So Ive been using linux for a long time and mostly with gnome. I know about window managers and how using them will reduce the memory usage by system a lot because they are less bloated etc. I want to try a window manager on my nixos machine - this will be my first time trying one, I have good knowledge in programming so technical stuff wont bother me that much. Which window manager do you suggest? Customization is my priority.

  • cerement@slrpnk.net
    15·
    11 hours ago
    • main thing to keep in mind is that a window manager is normally just one component of a desktop environment – full desktop environments like Gnome go to great lengths to assemble a whole fleet of apps to work together to make a cohesive experience
    • if you’re going to forego the full desktop environment, then expect to have to fill in on the various missing pieces to suit your needs (file manager, terminal, text editor, clipboard manager, bar/panel/dock)
    • if you just want lighter weight but maintain a cohesive experience, then Xfce or LXQt
    • otherwise, there are a LOT of choices (both for X11 and for Wayland)
    • tiling window managers
      • i3 on X or Sway on Wayland are probably the most popular
        • special mention: Regolith – pairs Sway on the front end with Gnome components underneath
      • dwm for the full do-it-yourself experience
      • awesome if you like Lua, xmonad if you like Haskell, exwm if you live in Emacs, Qtile if you like Python
    • stacking window managers
      • Openbox for the old school feel, LabWC as the Wayland successor
      • IceWM and JWM for a minimal experience (both show up regularly on Raspberry Pi)
      • Motif for the retro enthusiast
    • Übercomplicated@lemmy.ml
      1·
      6 hours ago

      I actually really love icewm. I’m still gonna install i3 on every system (for a default experience, when I configure I usually switch over to something else), but I’ll always keep icewm as a backup. Also the default wm on openSUSE which makes me happy