dwm - ArchWiki

# dwm

Related articles

- dmenu
- wmii

dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, stacked, and full-screen layouts, as well as many others with the help of optional patches. Layouts can be applied dynamically, optimizing the environment for the application in use and the task performed. dwm is extremely lightweight and fast, written in C and with a stated design goal of remaining under 2000 source lines of code. It provides multi-head support for xrandr and Xinerama.

## Installing

### Method 1: makepkg + ABS (recommended)

These instructions will install dwm using makepkg along with the Arch Build System, or ABS for short. This will allow reconfiguring dwm at a later time without complications.

Basic programming tools present in base-devel are needed in order to compile dwm and build a package for it, and the abs package is also a requisite for fetching the necessary build scripts. Installing dmenu, a fast and lightweight dynamic menu for X is a good idea.

    # pacman -S base-devel abs dmenu

Once the required packages are installed, use ABS to update and then copy the dwm build scripts from the ABS tree to a temporary directory. For example:

    # abs community/dwm
    $ cp -r /var/abs/community/dwm ~/dwm

Use `cd` to switch to the directory containing the build scripts (the example above used `~/dwm`). Then run:

    $ makepkg -i

This will compile dwm, build an Arch Linux package containing the resulting files, and install the package file all in one step. If problems are encountered, review the output for specific information.

Tip: If this directory (`~/dwm`) is saved, it can subsequently be used for making changes to the default configuration.

### Method 2: official repos (easier, but not configurable)

If only interested in installing dwm for a test drive, simply install the binary package from the repositories instead. You will probably also want to consider installing dmenu, a fast and lightweight dynamic menu for X:

    # pacman -S dwm dmenu

Note: By omitting compiling dwm from source a great deal of customizability is lost, since dwm's entire configuration is performed by editing its source code. Taking this in mind, the rest of the article assumes that dwm has been compiled from source as explained in the entirety of this section.

## Starting dwm

To start dwm with `startx` or the SLiM login manager, simply append the following to `~/.xinitrc`:

    exec dwm

For GDM, add it to `~/.Xclients` instead, and select "Run XClient Script" from the Sessions menu.

### Starting a customized dwm from a display manager

The default `/usr/share/xsessions/dwm.desktop` does not allow for a customized start like can be done in `~/.xinitrc`. A solution to this problem is to make a start script, for example `/usr/bin/dwm-personalized` and make an alternative xsession .desktop file (`/usr/share/xsessions/dwm-personalized.desktop`).

    /usr/share/xsessions/dwm-personalized.desktop

    [Desktop Entry]
    Encoding=UTF-8
    Name=Dwm-personalized
    Comment=Dynamic window manager
    Exec=dwm-personalized
    Icon=dwm
    Type=XSession

    /usr/bin/dwm-personalized

    #!/bin/zsh

    #Set swedish keyboard map
    setxkbmap se

    #Set chrome as default browser
    if [ -n "$DISPLAY" ]; then
        BROWSER=google-chrome
    fi

    #Set status bar & start DWM
    conky | while read -r; do xsetroot -name "$REPLY"; done &
    exec dwm

Be sure to set `/usr/bin/dwm-personalized` as executable:

    # chmod +x /usr/bin/dwm-personalized

### Systemd user sessions

If you use a systemd user session configuration, as described on that page to manage your session, then the following service file may be used to start dwm:

    [Unit]
    Description=Lightweight tiling window manager
    Before=mystuff.target
    After=xorg.target
    Requires=xorg.target

    [Service]
    Environment=DISPLAY=:0
    ExecStart=/usr/bin/dwm
    Restart=always
    RestartSec=10

    [Install]
    WantedBy=wm.target

## Basic usage

### Using dmenu

Dmenu is a useful addon to dwm. Rather than a standard list-style menu, it acts as a sort of autocomplete to typing in the names of binaries. It is more advanced than many program launchers and integrates well within dwm.

To start it, press `Mod1` + `P` (`Mod1` should be the `Alt` key by default). This can, of course, be changed if you so desire. Then, simply type in the first few characters of the binary you wish to run until you see it along the top bar. Then, simply use your left and right arrow keys to navigate to it and press enter.

For more information, see dmenu.

### Controlling windows

#### Giving another tag to a window

Changing a window's tag is very simple. To do so, simply bring the window into focus by hovering over it with your cursor, then press `Shift` + `Mod1` + `x`, where 'x' is the number of the tag to which you want to move the window. [Mod1] is, by default, the `Alt` key.

#### Closing a window

To cleanly close a window using dwm, simply press `Shift` + `Mod1` + `c`.

