-
-
## Description
-`bspwm` is a tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning.
-
-The windows are represented as the leaves of a binary tree.
-
-## Configuration
-
-`bspwm` have only two sources of informations: the X events it receives and the messages it reads on a dedicated socket.
-
-Those messages are sent through the `bspc` program.
-
-If the `BSPWM_SOCKET` environment variable is defined, it will be used as the socket path, otherwise `/tmp/bspwm-socket` is used.
-
-The recommended way of defining keyboard shortcuts is to use `xbindkeys`.
-
-The only way to configure `bspwm` is by sending *set* messages via the client, hence `bspwm`'s configuration file is an executable called `autostart` which lives in `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/bspwm/`.
-
-Example configurations: [autostart](https://github.com/baskerville/bin/blob/master/bspwm_autostart) and [xbindkeysrc](https://github.com/baskerville/dotfiles/blob/master/xbindkeysrc).
-
-## Splitting Modes
+*bspwm* is a tiling window manager that represents windows as the leaves of a full binary tree.
-There is only two splitting modes: *automatic* and *manual*.
+It only responds to X events, and the messages it receives on a dedicated socket.
-The default mode is *automatic*. The *manual* mode is entered by sending a *presel* message.
+*bspc* is a program that writes messages on *bspwm*'s socket.
-Example: insertion of a new node (number 4) into the given tree in
-*automatic* mode:
+*bspwm* doesn't handle any keyboard or pointer inputs: a third party program (e.g. *sxhkd*) is needed in order to translate keyboard and pointer events to *bspc* invocations.
- b c
- / \ / \
- 3 a --> 4 b
- ^ / \ ^ / \
- 2 1 3 a
- / \
- 2 1
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
- | | | | | |
- | | 2 | | | 3 |
- | | | | | |
- | 3 |------------| --> | 4 |------------|
- | ^ | | | ^ | | |
- | | 1 | | | 1 | 2 |
- | | | | | | |
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
+The outlined architecture is the following:
-Same departure, but the mode is *manual*, a `presel up` message
-was sent beforehand:
+```
+ PROCESS SOCKET
+sxhkd --------> bspc <------> bspwm
+```
- b b
- / \ / \
- 3 a --> c a
- ^ / \ / \ / \
- 2 1 4 3 2 1
- ^
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
- | | | | | |
- | | 2 | | 4 | 2 |
- | | | | ^ | |
- | 3 |------------| --> |------------|------------|
- | ^ | | | | |
- | | 1 | | 3 | 1 |
- | | | | | |
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
-
-## Messages
-
-The syntax for the client is `bspc COMMAND ARGUMENTS ...`.
-
-The following messages are handled:
-
- quit
- Quit.
-
- get SETTING
- Return the value of the given setting.
-
- set SETTING VALUE
- Set the value of the given setting.
-
- close
- Close the focused window.
-
- kill
- Kill the focused window.
-
- list
- Output the internal representation of the window tree.
+## Configuration
- list_desktops [--quiet]
- Perform a dump of each desktop for the current monitor.
+The default configuration file is `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/bspwm/bspwmrc`: this is simply a shell script that calls *bspc*.
- list_monitors [--quiet]
- Perform a dump of each monitor.
+An argument is passed to that script to indicate whether is was executed after a restart (`$1 -gt 0`) or not (`$1 -eq 0`).
- list_windows
- Return the list of managed windows (i.e. their identifiers).
+Keyboard and pointer bindings are defined with [sxhkd](https://github.com/baskerville/sxhkd).
- presel left|right|up|down
- Switch to manual mode and select the splitting direction.
+Example configuration files can be found in the [examples](examples) directory.
- cancel
- Switch to automatic mode.
+## Monitors, desktops and windows
- ratio VALUE
- Set the splitting ratio of the focused window.
+*bspwm* holds a list of monitors.
- focus left|right|up|down
- Focus the neighbor node situated in the given direction.
+A monitor is just a rectangle that contains desktops.
- shift left|right|up|down
- Focus the neighbor node situated in the given direction.
+A desktop is just a pointer to a tree.
- push left|right|up|down
- Push the fence located in the given direction.
+Monitors only show the tree of one desktop at a time (their focused desktop).
- pull left|right|up|down
- Pull the fence located in the given direction.
+The tree is a partition of a monitor's rectangle into smaller rectangular regions.
