3 .\" Author: [see the "Author" section]
4 .\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.78.1 <http://docbook.sf.net/>
6 .\" Manual: Bspwm Manual
7 .\" Source: Bspwm 0.8.5
10 .TH "BSPWM" "1" "10/06/2013" "Bspwm 0\&.8\&.5" "Bspwm Manual"
11 .\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
12 .\" * Define some portability stuff
13 .\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
14 .\" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
15 .\" http://bugs.debian.org/507673
16 .\" http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/groff/2009-02/msg00013.html
17 .\" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20 .\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
21 .\" * set default formatting
22 .\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
23 .\" disable hyphenation
25 .\" disable justification (adjust text to left margin only)
27 .\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
28 .\" * MAIN CONTENT STARTS HERE *
29 .\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
31 bspwm \- Binary space partitioning window manager
34 \fBbspwm\fR [\fB\-h\fR|\fB\-v\fR|\fB\-c\fR \fICONFIG_PATH\fR|\fB\-s\fR \fIPANEL_FIFO\fR|\fB\-p\fR \fIPANEL_PREFIX\fR]
36 \fBbspc\fR \fICOMMAND\fR [\fIARGUMENTS\fR]
39 \fBbspwm\fR is a tiling window manager that represents windows as the leaves of a full binary tree\&.
41 It is controlled and configured via \fBbspc\fR\&.
46 Print the synopsis and exit\&.
51 Print the version and exit\&.
54 \fB\-c\fR \fICONFIG_PATH\fR
56 Use the given configuration file\&.
59 \fB\-s\fR \fIPANEL_FIFO\fR
61 Write the internal state to the given FIFO\&.
64 \fB\-p\fR \fIPANEL_PREFIX\fR
66 Start every line written to the
68 with the given prefix\&.
72 \fBbspwm\fR has only two sources of informations: the X events it receives and the messages it reads on a dedicated socket\&.
74 The default configuration file is \fI$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/bspwm/bspwmrc\fR\&.
76 Keyboard and pointer bindings are defined with sxhkd\&.
78 Example configuration files can be found in the \fBexamples\fR directory\&.
81 New windows are inserted in the tree as close as possible to the focused window\&.
83 There is only two splitting modes: \fIautomatic\fR and \fImanual\fR\&.
85 The default mode is \fIautomatic\fR\&. The \fImanual\fR mode is entered by sending a \fBpreselection\fR message\&.
87 Example: insertion of a new node (number 4) into the given tree in \fIautomatic\fR mode:
100 +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+ +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+
104 | 3 |\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-| \-\-> | 4 |\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-|
108 +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+ +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+
114 Same departure, but the mode is \fImanual\fR, and a \fBwindow \-\-presel up\fR message was sent beforehand:
126 +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+ +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+
130 | 3 |\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-| \-\-> |\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-|\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-|
134 +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+ +\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-+
141 Each monitor contains at least one desktop\&.
143 Each desktop contains at most one tree\&.
144 .SH "COMMON DEFINITIONS"
150 DIR := left | right | up | down
151 CYCLE_DIR := next | prev
158 Selectors are used to select a target window, desktop, or monitor\&. A selector can either describe the target relatively or name it globally\&.
160 Descriptive (relative) selectors consist of a primary selector and any number of non\-conflicting modifiers as follows:
166 PRIMARY_SELECTOR[\&.MODIFIER]*
172 For obvious reasons, neither desktops nor monitors names may be valid descriptive selectors\&.
181 WINDOW_SEL := <window_id>
182 | (DIR|CYCLE_DIR|biggest|last|last_local|focused)[\&.floating|\&.tiled][\&.like|\&.unlike][\&.automatic|\&.manual][\&.urgent|\&.nonurgent]
