Appetizer vs dmenu
Appetizer
appetizer.cozic.netdmenu
tools.suckless.orgSide by side
| Figure | Appetizer | dmenu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · App Launcher Software | 8.7 (#4) | 8.7 (#5) |
| Spec score · App Launchers | 8.6 (#6) | 8.6 (#7) |
| Spec score · App launchers | 8.5 (#8) | 8.6 (#7) |
| Customization | The dock supports plugins, multiple skins, custom icons, and horizontal or vertical layouts. | The dmenu site links to a patches collection with contributed modifications. |
| Purpose | Appetizer is a free application launcher, or dock, for Windows that organizes shortcuts and folders. | dmenu is a dynamic menu for X that manages large numbers of user-defined menu items efficiently. |
| Support | Forum registration is closed because of spam, and the site says users may contact the maker if needed. | The suckless community page identifies the dev mailing list as a place for dmenu users, development discussion, bug reports, and general discussion. |
Plans
In their own words
Appetizer
Appetizer is a free, open-source application launcher dock for Windows that organizes shortcuts and folders. A wizard imports shortcuts from different locations, after which icons can be arranged by drag and drop or grouped in menus. The dock can resize and display horizontally or vertically, with small, large, and extra-large icons, custom icons, and skins; two skins are included. It supports launching several items together, a hotkey to hide or show the dock, and minimizing it to the tray. Special items provide controls for the desktop, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel. With the standard PortableApps.com folder structure, Appetizer should detect applications and documents automatically. Version 1.4 is offered as a Windows installer or portable ZIP; the ZIP can run from a hard drive or USB stick and saves settings in the application directory. The download page lists Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. Plugins add functions such as USB document encryption, shortcut grouping, and closing the dock after launch, but require a restart after installation. Multilingual help and an API reference are provided.
dmenu
dmenu is a free dynamic menu for X that handles large sets of user-defined menu items and can launch commands. It runs on Linux and was originally designed for the dwm window manager. Community scripts apply it to tasks such as browsing directories, managing clipboard contents, accessing passwords, and controlling music; contributed modifications are available in a patches collection. The project provides a browsable source repository and a Git clone command. Building requires Xlib header files, and the README describes building and installing with `make clean install`, with files placed in the `/usr/local` namespace by default. The listed release is dmenu 5.4, dated 2025-08-09. Its source uses the MIT/X Consortium License, which permits use, copying, modification, distribution, sublicensing, and sale of copies subject to its conditions, while disclaiming warranties. The suckless dev mailing list is identified as a venue for user questions, development discussion, bug reports, and general discussion.