herbstluftwm vs VirtuaWin
herbstluftwm
herbstluftwm.orgVirtuaWin
virtuawin.sourceforge.ioSide by side
| Figure | herbstluftwm | VirtuaWin |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Window Management Software | 8.1 (#12) | 7.2 (#45) |
| Integrations | The FAQ describes using external EWMH panels such as xfce4-panel and using dmenu for a run dialog. | The listed Message Passthrough module can forward VirtuaWin module information messages to third party windows, with an example AutoHotkey script included. |
| License | The project repository states that herbstluftwm is licensed under the Simplified BSD License. | VirtuaWin is freely distributed and licensed under the GNU General Public License. |
| Support | The project offers community help through IRC, Reddit, GitHub issues, and a mailing list. | The support page points users to the FAQ and official VirtuaWin forum, which it labels the preferred contact method. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
VirtuaWin
VirtuaWin has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.