bspwmctl installs and manages a fully configured bspwm desktop: window manager, hotkeys, status bar, compositor, notifications and more, ready to use after a single command.
!> Beta software. v0.2.0 is still in testing. Your existing configs are backed up before anything is overwritten, but try it on a test machine or VM first if you can.
bspwm is a tiling window manager for X11. Unlike desktops such as GNOME or KDE:
- It tiles windows automatically: instead of overlapping, windows split the screen so you see everything at once.
- It is very lightweight: it uses little RAM and CPU.
- It is configured with shell scripts: easy to read, hack and extend.
Setting up bspwm by hand takes a lot of pieces (hotkey daemon, bar, compositor, launcher, notifications...). bspwmctl installs and configures all of them for you.
- 📦 Official packages only: everything is installed with
apt,pacmanordnf, so it is updated and removed like any other package. Nothing is compiled. - 🐧 Multi-distro: Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora and their derivatives.
- 🧱 Three modes: minimal, standard and full, from just the window manager to a complete desktop.
- 🎨 Ready-to-use configs for bspwm, sxhkd, kitty, polybar, picom, dunst and zsh.
- 💾 Automatic backups of any config it would overwrite, with
bspwmctl restoreto go back.
Download the package for your distro from the latest release and install it:
# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install ./bspwmctl_*_all.deb
# Fedora
sudo dnf install ./bspwmctl-*.noarch.rpm
# Arch
sudo pacman -U ./bspwmctl-*-any.pkg.tar.zstThen, as your normal user (not with sudo):
bspwmctl install --standardLog out, choose bspwm in your login screen and log back in. See First steps for what to do next.
- 📖 Installation guide: all installation methods and supported distros
- 🧱 Installation modes: what each mode installs
- ⌨️ Keybindings: how to use your new desktop
- 🤝 Contributing: help improve bspwmctl
bspwmctl is released under the MIT License.