Amethyst vs herbstluftwm
Amethyst
github.com
herbstluftwm
herbstluftwm.orgSide by side
| Figure | Amethyst | herbstluftwm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Window Management Software | 7.9 (#18) | 8.1 (#12) |
| Intended users | The project describes itself as a macOS tiling window manager and compares its approach to xmonad. | The project describes itself as a manual tiling window manager for users of the X window system. |
| Layouts | Built-in layouts include Tall, Wide, Two Pane, three-column variants, Widescreen-Tall, Fullscreen, Column, Row, Floating, and Binary Space Partitioning. | Its tiling layout works by splitting frames into subframes that can be split again or filled with windows. |
| License | The repository identifies its license as MIT. | The project repository states that herbstluftwm is licensed under the Simplified BSD License. |
| Privacy | Amethyst states that it does not collect personal information or transmit information over a network. | The website says it does not collect personal information from visitors; its wiki uses a session cookie. |
| Support | The project directs users to its troubleshooting guide for common issues and suggests Twitter or Gitter for questions or feedback. | The project offers community help through IRC, Reddit, GitHub issues, and a mailing list. |
| What it does | Amethyst is a tiling window manager for macOS along the lines of xmonad. | herbstluftwm is a manual tiling window manager for the X window system. |
Plans
In their own words
Amethyst
Amethyst is a free tiling window manager for macOS, intended to arrange windows into layouts in the style of xmonad. Its built-in choices include Tall, Wide, Two Pane, several column variants, Widescreen-Tall, Fullscreen, Column, Row, Floating, and Binary Space Partitioning. Keyboard shortcuts can switch layouts, resize the main pane, change focus, move windows between screens or Spaces, and toggle floating or global tiling. Users can configure the app through its interface or a YAML file in their home directory; when present, that file takes precedence over GUI settings. JavaScript custom layouts are available as a beta feature. Amethyst supports application rules, virtual desktop controls, and layout presets, but not window grouping. It requires macOS 10.15 or later and permission to use macOS accessibility APIs. Downloads are available from the releases page or through the Homebrew cask. The project says it does not collect personal information or transmit information over a network, and its repository identifies the license as MIT. It recommends disabling automatic rearrangement of Spaces by most recent use because that setting can make keyboard navigation unpredictable.
herbstluftwm
herbstluftwm is a manual tiling window manager for the X window system. Each virtual desktop, called a tag, has a tiling layer and a floating layer, allowing windows to occupy split frames or be placed freely. Frames can be divided into further subframes or filled with windows, and keyboard controls move, resize, and focus tiled and floating windows. Configuration runs through herbstclient and can be changed while the manager is running without a restart. Screen space can be divided into virtual monitors that need not match physical displays; monitors share a common pool of tags. The project is licensed under the Simplified BSD License and is listed as free at free. The download page lists packages for Linux distributions and Mac OS X via MacPorts, and confirms operation on Cygwin. The project also offers released source tarballs and links to its current development version. Community help is available through IRC, Reddit, GitHub issues, and a mailing list.