189 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
193 \fBPrimary Selectors\fR
198 Selects the window in the given (spacial) direction relative to the active window\&.
203 Selects the window in the given (cyclic) direction\&.
208 Selects the biggest window on the current desktop\&.
213 Selects the previously focused window\&.
218 Selects the previously focused window on the current desktop\&.
223 Selects the currently focused window\&.
228 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
237 Only consider floating windows\&.
242 Only consider tiled windows\&.
247 Only consider windows that have the same class as the current window\&.
252 Only consider windows that have a different class than the current window\&.
257 Only consider windows in automatic splitting mode\&.
262 Only consider windows in manual splitting mode (see
268 Only consider urgent windows\&.
273 Only consider nonurgent windows\&.
284 DESKTOP_SEL := <desktop_name>
286 | (CYCLE_DIR|last|last_local|focused)[\&.occupied|\&.free][\&.urgent|\&.nonurgent]
293 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
297 \fBPrimary Selectors\fR
302 Selects the desktop with the given name\&.
307 Selects the nth desktop\&.
312 Selects the desktop in the given direction relative to the active desktop\&.
317 Selects the previously focused desktop\&.
322 Selects the previously focused desktop on the current monitor\&.
327 Selects the currently focused desktop\&.
332 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
341 Only consider occupied desktops\&.
346 Only consider free desktops\&.
351 Only consider urgent desktops\&.
356 Only consider nonurgent desktops\&.
367 MONITOR_SEL := <monitor_name>
369 | (DIR|CYCLE_DIR|last|primary|focused)[\&.occupied|\&.free]
376 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
380 \fBPrimary Selectors\fR
385 Selects the monitor with the given name\&.
390 Selects the nth monitor\&.
395 Selects the monitor in the given (spacial) direction relative to the active monitor\&.
400 Selects the monitor in the given (cyclic) direction relative to the active monitor\&.
405 Selects the primary monitor\&.
410 Selects the previously focused monitor\&.
415 Selects the currently focused monitor\&.
420 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
429 Only consider monitors where the focused desktop is occupied\&.
434 Only consider monitors where the focused desktop is free\&.
441 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
448 window [\fIWINDOW_SEL\fR] \fIOPTIONS\fR
452 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
459 \fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-focus\fR [\fIWINDOW_SEL\fR]
461 Focus the selected or given window\&.
464 \fB\-d\fR, \fB\-\-to\-desktop\fR \fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR
466 Send the selected window to the given desktop\&.
469 \fB\-m\fR, \fB\-\-to\-monitor\fR \fIMONITOR_SEL\fR
471 Send the selected window to the given monitor\&.
474 \fB\-w\fR, \fB\-\-to\-window\fR \fIWINDOW_SEL\fR
476 Transplant the selected window to the given window\&.
479 \fB\-s\fR, \fB\-\-swap\fR \fIWINDOW_SEL\fR
481 Swap the selected window with the given window\&.
484 \fB\-p\fR, \fB\-\-presel\fR \fIDIR\fR|cancel
486 Preselect the splitting area of the selected window (or cancel the preselection)\&.
489 \fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-ratio\fR \fIRATIO\fR
491 Set the splitting ratio of the selected window (0 <
496 \fB\-e\fR, \fB\-\-edge\fR \fIDIR\fR \fIRATIO\fR|pull|push
498 Set the splitting ratio (or pull, or push) the edge located in the given direction in relation to the selected window\&.
501 \fB\-R\fR, \fB\-\-rotate\fR \fIDIR\fR \fI90|270|180\fR
503 Rotate the tree holding the edge located in the given direction in relation to the selected window\&.
506 \fB\-t\fR, \fB\-\-toggle\fR floating|fullscreen|locked|sticky|visible[=on|off]
508 Set or toggle the given state for the selected window\&.
511 \fB\-c\fR, \fB\-\-close\fR
513 Close the selected window\&.
516 \fB\-k\fR, \fB\-\-kill\fR
518 Kill the selected window\&.
524 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
531 desktop [\fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR] \fIOPTIONS\fR
535 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
542 \fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-focus\fR [\fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR]
544 Focus the selected or given desktop\&.
547 \fB\-m\fR, \fB\-\-to\-monitor\fR \fIMONITOR_SEL\fR
549 Send the selected desktop to the given monitor\&.
552 \fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-layout\fR \fICYCLE_DIR\fR|monocle|tiled
554 Set or cycle the layout of the selected desktop\&.
557 \fB\-n\fR, \fB\-\-rename\fR <new_name>
559 Rename the selected desktop\&.
562 \fB\-s\fR, \fB\-\-swap\fR \fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR
564 Swap the selected desktop with the given desktop\&.
567 \fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-remove\fR
569 Remove the selected desktop\&.
572 \fB\-c\fR, \fB\-\-cancel\-presel\fR
574 Cancel the preselection of all the windows of the selected desktop\&.
577 \fB\-F\fR, \fB\-\-flip\fR \fIhorizontal|vertical\fR
579 Flip the tree of the selected desktop\&.
582 \fB\-R\fR, \fB\-\-rotate\fR \fI90|270|180\fR
584 Rotate the tree of the selected desktop\&.
587 \fB\-B\fR, \fB\-\-balance\fR
589 Adjust the split ratios of the tree of the selected desktop so that all windows occupy the same area\&.
592 \fB\-C\fR, \fB\-\-circulate\fR forward|backward
594 Circulate the leaves of the tree of the selected desktop\&.
600 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
607 monitor [\fIMONITOR_SEL\fR] \fIOPTIONS\fR
611 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
618 \fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-focus\fR [\fIMONITOR_SEL\fR]
620 Focus the selected or given monitor\&.
623 \fB\-a\fR, \fB\-\-add\-desktops\fR <name>\&...
