Window Manager – Sick Gaming

Posted on February 28, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Fedora’s gaggle of desktops

There are 38 different desktops or window managers in Fedora 31. You could try a different one every day for a month, and still have some left over. Some have very few features. Some have so many features they are called a desktop environment. This article can’t go into detail on each, but it’s interesting to see the whole list in one place.

Criteria for desktops

To be on this list, the desktop must show up on the desktop manager’s selection list. If the desktop has more than one entry in the desktop manager list, they are counted just as that one desktop. An example is “GNOME”, “GNOME Classic” and “GNOME (Wayland).” These all show up on the desktop manager list, but they are still just GNOME.

List of desktops

9wm
Emulation of the Plan 9 window manager 8 1/2 dnf install 9wm
awesomeHighly configurable, framework window manager for X. Fast, light and extensible
https://fedoramagazine.org/5-cool-tiling-window-managers/ dnf install awesome
blackboxVery small and fast Window Manager
Fedora uses the maintained fork on github dnf install blackbox
bspwmA tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning
https://github.com/windelicato/dotfiles/wiki/bspwm-for-dummies dnf install bspwm
byobu
Light-weight, configurable window manager built upon GNU screen dnf install byobu
CinnamonCinnamon provides a desktop with a traditional layout, advanced features, easy to use, powerful and flexible.
https://projects.linuxmint.com/cinnamon/
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/cinnamon-linux-desktop dnf group install "Cinnamon Desktop"
cwmCalm Window Manager by OpenBSD project
https://steemit.com/technology/@jamesdeagle/the-calm-window-manager-cwm-a-quick-start-guide dnf install cwm
Deepin
Deepin desktop is the desktop environment released with deepin (the linux distribution). It aims at being elegant and easy to use. dnf group install "Deepin Desktop" (optional) dnf group install "Deepin Desktop Office" "Media packages for Deepin Desktop"
dwmDynamic window manager for X
https://fedoramagazine.org/lets-try-dwm-dynamic-window-manger/
https://fedoramagazine.org/5-cool-tiling-window-managers/ dnf install dwm (optional) dnf install dwm-user
enlightenmentEnlightenment window manager
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/linux-enlightenment-desktop dnf install enlightenment
e16
The Enlightenment window manager, DR16 dnf install e16 (optional) dnf install e16-epplets e16-keyedit e16-themes
fluxbox
Window Manager based on Blackbox  dnf install fluxbox (optional) dnf install fluxbox-pulseaudio fluxbox-vim-syntax
fvwmHighly configurable multiple virtual desktop window manager
http://www.fvwm.org/
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/fvwm-linux-desktop dnf install fvwm
GNOMEGNOME is a highly intuitive and user friendly desktop environment.
* both X11 and wayland
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/gnome-linux-desktop
https://fedoramagazine.org/3-simple-and-useful-gnome-shell-extensions/ dnf group install "GNOME" (optional but large) dnf group install "Fedora Workstation" herbstluftwmA manual tiling window manager
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/herbstluftwm-linux-desktop dnf install herbstluftwm (optional) dnf install herbstluftwm-zsh herbstluftwm-fish
i3Improved tiling window manager
https://fedoramagazine.org/getting-started-i3-window-manager/
https://fedoramagazine.org/using-i3-with-multiple-monitors/ dnf install i3 (optional) dnf install i3-doc i3-ipc
icewmWindow manager designed for speed, usability, and consistency
https://fedoramagazine.org/icewm-a-really-cool-desktop/ dnf install icewm (optional) dnf install icewm-minimal-session
jwmJoe's Window Manager
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/joes-window-manager-linux-desktop dnf install jwm
KDE Plasma DesktopThe KDE Plasma Workspaces, a highly-configurable graphical user interface which includes a panel, desktop, system icons and desktop widgets, and many powerful KDE applications.
* both X11 and wayland
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/linux-kde-plasma
https://fedoramagazine.org/installing-kde-plasma-5/ dnf group install "KDE Plasma Workspaces" (optional) dnf group install "KDE Applications" "KDE Educational applications" "KDE Multimedia support" "KDE Office" "KDE Telepathy" (optional for wayland) dnf install kwin-wayland plasma-workspace-wayland
luminaA lightweight, portable desktop environment
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/linux-lumina-desktop dnf install lumina-desktop (optional) dnf install lumina-*
LXDELXDE is a lightweight X11 desktop environment designed for computers with low hardware specifications like netbooks, mobile devices or older computers.
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/lxqt-lxde-linux-desktop dnf group install "LXDE Desktop" (optional) dnf group install "LXDE Office" "Multimedia support for LXDE"
LXQtLXQt is a lightweight X11 desktop environment designed for computers with low hardware specifications like netbooks, mobile devices or older computers.
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/lxqt-lxde-linux-desktop dnf group install "LXQt Desktop" (optional) dnf group install "LXQt Office" "Multimedia support for LXQt"
MATEMATE Desktop is based on GNOME 2 and provides a powerful graphical user interface for users who seek a simple easy to use traditional desktop interface.
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/mate-linux-desktop
https://fedoramagazine.org/installing-another-desktop/ dnf group install "MATE Desktop" (optional) dnf group install "MATE Applications"
musca
A simple dynamic window manager fox X dnf install musca
openboxA highly configurable and standards-compliant X11 window manager
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/openbox-linux-desktop
https://fedoramagazine.org/openbox-fedora/ dnf install openbox (optional) dnf install openbox-kde openbox-theme-mistral-thin-dark
PantheonThe Pantheon desktop environment is the DE that powers elementaryOS.
https://github.com/elementary
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/pantheon-linux-desktop dnf group install "Pantheon Desktop" (optional) dnf install elementary-capnet-assist elementary-greeter elementary-shortcut-overlay
pekwmA small and flexible window manager
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/pekwm-linux-desktop dnf install pekwm
qtileA pure-Python tiling window manager
https://fedoramagazine.org/5-cool-tiling-window-managers/ dnf install qtile
ratpoisonMinimalistic window manager
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/ratpoison-linux-desktop dnf install ratpoison
sawfish
An extensible window manager for the X Window System dnf install sawfish (optional) dnf install sawfish-pager
spectrwm
Minimalist tiling window manager written in C dnf install spectrwm
SugarA software playground for learning about learning.
* Possibly the most unique desktop of this list. dnf group install "Sugar Desktop Environment" (optional) dnf group install "Additional Sugar Activities"
swayi3-compatible window manager for Wayland
* Wayland only
https://fedoramagazine.org/setting-up-the-sway-window-manager-on-fedora/
https://fedoramagazine.org/5-cool-tiling-window-managers/ dnf install sway
twmX.Org X11 twm window manager
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twm
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/twm-linux-desktop dnf install xorg-x11-twm
WindowMakerA fast, feature rich Window Manager
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/linux-window-maker-desktop dnf install WindowMaker (optional) dnf install WindowMaker-extra
wmx
A really simple window manager for X dnf install wmx
XFCEA lightweight desktop environment that works well on low end machines.
https://opensource.com/article/19/12/xfce-linux-desktop dnf group install "Xfce Desktop" (optional) dnf group install "Applications for the Xfce Desktop" "Extra plugins for the Xfce panel" "Multimedia support for Xfce" "Xfce Office"
xmonad
A tiling window manager dnf install xmonad (optional) dnf install xmonad-mate

