niri
A scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor that places windows in columns on an endless horizontal strip.
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About niri
niri is a Wayland compositor for Linux that tiles windows in a different way from most tiling window managers. Windows are arranged in columns on an infinite strip that scrolls sideways, so opening a new window never shrinks the ones already on screen.
It is written in Rust and configured through a text configuration file, with an IPC interface for scripting. It suits people who like keyboard-driven tiling but find traditional layouts cramped when many windows are open. The repository is active and widely followed.
Strengths
- Opening windows does not resize existing ones
- IPC interface for scripting and status bars
- Active development with a large user base
Limitations
- Wayland only, no X11 session
- Needs separate panels, launchers and other desktop pieces
- Scrolling layout takes some getting used to
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- Open source, license not stated
- Developer
- The niri contributors
- Platforms
- Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Linux users who want keyboard-driven tiling without windows being squeezed
- Categories
- Window tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to niri
Compare allSoftware that can replace niri for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Hyprland
Arrange Linux application windows with a configurable tiling Wayland compositor.
Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor with animations and extensive layout configuration, where new windows share space instead of scrolling horizontally.
Sway
Use an i3-style tiling workflow on Wayland.
Sway provides i3-style keyboard-driven tiling on Wayland and supports much of the i3 configuration format, resizing existing windows as new ones open.
PaperWM
A GNOME Shell extension that tiles windows side by side on a horizontally scrolling strip.
PaperWM offers similar scrollable tiling as a GNOME Shell extension, keeping the GNOME desktop, though extensions can break with new GNOME releases.
river
A non-monolithic Wayland compositor that leaves window management to a separate program.
river is a Wayland compositor that leaves window management policy to a separate replaceable program, and building it requires the Zig toolchain.
Wayfire
A wlroots-based Wayland compositor with plugin-driven window management and 3D desktop effects.
Wayfire is a wlroots-based Wayland compositor with plugin-driven window management and 3D effects, rather than a fixed scrollable tiling layout.
labwc
A lightweight wlroots-based stacking Wayland compositor inspired by Openbox.
labwc is a lightweight stacking Wayland compositor inspired by Openbox, so windows float instead of being placed in scrolling columns.
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.
Eww
Create custom desktop widgets using declarative configuration and styling.
rofi
A keyboard-driven window switcher, application launcher and dmenu replacement for Linux desktops.
AGS
Scaffolding CLI for building custom Linux desktop shells and widgets.
i3
Arrange X11 windows in a keyboard-controlled tiling workspace.
