Original author(s) | Marius Aamodt Eriksen |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Marius Aamodt Eriksen, Andy Adamson, Niels Provos, Martin Murray, Dimitris Economou, Antti Nykänen |
Initial release | 10 July 2004 |
Stable release | 3
[1]
/ 28 August 2005 |
Repository | |
Written in | C |
Operating system | Unix-like |
Type | Window manager |
License | ISC License |
Website |
www |
cwm (Calm Window Manager) [2] is a stacking window manager for the X Window System. While it is primarily developed as a part of OpenBSD's base system, [3] portable versions are available on other Unix-like operating systems.
Development of cwm started from patches to evilwm by Marius Aamodt Eriksen. [4] To ease the implementation of new features, cwm was eventually rewritten using some code from 9wm. [5] The last release by the original author came out in August 2005. [4]
In April 2007, cwm was imported into OpenBSD source tree. [6] By January 2008, a substantial part of the original source code, including all of the 9wm code, was rewritten. [7]
cwm has been distributed with OpenBSD since version 4.2, where it replaced wm2. [8] A third-party Linux port also exists. [9]
cwm is a stacking window manager oriented towards heavy keyboard usage, [10] [11] small footprint and ease of use. While it lacks explicit virtual desktops functionality, it can be emulated by using the window groups mechanism. [12] cwm does not draw window decorations except for a border around windows.
cwm includes several menus: [11]
All these menus operate in a "search as you type" manner. [11]
cwm allows raising, hiding, switching between, and searching for windows using just the keyboard, making it suitable to use as terminal emulator multiplexer. [13] Furthermore, it allows manipulating pointing devices, such as mice, with the keyboard. [2]
Additional
key bindings and configuration options can be specified in the configuration file ~/.cwmrc
.
cwm is generally well received in software minimalist communities. [11]
cwm is noted to be used mainly due to its status as one of the default window managers in OpenBSD, [14] though other reasons are sometimes cited. [15] [16] cwm is also praised for its flexibility, ease of use, and the fact that it can be used without a mouse. [13] [17]
The from-scratch rewrite borrowed some code from 9wm, however that code has since been removed or rewritten.