#### Window layouts

By default, dwm will operate in tiled mode. This can be observed by new windows on the same tag growing smaller and smaller as new windows are opened. The windows will, together, take up the entire screen (except for the menu bar) at all times. There are, however, two other modes: floating and monocle. Floating mode should be familiar to users of non-tiling window managers; it allows users to rearrange windows as they please. Monocle mode will keep a single window visible at all times.

To switch to floating mode, simply press `Mod1` + `F`. `Mod1` is, by default, the `Alt` key. To check if you are in floating mode, you should see something like this next to the numbered tags in the top right corner of the screen: ><>.

To switch to monocole mode, press `Mod1` + `M`. To check if you are in monocle mode, you can see an M in square brackets (if no windows are open on that tag) or a number in square brackets (which corresponds with the number of windows open on that tag). Thus, a tag with no windows open would display this: [M], and a tag with 'n' windows open would display this: [n].

To return to tiled mode, press `Mod1` + `T`. You will see a symbol which looks like this: []= .

### Exiting dwm

To cleanly exit dwm, press `Shift` + `Mod1` + `q`.

Source: dwm tutorial.

## Configuring

dwm, as mentioned before, is exclusively configured at compile-time via some of its source files, namely `config.h` and `config.mk`. While the initial configuration provides a good set of defaults, it is reasonable to expect eventual customization.

### Method 1: ABS rebuild (recommended)

Modifying dwm is quite simple using this route.

#### Customizing config.h

Browse to the dwm source code directory saved during the installation process; `~/dwm` in the example. The `config.h` found within this directory is where the general dwm preferences are stored. Most settings within the file should be self-explanatory. For detailed information on these settings, see the dwm website.

Note: Be sure to make a backup copy of config.h before modifying it, just in case something goes wrong.

Once changes have been made, pipe the new md5sums into the PKGBUILD:

    $ makepkg -g >> PKGBUILD

or

    $ updpkgsums

This will eliminate a checksum mismatch between the official config.h and the new revised copy.

Now, compile and reinstall:

    $ makepkg -efi

Assuming the configuration changes were valid, this command will compile dwm, build and reinstall the resulting package. If problems were encountered, review the output for specific information.

Finally, restart dwm in order to apply the changes.

#### Notes

From now on, instead of updating the md5sums for every `config.h` revision, which are known to become frequent, one may erase the md5sums array and build dwm with the `--skipinteg` option:

    $ makepkg -efi --skipinteg

And after adding a few lines to dwm's start-up script, it is possible to restart dwm without logging out or closing programs.

Tip: To recompile easily, make an alias by putting (`alias redwm='cd ~/dwm; updpkgsums; makepkg -efi --noconfirm; killall dwm'`) in your .bashrc.

### Method 2: Git (advanced)

dwm is maintained upstream within a git version control system at suckless.org. Those already familiar with git may find it more convenient to maintain configurations and patches within this system. Learning how to do local branching and merging will make maintaining, applying and removing patches easy.

Before building dwm from the git sources, be sure to alter config.mk accordingly, because failure to do so may result in X crashes. Here are the values that need changing:

Modify `PREFIX`:

    PREFIX = /usr

The X11 include folder:

    X11INC = /usr/include/X11

And the the X11 lib directory:

    X11LIB = /usr/lib/X11

## Statusbar configuration

Note: The following requires the xorg-xsetroot package to be installed.

Dwm reads the name of the root window and redirects it to the statusbar. The root window is a big window within which all other windows are drawn and arranged by a window manager; like any other window, the root window has a title or a name, but it is usually undefined because the root window always runs in the background.

So whatever you want dwm to show in the statusbar should be defined with `xsetroot -name ""` command in `~/.xinitrc` or `~/.Xclients` (to set up GDM-3 properly, see the discussion of this page). For example:

    xsetroot -name "Thanks for all the fish!"

Dynamically updated information should be put in a loop which is forked to background. This is how the script may look like:

    # Statusbar loop
    while true; do
       xsetroot -name "$( date +"%F %R" )"
       sleep 1m    # Update time every minute
    done &

    # Autostart section
    pcmanfm &

    exec dwm

In this case the date is shown in ISO 8601 format and PCManFM is launched at startup.

Note: It isn't recommended to set update interval equal to zero or remove the "sleep" line entirely since the system is likely to get overloaded in this case (you can assess its effect with top and powertop).

### Examples of statusbar configuration

This example shows battery state (mind that it depends on the acpi package):

    while true ; do
        xsetroot -name "$(acpi -b | awk 'sub(/,/,"") {print $3, $4}')"
        sleep 1m
    done &
    exec dwm

Here is another example that displays also the alsa volume and the battery state. The latter is displayed only when the system is off-line.

