JWM (Joe's Window Manager)
JWM is a light-weight window manager for the X11 Window System. JWM is written in C and uses only Xlib at a minimum. Because of its small footprint, JWM makes a good window manager for older computers and less powerful systems, such as the Raspberry Pi, though it is perfectly capable of running on modern systems. JWM is included in small Linux distributions such as Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux, and it is available as a separate package in many other distributions.
The obligatory screenshot: JWM v2.2 beta (681).
Although JWM does not require them, it can use the following libraries if available:
- libXext for the shape extension
- libXext for the render extension
- libXmu for drawing rounded windows (shape extension also needed)
- libXinerama for Xinerama support
- libXpm for XPM backgrounds and icons
- libjpeg for JPEG backgrounds and icons
- libpng for PNG backgrounds and icons
- libRSVG and Cairo for SVG backgrounds and icons
- libxft for antialiased and true type fonts
- libfribidi for right-to-left language support
JWM supports MWM and Extended Window Manager Hints (EWMH).
Download
The currently released version is getting quite old, so I recommend
downloading the latest development snapshot instead. A new release
should be available soon.
Current release: JWM v2.1.0
(Older releases)
Latest development snapshot:
JWM
snapshot 761
(Older snapshots)
See the ChangeLog for details
on what has changed (versions and snapshots are tagged).
Documentation
JWM is distributed in source form. To compile JWM, first run "./configure" (see "./configure --help" for options). Next run "make" and, finally, "make install" to install JWM. "make install" will install the binary, the default configuration file, and the man page. Any user wishing to use JWM will probably want a copy of the configuration file in his/her home directory (otherwise the default will be used). The per-user configuration file is $HOME/.jwmrc.
After installing JWM, if you wish to run JWM instead of your default window manager, you will need to make the appropriate changes to have X11 execute JWM. Exactly how the window manager is started can vary depending on distribution. However, on many systems this can often be accomplished by modifying $HOME/.xsession to look something like this:
See configuration for information on
configuring JWM.
JWM also comes with a manual page ("man jwm").
Developer Information
JWM is hosted on GitHub.
Please feel free to contribute bug reports, suggestions, and patches.
There is also source documentation
available, which is generated from the latest snapshot using
Doxygen.
Support
Feel free to file bug reports on and request support
on GitHub or
email me directly at
joewing@joewing.net.
Note that JWM at SourceForge.net
is no longer active.