625 Create desktops with the given names in the selected monitor\&.
628 \fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-remove\-desktops\fR <name>\&...
630 Remove desktops with the given names\&.
633 \fB\-n\fR, \fB\-\-rename\fR <new_name>
635 Rename the selected monitor\&.
638 \fB\-d\fR, \fB\-\-reset\-desktops\fR <name>\&...
640 Rename, add or remove desktops depending on whether the number of given names is equal, superior or inferior to the number of existing desktops\&.
643 \fB\-s\fR, \fB\-\-swap\fR \fIMONITOR_SEL\fR
645 Swap the selected monitor with the given monitor\&.
651 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
662 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
669 \fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-list\fR
674 \fB\-a\fR, \fB\-\-add\fR <name>\&...
676 Create tags with the given names\&.
679 \fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-remove\fR <name>|^<n>\&...
681 Remove tags with the given names or indexes\&.
684 \fB\-e\fR, \fB\-\-enumerate\-tags\fR <name>\&...
686 Rename, add or remove tags depending on whether the number of given names is equal, superior or inferior to the number of existing tags\&.
689 \fB\-d\fR, \fB\-\-desktop\fR \fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR
691 Select the given desktop as target for the
698 \fB\-w\fR, \fB\-\-window\fR \fIWINDOW_SEL\fR
700 Select the given window as target for the
707 \fB\-s\fR, \fB\-\-set\-tags\fR (<name>|^<n>\&...)|all
709 Set the tags of the selected object\&.
712 \fB\-t\fR, \fB\-\-toggle\-tags\fR (<name>|^<n>)[=on|off]\&...
714 Toggle the tags of the selected object\&.
720 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
731 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
738 \fB\-W\fR, \fB\-\-windows\fR
740 List matching windows\&.
743 \fB\-D\fR, \fB\-\-desktops\fR
745 List matching desktops\&.
748 \fB\-M\fR, \fB\-\-monitors\fR
750 List matching monitors\&.
753 \fB\-T\fR, \fB\-\-tree\fR
755 Print tree rooted at query\&.
758 \fB\-H\fR, \fB\-\-history\fR
760 Print the history as it relates to the query\&.
763 \fB\-S\fR, \fB\-\-stack\fR
765 Print the window stacking order\&.
768 [\fB\-m\fR,\fB\-\-monitor\fR [\fIMONITOR_SEL\fR]] | [\fB\-d\fR,\fB\-\-desktop\fR [\fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR]] | [\fB\-w\fR, \fB\-\-window\fR [\fIWINDOW_SEL\fR]]
770 Constrain matches to the selected monitor, desktop or window\&.
776 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
783 restore \fIOPTIONS\fR
787 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
794 \fB\-T\fR, \fB\-\-tree\fR <file_path>
796 Load the desktop trees from the given file\&.
799 \fB\-H\fR, \fB\-\-history\fR <file_path>
801 Load the focus history from the given file\&.
804 \fB\-S\fR, \fB\-\-stack\fR <file_path>
806 Load the window stacking order from the given file\&.
812 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
819 control \fIOPTIONS\fR
823 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
830 \fB\-\-adopt\-orphans\fR
832 Manage all the unmanaged windows remaining from a previous session\&.
835 \fB\-\-put\-status\fR
837 Write the current internal state to the panel FIFO\&.
840 \fB\-\-toggle\-visibility\fR
842 Toggle the visibility of all the windows\&.
848 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
855 pointer \fIOPTIONS\fR
859 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
866 \fB\-t\fR, \fB\-\-track\fR <x> <y>
868 Pass the pointer root coordinates for the current pointer action\&.
871 \fB\-g\fR, \fB\-\-grab\fR focus|move|resize_side|resize_corner
873 Perform the given pointer action\&.
879 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
890 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
897 \fB\-a\fR, \fB\-\-add\fR <class_name>|<instance_name> [\-d \fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR [\-\-follow]] [\-\-tags <name>|^<n>[,\&...]][\-\-floating] [\-\-fullscreen] [\-\-locked] [\-\-sticky] [\-\-focus] [\-\-unmanage] [\-\-one\-shot]
902 \fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-remove\fR <name>|^<n>|tail|head\&...