    #set statusbar
     while true
     do
        if acpi -a | grep off-line > /dev/null; then
            xsetroot -name "Bat. $(awk 'sub(/,/,"") {print $3, $4}' <(acpi -b)) \
            | Vol. $(awk '/dB/ { gsub(/[\[\]]/,""); print $5}' <(amixer get Master)) \
            | $(date +"%a, %b %d %R")"
        else
            xsetroot -name "Vol. $(awk '/dB/ { gsub(/[\[\]]/,""); print $5}' <(amixer get Master)) \
            | $(date +"%a, %b %d %R")"
        fi
        sleep 1s
     done &

Another way is to create variables for each kind of data, so that the script is easier to read and correct whenever necessary:

    while true; do

    # Power/Battery Status
    if [ "$( cat /sys/class/power_supply/AC0/online )" -eq "1" ]; then
            DWM_BATTERY="AC";
            DWM_RENEW_INT=3;
    else
            DWM_BATTERY=$(( `cat /sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/energy_now` * 100 / `cat /sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/energy_full` ));
            DWM_RENEW_INT=30;
    fi;

    # Wi-Fi eSSID
    if [ "$( cat /sys/class/net/eth1/rfkill1/state )" -eq "1" ]; then
    		  DWM_ESSID=$( /sbin/iwgetid -r );
    else
    		  DWM_ESSID="OFF";
    fi;

    # Keyboard layout
    if [ "`xset -q | awk -F \" \" '/Group 2/ {print($4)}'`" = "on" ]; then
    		  DWM_LAYOUT="ru";
    else
    		  DWM_LAYOUT="en";
    fi;

    # Volume Level
    DWM_VOL=$( amixer -c1 sget Master | awk -vORS=' ' '/Mono:/ {print($6$4)}' );

    # Date and Time
    DWM_CLOCK=$( date '+%e %b %Y %a | %k:%M' );

    # Overall output command
    DWM_STATUS="WiFi: [$DWM_ESSID] | Lang: [$DWM_LAYOUT] | Power: [$DWM_BATTERY] | Vol: $DWM_VOL | $DWM_CLOCK";
    xsetroot -name "$DWM_STATUS";
    sleep $DWM_RENEW_INT;

    done &

The output looks like this:

    WiFi: [OFF] | Lang: [en] | Power: [96] | Vol: [on][31%]  | 10 Jan 2014 Fri | 23:01

Note: In the script above the "sleep" interval is adjusted automatically depending on whether your laptop is running on battery or not. Of course, it isn't necessary if you work on a desktop computer which is plugged in all the time.

### Conky statusbar

Conky can be printed to the statusbar with `xsetroot -name`:

    (conky | while read LINE; do xsetroot -name "$LINE"; done) &
    exec dwm

To do this, conky needs to be told to output text to the console only. The following is a sample conkyrc for a dual core CPU, displaying several stats:

    out_to_console yes
    out_to_x no
    background no
    update_interval 2
    total_run_times 0
    use_spacer none

    TEXT
    $mpd_smart :: ${cpu cpu1}% / ${cpu cpu2}%  ${loadavg 1} ${loadavg 2 3} :: ${acpitemp}c :: $memperc% ($mem) :: ${downspeed eth0}K/s ${upspeed eth0}K/s :: ${time %a %b %d %I:%M%P}

For icons and color options, see dzen.

## Extended usage

### Patches & additional tiling modes

The official website has a number of patches that can add extra functionality to dwm. Users can easily customize dwm by applying the modifications they like. The Bottom Stack patch provides an additional tiling mode that splits the screen horizontally, as opposed to the default vertically oriented tiling mode. Similarly, bstack horizontal splits the tiles horizontally.

The gaplessgrid patch allows windows to be tiled like a grid.

#### Enable one layout per tag

The default behaviour of dwm is to apply the currently selected layout for all tags.To have different layouts for different tags use the pertag patch.

### Fixing the extra topbar that doesn't disappear when changing resolution/monitors

When resizing or connecting/disconnecting different monitors there may be a remnant of the topbar stuck on the screen which can't be removed. This bug can easily patched with:

    curl -o dwm-barwinleak.diff http://ix.io/fea
    patch < dwm-barwinleak.diff

Note that this patch is meant for the dwm-6.0 that is currently in the repositories, the development version of dwm has already implemented this.

### Fixing gaps around terminal windows

If there are empty gaps of desktop space outside terminal windows, it is likely due to the terminal's font size. Either adjust the size until finding the ideal scale that closes the gap, or toggle `resizehints` to False in `config.h`:

    static Bool resizehints = False; /* True means respect size hints in tiled resizals */

This will cause dwm to ignore resize requests from all client windows, not just terminals. The downside to this workaround is that some terminals may suffer redraw anomalies, such as ghost lines and premature line wraps, among others.

