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Qtile vs spectrwm: catalog facts
Qtile	spectrwm
Best for: Configure a tiling window manager using Python	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
Supports programmable layouts and widgets Offers X11 and Wayland back ends	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
Configuration and troubleshooting require some Python knowledge.	X11 only, no Wayland support Keyboard-centric workflow has a learning curve
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	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 Qtile qtile.org github.com/qtile/qtile 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.