limitations
- Needs other programs for a complete desktop
- Wayland only
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- Open source, license not stated
- Developer
- The labwc contributors
- Platforms
- Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Openbox users moving to a light Wayland setup
- Categories
- Window tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to labwc
Compare allSoftware that can replace labwc for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Openbox
Manage X11 windows with a configurable stacking window manager.
Openbox is the stacking X11 window manager that inspired labwc, with custom menus and window rules, but it runs on X11 rather than Wayland.
Wayfire
A wlroots-based Wayland compositor with plugin-driven window management and 3D desktop effects.
Wayfire is also a wlroots-based Wayland compositor, adding plugin-driven window management and 3D desktop effects, though releases can be far apart.
JWM
Joe's Window Manager, a lightweight stacking window manager for X11 written in C.
JWM is a very small stacking window manager for X11 with a built-in lightweight setup, but it lacks Wayland support entirely.
IceWM
A lightweight X11 window manager with a taskbar, workspaces and a familiar Windows-like layout.
IceWM is a lightweight X11 window manager with its own taskbar, tray and menu, so fewer separate tools are needed, but it is X11 only.
FVWM3
A highly configurable X11 window manager, the successor to fvwm2, with multi-monitor support.
FVWM3 is a highly configurable stacking window manager with multi-monitor support, running only on X11 and carrying a steep configuration learning curve.
Sway
Use an i3-style tiling workflow on Wayland.
Sway is a Wayland compositor with an i3-style keyboard-driven tiling workflow instead of labwc's stacking windows, and supports much of the i3 configuration format.
Hyprland
Arrange Linux application windows with a configurable tiling Wayland compositor.
Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor with animations and extensive layout configuration, replacing labwc's stacking model and needing manual setup.
niri
A scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor that places windows in columns on an endless horizontal strip.
niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor placing windows in columns on a horizontal strip, and like labwc it needs separate panels and launchers.
labwc as an alternative
Listings that name labwc as an alternative.
river
A non-monolithic Wayland compositor that leaves window management to a separate program.
labwc is a lightweight Openbox-inspired stacking Wayland compositor, so you get floating windows instead of choosing a separate tiling manager.
Window Maker
An X11 stacking window manager that reproduces the look and feel of NeXTSTEP.
labwc moves to Wayland as a lightweight stacking compositor inspired by Openbox, needing other programs for panels and a complete desktop.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Waybar
Add a customizable status bar to compatible Wayland desktops.
nwg-panel
Add desktop panels to Sway and Hyprland using GTK.
Ironbar
A customisable GTK4 status bar for Wayland compositors, written in Rust.
BunsenLabs Linux
A Debian-based distribution with a preconfigured, lightweight Openbox desktop, continuing CrunchBang Linux.
Tint2
Lightweight panel and taskbar for Linux and BSD window managers.