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.

Posted on December 16, 2019 by — Leave a comment

Setting up the sway window manager on Fedora

Sometimes during a critical activity, working with overlapping windows becomes counterproductive. You might find a tiled window manager like sway to be a good alternative.

Sway is a tiling Wayland compositor. It has the advantage of compatibility with an existing i3 configuration, so you can use it to replace i3 and use Wayland as the display protocol.

Installing sway

To setup sway, open a new terminal and type the following command

sudo dnf install sway

Once the installation is completed, log out of your user session. At the login screen, select your user account. Before you enter your password, choose Sway from the menu, as shown in the following image.

After login, your desktop looks like this:

Configuration

To begin configuration, copy the default config into your user directory. Do that using the following commands.

mkdir -p .config/sway
cp /etc/sway/config ~/.config/sway/

Sway is highly configurable. It’s suggested you read the project’s wiki page to fine tune your settings. For example, to change the keyboard layout, open a new terminal and run this command:

$ swaymsg -t get_inputs
[george@mrwhite ~]$ swaymsg -t get_inputs Input device: VirtualPS/2 VMware VMMouse Type: Mouse Identifier: 2:19:VirtualPS/2_VMware_VMMouse Product ID: 19 Vendor ID: 2 Libinput Send Events: enabled Input device: VirtualPS/2 VMware VMMouse Type: Mouse Identifier: 2:19:VirtualPS/2_VMware_VMMouse Product ID: 19 Vendor ID: 2 Libinput Send Events: enabled Input device: AT Translated Set 2 keyboard Type: Keyboard Identifier: 1:1:AT_Translated_Set_2_keyboard Product ID: 1 Vendor ID: 1 Active Keyboard Layout: Portuguese (Brazil) Libinput Send Events: enabled

Copy the identifier keyboard code. Open your ~/.config/sway/config file with your text editor and edit the configuration accordingly:

## Input configuration
input "1:1:AT_Translated_Set_2_keyboard" { xkb_layout br
}

Save the settings. To reload the configurations, press Super+Shift+c. (Typically the Super key is mapped to the logo key on a PC.)

