µWM — Another XCB-based Stacking Window Manager

Updated.

My window manager, mcwm, is not the only stacking window manager based on XCB after all. I found another stacking window manager that uses XCB: µWM.

Shortened list of features:

• stacking window manager
• written in C (with many comments)
• less dependencies (only XCB and X11 required)
• doesn't use/need GNU autoconfigure and other auto-tools
• executable < 200k
• < 20k Source Lines of Code
• low memory footprint during runtime ~ 1800k RES
• low X11 resource usage ~ 200k (without desktop backgrounds)
• configurable and themeable
• no XML config file
• builtin menu(s)
• builtin panel(s) (other names are slit/bar/dock).
• builtin tooltips
• builtin background setter
• composite support with xcompmgr (sample X compositing manager)
• multiple desktops
• multiple screen (xinerama)

An impressive list. As you can see it's not quite as minimalist as mcwm: the executable is about ten times bigger and it includes lots more graphical features that are handled by external programs in mcwm.

I haven't even got it to build on FreeBSD. Too swamped with other things at the moment.

The author is Lutz Sammer, known for his work on Freecraft, the Warcraft II clone that turned into the Stratagus game engine.