Are Linux Tiling Window Managers Worth It?

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Chapters:

00:00 - Tiling Window Managers
01:18 - What is a Window Manager?
02:07 - What is the difference?
02:53 - The contestants
03:10 - Sway (i3)
04:13 - Awesome
05:17 - Herbstluftwm
05:35 - What are the differences?
06:19 - Customization and Conclusion

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Description Tags:

tiling window manager,, window manager, linux window manager, dynamic tiling window manager, linux customization, linux custom desktop, desktop customization, linux swaywm, linux sway, linux sway tutorial, linux i3 customization, linux i3wm, linux herbstluftwm, herbstluftwm, linux awesome window manager, linux awesome wm, michael horn

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#linux #opensource #cutomization

[EricCorsi]

Well stated. I like what POP OS did with theirs where I can swap between the two ways of doing Window managing.

[mkvoq]

Tiling is not about particular window managers, but about the concept itself. You totally can turn your favorite DE into a tiling window manager, e.g. by installing respective KWin script for KDE Plasma.

[martindjakovic]

Honestly, for me it isn't even about the speed or workflow - it's mostly just about being able to have the system exactly as you want it. You can customize *everything*. Also it is a bit faster and more convenient when you do get it all set up and learn the shortcuts.

[necro_ware]

Tiling window managers are great to use on notebooks, since they are much more comfortable to use without a mouse or touchpad. If you install deadmouse or similar plugin in the browser you almost never need to pull your hand over to the touchpad. Especially when you on the way or having the notebook on the belly lying on your couch, a tiling window manager is much more convenient. I use stacking window manager on my stationary PC and a tiling window manager on my notebook.

[caparazo]

I too share your opinion on tiling window managers. I couldn't care less about migrating and adapting to a new workflow when I have no issues with my current one.

[Nk-tist]

For graphical applications, you can open two or three of them in different workspaces. You can easily switch between the workspaces. Idk why you didn't do that?
Btw you can configure wm to automatically open terminal and browser on startup. That's what most people use.
Didnt knew Sway comes preinstalled with waybar. You can also use other status bars and application launcher.
You can also configure desktop environment to behave like tiling, which should be easier for beginners.

[Lars-cerd]

IMHO as a tiling window manager user for the past 5 years and more casually using it several years prior to that. I believe that they're not just about what they visually give you. For example, as a youth I was sacredly using Windows and I had zero control over my OS environment. Whatever shortcuts I could easily configure in Windows, that's the only "bling" I had. After diving into Linux and tiling window managers, one thing I quickly started focusing on was having a keyboard button for anything I wanted to do. This is what I believe made me stick with tiling window managers. I had to visit the configuration file and I had to see what options it gave me. Quickly I discovered the power of Linux and (I think?) tiling window managers (although it's not really what they're about, they're about tiling, but with it comes a need to discover configurations and change them). They're kind of niche applications that you heavily configure to meet your desires instead of just settling for what MacOS or Windows offers you.

[FakeMichau]

Beside every benefit you get from a twm, I appreciate how "lean" you can make your system by using one. Clean arch install with configured awesome and basic apps every os should have is 460 packages whereas basic gnome install is twice that.

[fabriziot]

You've got a point dude! I ended up reducing kde to the minimal

[classicrockonly]

I like tiling window managers so I can keep my hands on my keyboard as much as possible. Being on the computer so long for work, it really starts to mess with my wrists going between my mouse and keyboard

[FatDawlf]

For me, floating window enviroments have 2 main issues:
Windows get too cluttered over time and end up having useless top bars for window controls, although gnome fixed the later one by making header useful sometimes

Tilers have neither of these problems and also let me tune how exactly I use my computer, therefore I use them
Specifically hyprland, love that one

[safehaven]

Once you get used to using tiling window managers, it's hard to get back to DEs, feels like there's no turning back. Hands stay on the keyboard, shifting workspaces, moving window to workspaces, tiling, tabbed, stacked, float, low resource consumption, it has everything you need. I'm currently using i3 for X and Sway for wayland, but i3 is my current daily driver.

[arvindhn]

The biggest trade of using tiling window managers (twm) is time (It consumes a lot of time to setup) but if clean, minimal and fast is a must then the trade of is worth it. ( Also twm stopped DE hopping for me ;)

FYI, I use debian 12 + dwm on my production machines and Arch + Hyprland on my gaming machine

[jakublistwon]

Bro is speaking with question marks after every sentence?

[courtneymertz]

Tiling Window managers are most certainly worth it, especially since you can do a lot with them. They can look really nice, they are great for experts at keyboard commands, it’s great for those who aren’t interested in a desktop environment, and it’s great for those who want it quick and easy! It can be especially useful to computers with low ram, or they can’t really do much for a desktop environment.

[WilliamShinal]

I tried i3wm for the first time in a Void Linux VM months ago and was amazed by how slick it was. I don't really like doing stuff that slows the PC down by just existing (though I have to at times), so I made some very simple customization via Compiz to add transparency to xrvt, and voila, a tiling WM that felt slick and looked good minus major performance hits.

[smallclover]

I'm sad he didn't cover Hyprland

[kittenfrompicture]

Am waiting for tiling realization from Gnome. Seems interesting for big screens

[FredericoMirandaBrandaoAlves]

Thanks for your video. It was baffling for me not being able to close a floating window and that tiny detail almost made me give up tiling window managers (even though they have plenty of advantages). Your video gives an attractive presentation to tiling window managers (and **highlight the keyboard combinations, ** something that other videos lacks).

[arenaling]

i really love about tiling windows managers, especially in Pop OS. using wide monitor it gives me more advantage by using tile manager