Waybar

Sway’s default status bar may not have all the functions you want. Fortunately Waybar is a good replacement. To install, run the follow commands. (Note, however, that COPR is not an official Fedora repository and not supported by the Fedora Project.)

sudo dnf copr enable alebastr/waybar sudo dnf install waybar

Open your ~/.config/sway/config file. Edit the bar configuration like this:

bar { swaybar_command waybar
}

Reload the configuration and you’ll now see the waybar in action, as shown below.

To customize the waybar, you can visit this wiki page for more details and ideas.

Alacritty

Alacritty is a terminal emulator that uses the GPU for rendering, and a good replacement for urxvt. To install run the following lines

sudo dnf copr enable pschyska/alacritty
sudo dnf install alacritty

To enable it as default terminal emulator edit your ~/.config/sway/config. Change this line:

set $term urxvt256c-ml

To:

set $term alacritty

Reload your configuration.

When you open a new terminal with Super+C, alacritty will be open as seen in the following image:

Photo by Ivan Vranić on Unsplash.

Posted on April 22, 2019 by — Leave a comment

2 new apps for music tweakers on Fedora Workstation

Linux operating systems are great for making unique customizations and tweaks to make your computer work better for you. For example, the i3 window manager encourages users to think about the different components and pieces that make up the modern Linux desktop.

Fedora has two new packages of interest for music tweakers: mpris-scrobbler and playerctl. mpris-scrobbler tracks your music listening history on a music-tracking service like Last.fm and/or ListenBrainz. playerctl is a command-line music player controller.

mpris-scrobbler records your music listening trends

mpris-scrobbler is a CLI application to submit play history of your music to a service like Last.fm, Libre.fm, or ListenBrainz. It listens on the MPRIS D-Bus interface to detect what’s playing. It connects with several different music clients like spotify-client, vlc, audacious, bmp, cmus, and others.

Last.fm last week in music report. Generated from user-submitted listening history.

Install and configure mpris-scrobbler

mpris-scrobbler is available for Fedora 28 or later, as well as the EPEL 7 repositories. Run the following command in a terminal to install it:

sudo dnf install mpris-scrobbler

Once it is installed, use systemctl to start and enable the service. The following command starts mpris-scrobbler and always starts it after a system reboot:

systemctl --user enable --now mpris-scrobbler.service

Submit plays to ListenBrainz

This article explains how to link mpris-scrobbler with a ListenBrainz account. To use Last.fm or Libre.fm, see the upstream documentation.

To submit plays to a ListenBrainz server, you need a ListenBrainz API token. If you have an account, get the token from your profile settings page. When you have a token, run this command to authenticate with your ListenBrainz API token:

$ mpris-scrobbler-signon token listenbrainz
Token for listenbrainz.org:

Finally, test it by playing a song in your preferred music client on Fedora. The songs you play appear on your ListenBrainz profile.

Basic statistics and play history from a user profile on ListenBrainz. The current track is playing on a Fedora Workstation laptop with mpris-scrobbler.

playerctl controls your music playback

playerctl is a CLI tool to control any music player implementing the MPRIS D-Bus interface. You can easily bind it to keyboard shortcuts or media hotkeys. Here’s how to install it, use it in the command line, and create key bindings for the i3 window manager.

Install and use playerctl

playerctl is available for Fedora 28 or later. Run the following command in a terminal to install it:

sudo dnf install playerctl

Now that it’s installed, you can use it right away. Open your preferred music player on Fedora. Next, try the following commands to control playback from a terminal.

To play or pause the currently playing track:

playerctl play-pause

If you want to skip to the next track:

playerctl next

For a list of all running players:

playerctl -l

To play or pause what’s currently playing, only on the spotify-client app:

playerctl -p spotify play-pause

Create playerctl key bindings in i3wm

Do you use a window manager like the i3 window manager? Try using playerctl for key bindings. You can bind different commands to different key shortcuts, like the play/pause buttons on your keyboard. Look at the following i3wm config excerpt to see how:

# Media player controls
bindsym XF86AudioPlay exec "playerctl play-pause"
bindsym XF86AudioNext exec "playerctl next"
bindsym XF86AudioPrev exec "playerctl previous"

Try it out with your favorite music players

Need to know more about customizing the music listening experience on Fedora? The Fedora Magazine has you covered. Check out these five cool music players on Fedora:

5 cool music player apps

Bring order to your music library chaos by sorting and organizing it with MusicBrainz Picard:

Picard brings order to your music library

Photo by Frank Septillion on Unsplash.