### Space around font in dwm's bar

By default, dwm's bar adds 2px around the size of the font. To change it, modify the following line in `dwm.c`:

    bh = dc.h = dc.font.height + 2;

### Restart dwm without logging out or closing programs

For restarting dwm without logging out or closing applications, change or add a startup script so that it loads dwm in a while loop, like this:

    while true; do
        # Log stderror to a file
        dwm 2> ~/.dwm.log
        # No error logging
        #dwm >/dev/null 2>&1
    done

dwm can now be restarted without destroying other X windows by pressing the usual Mod-Shift-Q combination.

It is a good idea to place the above startup script into a separate file, `~/bin/startdwm` for instance, and execute it through `~/.xinitrc`. From this point on, when desiring to actually end the X session simply execute `killall xinit`, or bind it to a convenient key. Alternatively, you could setup your dwm session script so that it relaunches DWM only if the binary changes. This could be useful in the case where you change a setting, or update the dwm code base.

    # relaunch DWM if the binary changes, otherwise bail
    csum=$(sha1sum $(which dwm))
    new_csum=""
    while true
    do
        if [ "$csum" != "$new_csum" ]
        then
            csum=$new_csum
            dwm
        else
            exit 0
        fi
        new_csum=$(sha1sum $(which dwm))
        sleep 0.5
    done

### Make the right Alt key work as if it were Mod4 (Windows Key)

When using Mod4 (aka Super/Windows Key) as the `MODKEY`, it may be equally convenient to have the right Alt key (Alt_R) act as Mod4. This will allow performing otherwise awkward keystrokes one-handed, such as zooming with Alt_R+Enter.

First, find out which keycode is assigned to Alt_R:

    xmodmap -pke | grep Alt_R

Then simply add the following to the startup script (e.g. `~/.xinitrc`), changing the keycode 113 if necessary to the result gathered by the previous `xmodmap` command:

    xmodmap -e "keycode 113 = Super_L"  # reassign Alt_R to Super_L
    xmodmap -e "remove mod1 = Super_L"  # make sure X keeps it out of the mod1 group

Now, any functions that are triggered by a Super_L (Windows) key press will also be triggered by an Alt_R key press.

Note: There is a #define option in config.h which also allows to switch the modkey

### Disable focus follows mouse behaviour

To disable focus follows mouse behaviour comment out the following line in definiton of struct handler in dwm.c

    [EnterNotify] = enternotify,

Note that this change can cause some difficulties. After it the first click on inactive window will only bring the focus on it. To interact with window contents (buttons, fields etc) you need to click again. Also if you have several monitors you can notice that keyboard focus doesn't switch to another monitor activated by clicking.

### Adding custom keybinds/shortcuts

Two entries are needed in `config.h` to create custom keybinds. One under the "/* commands */" section, and another under the "static Key keys[] = {" section.

    static const char *<keybindname>[]   = { "<command>", "<flags>", "<arguments>", NULL };

<keybindname> can be anything... <command> <-flags> and <arguments> can be anything but they have to be individually enclosed in "",

    { MODKEY,            XK_<key>,      spawn,          {.v = <keybindname> } },

...would bind Mod+<key> to the command defined previously.

    { MODKEY|ShiftMask,  XK_<key>,      spawn,          {.v = <keybindname> } },

...would bind Mod+Shift+<key> Use ControlMask for Ctrl key.

Single keys such as Fn or multimedia keys have to be bound with the hex codes obtainable from the program "xev"

    { 0,                 0xff00,    spawn,       {.v = <keybindname> } },

...would bind foo key 0xff00 to <keybindname>

- How to check for keycodes

### Fixing misbehaving Java applications

As of JRE 6u20, Java applications misbehave in dwm because it is not a known window manager to Java. This causes menus to close when the mouse is released, and other little issues. First, install wmname from the [community] repository:

    # pacman -S wmname

Now all you have to do is use wmname to set a WM name that Java recognizes:

Note: This may cause some programs to behave oddly when tiled (specifically Chromium).

    $ wmname LG3D

This is not permanent, so you may want to add this command to your .xinitrc.

It is also possible to change enable `export _JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1` in `/etc/profile.d/jre.sh`

### Make some windows start floating

Some windows do not make sense to automatically resize. For example, to make Firefox's preferences behave normally, add this to your rules array in `config.h`:

     { "Firefox",     NULL,       "Firefox Preferences",        1 << 8,         True,     -1 },

## See also

- dwm's official website
- Introduction to dwm video
- dmenu - Simple application launcher from the developers of dwm
- The dwm thread on the forums
- Hacking dwm thread
- Check out the forums' wallpaper thread for a selection of dwm wallpapers
- Show off your dwm configuration forum thread
- dwm: Tags are not workspaces

Category:

- Dynamic WMs