Compare software

river vs Cagebreak: catalog facts
river	Cagebreak

Best for: Linux users who want to build or choose their own Wayland window manager	Best for: Ratpoison fans who want a keyboard-only tiling compositor on Wayland
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Linux
Window management policy is a separate, replaceable program Documented window management protocol Actively developed with regular releases	Fully keyboard-driven tiling on Wayland Signed releases with documented hashes Man pages and example configurations included
Needs a separate window manager to be useful Building from source requires the Zig toolchain Older configurations belong to river-classic	Minimal by design, with no decorations or visual extras Smaller user base than sway or Hyprland
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for river isaacfreund.com/software/river Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Cagebreak github.com/project-repo/cagebreak Catalog checked October 1, 2026

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