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bspwm vs spectrwm: catalog facts
bspwm	spectrwm
Best for: Manage X11 windows as the leaves of a binary tree	Best for: Linux and BSD users who want a minimal tiling window manager
Free Free and open source. Hosting, hardware and any external services are separate.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Linux
Separates window management from keyboard bindings Can be controlled through shell commands	Small and lightweight with few dependencies Single plain-text configuration file All 3 strengths for spectrwm Small and lightweight with few dependencies Single plain-text configuration file Runs on Linux and the BSDs
Requires separate tools for key bindings and desktop panels.	X11 only, no Wayland support Keyboard-centric workflow has a learning curve
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-2-Clause	License: ISC
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for bspwm github.com/baskerville/bspwm Catalog checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for spectrwm github.com/conformal/spectrwm Catalog checked September 23, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.