Tech riderRev. 1 Oct 2026
- 1Runs onLinux
- 2CostsFree plan
- 3PlatformsLinux
- 4Layout presetsYes
- 5Application rulesYes
- 6Window groupingYes
- 7Virtual desktop controlsYes
7 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: awesomewm.org
Overview
awesome is ranked #4 of 64 in window management software on Specifiction. It runs on Linux. There is a free plan.
awesome plans and pricing
All plansCompared on window management software
- Free plan
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Platforms
- Linuxawesomewm.org
- Layout presets
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Application rules
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Window grouping
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Virtual desktop controls
- Yesawesomewm.org
Facts
- Product type
- Awesome is a highly configurable framework window manager for X.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- License
- Awesome is licensed under the GNU GPLv2 license.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Target users
- It is primarily targeted at power users, developers and people who want fine-grained control of their graphical environment.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Configuration
- Awesome is designed as a framework window manager that is extensible using the Lua programming language.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Performance
- Awesome uses the asynchronous XCB library and says this makes it less subject to latency than Xlib-based window managers.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Keyboard control
- Everything in Awesome can be performed with the keyboard without using a mouse.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Multihead support
- Awesome provides real multihead support through XRandR with per-screen desktops called tags.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Standards
- Awesome implements EWMH, XDG Base Directory, XEmbed, Desktop Notification and System Tray standards.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Window organization
- Windows can be assigned to one or more tags, and several tags can be displayed at the same time.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Awesome supports D-Bus and offers Lua extensions for dynamic tagging, widgets, tabs and layouts.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Distribution support
- Packages are available for distributions including Arch Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD and others.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Latest stable release
- The download page identifies version 4.3 as the latest stable release, released on 28 January 2019.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Source installation
- The project recommends using the package supplied by your distribution because source builds can have LGI and Lua 5.1 package-search-path problems.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Release verification
- The stable source archives are provided with GPG signatures.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- Official documentation includes Lua API documentation, the awesome manpage, awesomerc manpage and awesome-client manpage.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project directs users to the #awesome channel on OFTC IRC, Stack Overflow, Reddit and GitHub for questions and issue reports.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Not a desktop environment
- The FAQ states that Awesome is a window manager, not a desktop environment.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
Best awesome alternatives
See all 12 All accessCh 01 DisplayFusion Free planFree trialWindows Free to start7.4 All accessCh 02 Launchpad Free planAPILinux Free to start7.2 All accessCh 03 spectrwm Free planLinuxMac Free to start7.1 All accessCh 05 Qtile Free planLinuxself-hosted Free to start6.9 All accessCh 06 Reloop Free planself-hosted from $10/mo6.9 All accessCh 07 Amethyst Free planMac Free to start6.8
Where it ranks on Specifiction
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Sources
- awesomewm.org· checked 1 Oct 2026
- awesomewm.org/download/· checked 1 Oct 2026
- awesomewm.org/doc/· checked 1 Oct 2026
- awesomewm.org/community/· checked 1 Oct 2026
- github.com/awesomeWM/awesome/blob/master/docs/90-F· checked 1 Oct 2026