Love window snapping on Linux? You should try a tiling window manager – here's why

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Tiling window managers maximize screen space automatically.
• They boost productivity but rely heavily on keyboard shortcuts.
• Linux offers several popular tiling window managers to try.

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For those who’ve never experienced a tiling window manager, you’re in for a treat.

Tiling window managers depend on keyboard shortcuts to interact with the interface. Instead of using the mouse, you use the keyboard to open apps, move windows around, cycle through windows, and just about everything you do on the desktop.

This reliance on the keyboard can prevent new Linux users from adopting a tiling window manager. That’s a shame, because although these window managers have a steeper learning curve, they are amazingly efficient.

What is a tiling window manager?

If you’ve ever used window snapping on your desktop, imagine it happening automatically. That’s what a tiling windows manager does. 

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Window snapping is when you move an application to either the right or left edge of the screen, and the desktop interface automatically “snaps” the window such that it takes up half of your display. Snap another window to the other edge of the display, and it will automatically take up the other half of the screen. If you want a full-screen app, drag the window to the top of your display.

Snapping windows makes it easier to focus all of your efforts on two windows simultaneously. I use snapping a lot when working between two Firefox tabs, so I don’t have to click between them.

And that’s the same driving force behind tiling window managers, but they take the idea further. Instead of just snapping windows left, right, or full-screen, a tiling window manager uses your screen real estate more efficiently. 

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Imagine you’ve opened one app, and that app initially takes up the full screen. With a tiling window manager, you can open a second app, and it will automatically open such that it shares the screen with the previously opened app. Both of those apps split your desktop in half vertically.

Now, you open a third app. What happens? One of those previously opened apps will shift up on either the right or left side of the display to allow the new app to take up 50% of that side. Open another app, and it might split the top half of the right side of the display with whatever app is taking up that space.

The important thing is that this happens automatically. Once you have those windows open, you change focus on which window you want to work with by using keyboard shortcuts. For example, to focus on the window to the left, you might use the Super+left arrow keyboard combination. To focus on the window directly to the bottom, you would use the Super+down arrow keyboard shortcut.

Many tiling window managers also allow you to open an app in a “floating” window, meaning it doesn’t automatically snap, and you can move it with your mouse. You can even configure specific apps to always open in floating mode.

With every window you open in a tiling window manager, it will automatically fit into the growing puzzle of your desktop. That does have its caveats, as the more apps you open, the smaller they can get.

The reason so many hardcore users prefer tiling window managers is that they make managing space on the desktop automatic, which can help boost productivity. And because windows never overlap on a tiling window manager, you can be certain that every inch of the display will be used to best facilitate your workflow. 

In other words, tiling window managers are amazing for multitasking because you see all of your open apps right in front of you.

The pitfalls of tiling window managers

Tiling window managers are great for the right user type because they make the absolute most out of screen and keep your fingers on the keyboard. Although the first feature is quite appealing to most users, it’s that second feature that can be a bit off-putting. 

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Some tiling window managers eschew the mouse for keyboard navigation. You might think that’s counterintuitive, but every time you move your hand from the mouse to the keyboard, you’re adding seconds to your work. Given how often you move your hand between mouse and keyboard, you can imagine how much time you save by the end of the day.

As far as what those keyboard shortcuts are, here’s a small sampling from the i3 tiling window manager.

• [Alt]+[Enter] – open new terminal
• [Alt]+[J] – focus left
• [Alt]+[K] – focus right
• [Alt]+[L] – focus up
• [Alt]+[;] – focus right
• [Alt]+[A] – focus parent
• [Alt]+[Space] – toggle focus mode

Now, that’s not to say the i3 window manager doesn’t allow you to use the mouse. You can. And you can configure the key bindings to better fit your needs (because i3 is a highly customizable window manager). But for those who have trouble with change, a window manager like i3 is going to be a very hard sell.

The truth of the matter is tiling window managers place the focus on the keyboard over the mouse. That’s by design to keep you as productive as possible.

The most popular tiling window managers available for Linux

As of now, the best tiling window managers you should consider are the following:

1. Hyprland: One of the most popular tiling window managers, Hyprland is highly customizable via dot files.
2. i3: Highly configurable and widely respected.
3. bspwm: Lightweight but poorly documented.
4. Sway: Supports the Wayland X server.
5. Xmonad: It “just works” and is very stable.
6. AwesomeWM: It allows you to rearrange windows via the mouse but requires some skill to use.

Honorable mention should also go to System76’s Pop!_OS distribution, as it allows users to enable or disable tiling on the fly. If you want to only use the tiling window manager for certain workflows (which is what I do), Pop!_OS is your best bet. 

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I will add that there is one tiling window manager that you should currently avoid, and that is Miracle WM. A fundamental element of this tiling window manager is broken, and until that feature is fixed, the window manager isn’t useful. You can read about my recent experience with Fedora Miracle (a Fedora spin that uses the Miracle WM).

If you’re looking to not only get the most out of your screen real estate but also work as efficiently as possible on a computer desktop, a tiling window manager might be exactly what you need.

One last thing I will mention is that your best bet for trying out a tiling window manager is to use a distribution that offers this as an option. For example, StratOS (a gorgeous distribution) defaults to Hyprland. 

There’s also Manjaro i3, Archcraft, EndeavorOS, Regolith, Fedora i3