IceWM vs spectrwm
IceWM
ice-wm.orgspectrwm
spectrwm.orgSide by side
| Figure | IceWM | spectrwm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Window Management Software | 8.2 (#8) | 8.1 (#13) |
| Installation | The site provides instructions to download the source archive, configure it, build it, and install it. | The official installation guide provides source-build instructions and package commands for Debian/Ubuntu, Arch, NixOS and NetBSD, with a separate macOS guide. |
| License | IceWM and its documentation are covered by the GNU LGPL license. | The code is released under the permissive ISC license, with patches required to use the same license. |
| Purpose | IceWM is a window manager for the X Window System designed for speed, simplicity, and not getting in the user’s way. | spectrwm is a small, dynamic tiling and reparenting window manager for X11. |
| Support | The site directs users to report bugs on GitHub and links to manual pages, a manual, and an FAQ. | The project directs questions and feedback to the OFTC IRC channel #spectrwm. |
Plans
In their own words
spectrwm
spectrwm is a free tiling and reparenting window manager for X11. It arranges windows in configurable layouts, including layouts with a resizable master area, and also supports floating windows that users can move and resize. Windows can be moved between workspaces or within user-defined regions, while screens are navigable by keyboard or mouse. It supports dynamic RandR multi-head configurations and Extended Window Manager Hints. A customizable status bar, quick launch menu and user-defined key bindings provide ways to view status and launch applications. The software starts with defaults and can be configured without learning a programming language. It can be restarted without losing state. spectrwm is released under the ISC license, and the releases page lists version 3.7.0 as the latest release. Listed platforms are Linux, macOS and Windows, while its stated purpose is managing X11 windows. The project directs questions and feedback to its #spectrwm channel on OFTC IRC.