904 Remove the rules with the given names or indexes\&.
907 \fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-list\fR [<name>]
915 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
922 config [\-m \fIMONITOR_SEL\fR|\-d \fIDESKTOP_SEL\fR] <key> [<value>]
924 Get or set the value of <key>\&.
930 .nr an-no-space-flag 1
939 Quit with an optional exit status\&.
944 Colors are either X color names or \fI#RRGGBB\fR, booleans are \fItrue\fR or \fIfalse\fR\&.
946 All the boolean settings are \fIfalse\fR by default\&.
947 .SS "Global Settings"
949 \fIfocused_border_color\fR
951 Color of the border of a focused window of a focused monitor\&.
954 \fIactive_border_color\fR
956 Color of the border of a focused window of an unfocused monitor\&.
959 \fInormal_border_color\fR
961 Color of the border of an unfocused window\&.
964 \fIpresel_border_color\fR
971 \fIfocused_locked_border_color\fR
973 Color of the border of a focused locked window of a focused monitor\&.
976 \fIactive_locked_border_color\fR
978 Color of the border of a focused locked window of an unfocused monitor\&.
981 \fInormal_locked_border_color\fR
983 Color of the border of an unfocused locked window\&.
986 \fIfocused_sticky_border_color\fR
988 Color of the border of a focused sticky window of a focused monitor\&.
991 \fIactive_sticky_border_color\fR
993 Color of the border of a focused sticky window of an unfocused monitor\&.
996 \fInormal_sticky_border_color\fR
998 Color of the border of an unfocused sticky window\&.
1001 \fIurgent_border_color\fR
1003 Color of the border of an urgent window\&.
1008 Default split ratio\&.
1013 Intensity of the growth involved in pulling or pushing an edge\&.
1016 \fIhistory_aware_focus\fR
1018 Give priority to the focus history when focusing nodes\&.
1021 \fIborderless_monocle\fR
1023 Remove borders for tiled windows in monocle mode\&.
1026 \fIgapless_monocle\fR
1028 Remove gaps for tiled windows in monocle mode\&.
1031 \fIfocus_follows_pointer\fR
1033 Focus the window under the pointer\&.
1036 \fIpointer_follows_monitor\fR
1038 When focusing a monitor, put the pointer at its center\&.
1041 \fIauto_alternate\fR
1043 Interpret two consecutive identical
1052 Interpret two consecutive identical
1059 \fIapply_floating_atom\fR
1061 Set the value of the
1062 \fI_BSPWM_FLOATING_WINDOW\fR
1063 atom of each window according to its floating state\&.
1066 \fIhonor_ewmh_focus\fR
1068 Honor EWMH requests to focus a window\&.
1070 .SS "Monitor Settings"
1072 \fItop_padding\fR, \fIright_padding\fR, \fIbottom_padding\fR, \fIleft_padding\fR
1074 Padding space added at the sides of the monitor\&.
1076 .SS "Desktop Settings"
1080 Size of the gap that separates windows\&.
1085 Window border width\&.
1087 .SH "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
1091 The path of the socket used for the communication between
1094 \fBbspwm\fR\&. If it isn\(cqt defined, then the following path is used:
1095 \fI/tmp/bspwm\-socket\fR\&.
1101 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1107 Any EWMH compliant panel (e\&.g\&.:
1109 \fIbmpanel2\fR, etc\&.)\&.
1114 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1120 A custom panel if the
1122 flag is used (have a look at the files in
1123 \fIexamples/panel\fR)\&.
1129 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1135 Configured and controlled through messages\&.
1140 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1146 Multiple monitors support (via
1152 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1158 EWMH support (\fBtint2\fR
1164 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1176 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1182 Steven Allen <steven at stebalien\&.com>
1187 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1193 Thomas Adam <thomas at xteddy\&.org>
1198 \h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
1204 Ivan Kanakarakis <ivan\&.kanak at gmail\&.com>
1208 Bastien Dejean <nihilhill at gmail\&.com>
1211 bspwm at librelist\&.com