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3 hours ago
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Picking the right (archaic) Window Manager
Spring 2025
There's no present like the past
If you've found a great tool, why let go if it? There's a workflow stored in muscle memory, little everyday operations etched into your spine. Don't risk succumbing to the whims of modern desktop environments - pick a traditional window manager instead! And not just any window manager, an archaic window manager, frozen in time in just the right way to ensure a consistent user experience for years to come. What could possibly be a better bastion against unwanted change? (Unless Wayland finally wins out, but that's a topic for another text.)
Presented here is a small selection of old-timey window managers - some actively maintained, others frozen in time in more ways than one. Many of them are still available in the package repositories of various BSD flavours and Linux distributions. They are rated for Archaicness - how rigid their config and feature set is, Configurability - the level of user customization available, Compatibility - how well they work with modern applications, and Maintenance - how actively they're being maintained and developed. Each window manager can be awarded between zero and five X cursors in each category. (The ratings are - naturally - highly subjective, but should be able to provide some kind of guidance.)
- TWM (Tab Window Manager)
- CTWM (Claude's Tab Window Manager)
- MWM (Motif Window Manager)
- OLWM (OpenLook Window Manager)
- FVWM (F? Virtual Window Manager)
- FVWM95 (F? Virtual Window Manager - 95)
- AmiWM (Amiga Window Manager)
- WindowMaker
- AfterStep
- Tiling Window Managers
- Desktop Environments
- The Sky and Beyond
TWM (Tab Window Manager)
The O.G. window manager, which at least should be included by default with every X11 installation. Not the first, as such, but still keeping true to its 1987 roots when it was called Tom's Window Manager, after author Tom LaStrange. TWM might struggle a bit with modern applications, but for low-spec systems it's still usable. Menus, colours, hotkeys and behavior are surprisingly configurable - but you're stuck with a single desktop and a few idiosyncrasies that might not, after all, give the best impression of late 80:s window management. Since it's part of the standard X.Org offering, it's still being maintained in some capacity.
CTWM (Claude's Tab Window Manager)
Fans of TWM who want a slightly more compatible and flexible experience are encouraged to check out CTWM. Having been around since 1992, it offers the same basic experience as TWM - and more. For example, it can be configured to provide such creature comforts as virtual desktops and 3D beveled window borders. It's highly configurable and actively maintained by a small, friendly group of enthusiasts. A few years ago, it was chosen as the default window manager in NetBSD. I used CTWM as a daily driver for several years and have a few config files available for download here.
MWM (Motif Window Manager)
MWM is the official window manager of the Motif toolkit, originally released in 1989. Motif was part of the OSF effort to standardize the UNIX experience and MWM forms the backbone of plenty of GUI environments for proprietary UNIX systems: DECWindows, CDE (Common Desktop Environment) and the IXI X.desktop. Even SGI's IndigoMagic builds on a heavily modified version of Motif.
Lacking the granular configurability of counterparts like CTWM and FVWM, I personally see little use for MWM today - but if you want the classic 1990:s workstation feeling, look no further.
OLWM (OpenLook Window Manager)
OLWM is part of OpenWindows, Sun's Motif competitor (until they caved and adopted CDE), also released in 1989. It's really intended to be a complete desktop environment, but OLWM can be used as a stand-alone window manager. Just like MWM, this is a surefire way of getting that old-timey workstation feeling. The downside is that, to the best of my knowledge, OLWM will only compile and run on 32-bit systems. If you've got a 32-bit *BSD or Linux installation, for example on an older Raspberry Pi, OLWM is well worth a try. The OpenWindows look is clean, timeless and just different enough to provide a bit of variety.
FVWM (F? Virtual Window Manager)
I've been an on-again, off-again FVWM user since 1995 and I'm currently running it as my daily driver both at work and at home. Tracing its roots back to 1993, it's still being actively maintained. A wonder of configurability, flexibility and both backwards- and forwards compatibility, it can be made to look and behave in pretty much any way imaginable. My screenshot above is fairly bland: FVWM will let you change the look of window borders, buttons and menus in minute detail. It can iconify your running programs to a little screenshot of their windows. It can do gradients, shadows, opacity and animations. It even comes with its own GUI toolkit that lets you create toolbars and dialog windows.
Plenty of other window managers are derived from FVWM, but I dare say the original can - with some time and love - be configured to emulate all of them. To me, this is the best of the bunch.
FVWM95 (F? Virtual Window Manager - 95)
Upon its release, Windows 95 took the world by storm. At this point in time, switching to Linux was an increasingly popular activity among computer nerds. FVWM95 was born out of this, offering a smooth transition from one system to the other. It's not just a novelty: The web development company where I spent my days as a pimply-faced intern in 1998 ran FVWM95 as the default window manager on all their Linux workstations.
As the name suggests, FVWM95 builds on FVWM and should provide similar configuration possibilities in most areas. The default config, however, seems to hit the spot just right, and I've never bothered changing it much. Tweaking it too much also seems to defeat the purpose - after all, if you don't want this particular mid-nineties experience, stick to the original FVWM.
AmiWM (Amiga Window Manager)
AmiWM is a window manager that provides a rather faithful rendition of the window decorations used in AmigaOS 2.0 and up. It also simulates draggable screens, which serve as virtual desktops.
While few things make me as nostalgic for the 1990:s as Amigas (rivalled only, perhaps, by The X-Files), I must admit that AmiWM is mostly a fun novelty. The workflow just doesn't seem to sit right in X11 and a window decor does not an Amiga make. Still, for die hard Amiga fans, it might be worth checking out.
WindowMaker
WindowMaker is a part of the GNUStep desktop environment, but can be used as a stand-alone window manager. It provides a faithful implementation of the NextStep/OpenStep environment, especially in combination with other GNUStep programs.
I find OpenStep a tremendously beautiful GUI, but I can't really come to terms with WindowMaker's opinionated views on workflow. To me, everything seems extremely contrived and click-heavy and I've never managed to use it for very long. Since I haven't really used it enough, please take the ratings below with a pinch of salt. For those who "get it", I'm sure it's delightful.
AfterStep
AfterStep was originally an FVWM fork that, like WindowMaker, intended to emulate the look and feel of NextStep. It has since evolved into a beast of its own. While not actively maintained anymore, it's included here simply because it excels at capturing the maximalist aesthetic popular amongst config tweakers and desktop customizers during the late 1990:s/early 2000:s. Back then, we optimized for awesome.
AfterStep can be configured to look strikingly outlandish - but then again, so can the original FVWM. The difference is that AfterStep comes with a great selection of over-the-top themes with the default install. If you want the true aesthetics of software freedom at the turn of the millennium, AfterStep will happily deliver.
Tiling Window Managers
Tiling window managers aren't new by any stretch of the word, but I've never really understood their greatness. Running programs in fullscreen on a wide display makes lines of text uncomfortably long to read, and running two programs side by side means I have to constantly keep my head slightly turned in order to focus on the current activity. In short, I'm just not the right person to give tips on these. Plenty of inspiration is available at r/unixporn, though.
Desktop Environments
There are a number of archaic desktop environments, too. If you want the full desktop experience of yesteryear, check out GNUStep - a free take on NextStep, MaXX Interactive Desktop, continuing where SGI's IndigoMagic left off, or NsCDE, a faithful and impressive re-implementation of the Common Desktop Environment.
The Sky and Beyond
This is very far from a complete list of (more or less) archaic window managers. There's one for every occasion - some are fairly new, emulating old systems and some are fairly old, emulating even older systems. There are probably hundreds of options, and that delights me copiously.
