Joys of a Tiling Window Manager ⋅ Plume

I have been using tiling windows in some form or the other for a good part of 5 years now. Be it via GNOME extensions, Kwin tiling, Pop!OS tiling mode, i3, sway, bspwm, awesome. Finally, I have set my self comfortably on sway.

lor_wow

What is a tiling window manager?

A tiling window manager in simple terms is a organisation system, which organizes windows in a non overlapping way.

Basically when a new window is opened, it will re-arrange existing open windows depending on some pre-existing parameters.

tiled_windows

What makes a tiling window manager so special

In one word if I have to explain it, then I would say personalization. it places all the regular apps some one would use in a predetermined manner as set by the user. I just press the keyboard shortcut/ open the program and it will place itself exactly where I want every single time without fault.

Virtual Desktops

Virtual Desktops (or Workspaces) is what truly makes them special, they make sure that I can have multiple programs open without having them too small, all full size if I want. I don’t need to alt-tab for switching programs, I can just press $mod4+<Workspace> ($mod4 being the windows/command key) according to my configuration, just shift to the program I want. No need to alt+tab till I find the program I’m looking for.

Floating windows are allowed

There are some programs/windows you would always want to float/stack. Almost all modern tiling window managers allow this functionality. You can pre configure certain programs/ windows to appear in a floating format, or have any or all programs turn floating with a simple shortcut.

floating_window

Why I like it so much

If I have to say it in a few words, then I would say that it is because that the default behavior of having windows tiled rather than stacked is much more desirable to me.

I don’t have to go around stacking windows left and right every time I have to have multiple windows open on the same screen. I feel so much more at ease this way, I don’t have to worry about window management and can just focus on my work.

Another important factor is that it makes you feel proud, because it is something you have built, line-by-line. A certain windows open a certain somewhere in the way defined it to open, that just brings a little smile to the face.

Try it

If you haven’t tried a tiling window manager before, you should give it a go. You will discover a whole new world of window management. It is truly an amazing experience one must experience, even if it doesn’t turn out the more comfortable option for them. If you don’t like it you can always go back to whatever you were using before.

For the best possible experience, with minimum configuration needed, I highly recommend EndeavourOS-i3wm. Endeavour OS is a arch based linux distro. The way they have riced (act of customizing the operating system), it is just so beautiful. It truly is one of the best ways to experience i3wm (The best window manager, fight me). I have copied a lot of things from their i3 skin, even as I moved distros and window managers.

endeavourOS-i3wm

Click here for download page

Note: Try in VM before installing any OS/WM directly on your computer.

Windows/MacOS

If you are on Windows or MacOS and don’t want to change your OS you have nothing to worry, their are options for you too. Here are some I found, do look at reviews before trying them out.

Note: Try in VM before installing any OS/WM directly on your computer.

Windows:

MacOS:

So, what are you waiting for? Go wild, try out a tiling window manager, discover a whole new way of doing something and the most important thing of all, enjoy your time doing it.

Joys of a Tiling Window Manager

Tiling window managers and why you should consider using one.