I WON'T BE UPDATING THIS PROJECT FOR A MONTH OR SO DUE TO EXAMS

ISSUES PR's ETC WELCOME, JUST DON'T EXPECT A SOLUTION FROM ME QUICKLY 🥀🥀

Minimal. Fast. Configurable. Tiling Window Manager for X11
_{Abhinav Prasai (2025)}

---

Features

• Tiling & Floating: Switch seamlessly between layouts.
• Workspaces: 9 workspaces, fully integrated with your bar.
• Live Config Reload: Change your config and reload instantly with a keybind.
• Easy Configuration: Human-friendly sxwmrc file, no C required.
• Master-Stack Layout: Productive, DWM-inspired workflow.
• Mouse Support: Move, swap, resize, and focus windows with the mouse.
• Zero Dependencies: Only libX11 and Xinerama required.
• Lightweight: Single C file, minimal headers, compiles in seconds.
• Bar Friendly: Works great with sxbar.
• Xinerama Support: Multi-monitor ready.
• Fast: Designed for speed and low resource usage.

---

Screenshots

---

Patch Notes

Click to expand

v1.5 - Ready for Release

• NEW: Using XCursor instead of cursor font && new logo.
• FIXED: Proper bind resetting on refresh config. && Multi-arg binds now work due to new and improved spawn function
• CHANGE: No longer using INIT_WORKSPACE macro, proper workspace handling. New sxwmrc

v1.4

• CHANGE: Added motion throttle && master width general options

v1.3

• CHANGE: ulong, u_char uint are gone

v1.2

• NEW: Parser support
• FIXED: Quit syntax && Freeing cursor on exit

v1.1

• NEW: Xinerama support, swap windows with Mod + Shift + Drag
• FIXED: New windows in global_floating mode spawn centered

---

Configuration (~/.config/sxwmrc)

sxwm is configured via a simple text file located at ~/.config/sxwmrc. Changes can be applied instantly by reloading the configuration (default keybind: MOD + r).

The file uses a key : value format. Lines starting with # are ignored.

General Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
mod_key	String	super	Sets the primary modifier key (alt, super, ctrl).
gaps	Integer	10	Pixels between windows and screen edges.
border_width	Integer	1	Thickness of window borders in pixels.
focused_border_colour	Hex	#c0cbff	Border color for the currently focused window.
unfocused_border_colour	Hex	#555555	Border color for unfocused windows.
swap_border_colour	Hex	#fff4c0	Border color highlight when selecting a window to swap with (MOD+Shift+Drag).
master_width	Integer	60	Percentage (%) of the screen width the master window should occupy.
resize_master_amount	Integer	1	Percentage (%) to increase/decrease the master width when resizing.
snap_distance	Integer	5	Pixels from screen edge before a floating window snaps to the edge.
motion_throttle	Integer	60	Target updates per second for mouse drag operations (move/resize/swap). Set close to your monitor's refresh rate for smoother visuals.

Keybindings

Keybindings associate key combinations with actions (either running external commands or internal sxwm functions).

Syntax:

bind : [modifier + modifier + ... + key] : action

• bind: Keyword to define a keybinding.
• [...]: Contains the key combination.
  • Modifiers: mod (uses the key set by mod_key), shift, ctrl, alt, super. Use + to combine multiple modifiers.
  • key: The final key name (e.g., Return, q, 1, equal, space). Key names generally follow X11 keysym names but are case-insensitive in the config.
• :: Separator.
• action:
  • Command: An external command enclosed in double quotes ("). Arguments are separated by spaces (e.g., "st -e vim").
  • Function: The name of an internal sxwm function (see list below).

Available Functions:

Function Name	Action
close_window	Closes the currently focused window.
decrease_gaps	Decreases the gap size between windows.
focus_next	Shifts focus to the next window in the stack/list.
focus_previous	Shifts focus to the previous window in the stack/list.
increase_gaps	Increases the gap size between windows.
master_next	Moves the focused window down the master/stack order.
master_previous	Moves the focused window up the master/stack order.
quit	Exits sxwm.
reload_config	Reloads the sxwmrc configuration file.
master_increase	Increases the width allocated to the master area.
master_decrease	Decreases the width allocated to the master area.
toggle_floating	Toggles the floating state of the focused window.
global_floating	Toggles the floating state for all windows on the current workspace.
fullscreen	Toggles fullscreen mode for the focused window.
change_ws[1-9]	Switches focus to the specified workspace (1-9).
moveto_ws[1-9]	Moves the focused window to the specified workspace (1-9).

Example Bindings:

# Launch terminal with Mod + Enter
bind : [mod + Return] : "st"

# Close focused window with Mod + Shift + Q
bind : [mod + shift + q] : close_window

# Switch to workspace 3 with Mod + 3
bind : [mod + 3] : change_ws3

# Move focused window to workspace 5 with Mod + Shift + 5
bind : [mod + shift + 5] : moveto_ws5

---

Default Keybindings

Window Management

Combo	Action
Mouse	Focus under cursor
MOD + Left Mouse	Move window by mouse
MOD + Right Mouse	Resize window by mouse
MOD + j / k	Focus next / previous
MOD + Shift + j / k	Move in master stack
MOD + Space	Toggle floating
MOD + Shift + Space	Toggle all floating
MOD + = / -	Increase/Decrease gaps
MOD + f	Fullscreen toggle
MOD + q	Close focused window
MOD + 1-9	Switch workspace 1–9
MOD + Shift + 1-9	Move window to WS 1–9

Programs

Combo	Action	Program
MOD + Return	Terminal	st
MOD + b	Browser	firefox
MOD + p	Launcher	dmenu_run

---

Dependencies

• libX11 (Xorg client library)
• Xinerama
• GCC or Clang & Make

---

Build & Install

Arch Linux (AUR)

yay -S sxwm

Build from Source

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/uint23/sxwm.git
cd sxwm/
make
sudo make clean install

Run

Add to your ~/.xinitrc:

exec sxwm

---

Makefile Targets

Target	Description
make / make all	Build the sxwm binary
make clean	Remove object files and build artifacts
make install	Install sxwm to $(PREFIX)/bin (default /usr/local/bin)
make uninstall	Remove the installed binary
make clean install	Clean and then install

Override install directory with PREFIX or DESTDIR:

make install PREFIX=$HOME/.local

---

Thanks & Inspiration

• dwm — Tiling & source code
• i3 — Easy configuration
• sowm — README inspiration
• tinywm — Minimal X11 WM

---

Contributions welcome! Open issues or submit PRs.