- cycle next|prev [--skip-floating|--skip-tiled|--skip-class-equal|--skip-class-differ]
- Focus the next or previous window in the list of leaves.
+Each node in a tree either has zero or two children.
- nearest older|newer [--skip-floating|--skip-tiled|--skip-class-equal|--skip-class-differ]
- Focus the nearest leaf matching the given constraints.
+Each internal node is responsible for splitting a rectangle in half.
- rotate clockwise|counter_clockwise|full_cycle
- Rotate the tree of the current desktop.
+A split is defined by two parameters: the type (horizontal or vertical) and the ratio (a real number *r* such that *0 < r < 1*).
- magnetise top_left|top_right|bottom_left|bottom_right
- Move all the fences toward the given corner.
+Each leaf node holds exactly one window.
- send_to DESKTOP_NAME
- Send the focused window to the given desktop.
+## Insertion modes
- send_to_monitor MONITOR_NAME
- Send the focused window to the given monitor.
+When *bspwm* receives a new window, it inserts it into a window tree at the specified insertion point (a leaf) using the insertion mode specified for that insertion point.
- use DESKTOP_NAME
- Select the given desktop.
+The insertion mode tells *bspwm* how it should alter the tree in order to insert new windows on a given insertion point.
- use_monitor MONITOR_NAME
- Select the given monitor.
+By default the insertion point is the focused window and its insertion mode is *automatic*.
- alternate
- Alternate between the current and the last focused window.
+### Manual mode
- alternate_desktop
- Alternate between the current and the last focused desktop.
+The user can specify a region in the insertion point where the next new window should appear by sending a *node -p|--presel-dir DIR* message to *bspwm*.
- alternate_monitor
- Alternate between the current and the last focused monitor.
+The *DIR* argument allows to specify how the insertion point should be split (horizontally or vertically) and if the new window should be the first or the second child of the new internal node (the insertion point will become its *brother*).
- add DESKTOP_NAME ...
- Make new desktops with the given names.
+After doing so the insertion point goes into *manual* mode.
- add_in MONITOR_NAME DESKTOP_NAME ...
- Make new desktops with the given names in the given monitor.
+Let's consider the following scenario:
- rename_monitor CURRENT_NAME NEW_NAME
- Rename the monitor named CURRENT_NAME to NEW_NAME.
+```
+ a a a
+ / \ / \ / \
+ 1 b ---> c b ---> c b
+ ^ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
+ 2 3 4 1 2 3 d 1 2 3
+ ^ / \
+ 5 4
+ ^
- rename CURRENT_NAME NEW_NAME
- Rename the desktop named CURRENT_NAME to NEW_NAME.
++-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
+| | | | | | | | | |
+| | 2 | | 4 | 2 | | 5 | 4 | 2 |
+| | | | ^ | | | ^ | | |
+| 1 |-----------| |-----------|-----------| |-----------|-----------|
+| ^ | | | | | | | |
+| | 3 | | 1 | 3 | | 1 | 3 |
+| | | | | | | | |
++-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
- cycle_monitor next|prev
- Select the next or previous monitor.
+ X Y Z
+```
- cycle_desktop next|prev [--skip-free|--skip-occupied]
- Select the next or previous desktop.
-
- layout monocle|tiled
- Set the layout of the current desktop.
+In state *X*, the insertion point is *1*.
- cycle_layout
- Cycle the layout of the current desktop.
+We send the following message to *bspwm*: *node -p north*.
- toggle_fullscreen
- Toggle the fullscreen state of the current window.
+Then add a new window: *4*, this leads to state *Y*: the new internal node, *c* becomes *a*'s first child.
- toggle_floating
- Toggle the floating state of the current window.
+Finally we send another message: *node -p west* and add window *5*.
- toggle_locked
- Toggle the locked state of the current window (locked windows will not respond to the 'close' command).
+The ratio of the preselection (that ends up being the ratio of the split of the new internal node) can be changed with the *node -o|--presel-ratio* message.
- rule PATTERN floating
- Make a new rule that will float the windows whose class name or instance name equals PATTERN.
+### Automatic mode
- reload_autostart
- Reload the autostart file.
+The *automatic* mode, as opposed to the *manual* mode, doesn't require any user choice. The way the new window is inserted is determined by the value of the automatic scheme and the initial polarity settings.
- reload_settings
- Reload the default settings.
+#### Longest side scheme
- reload
- Reload the autostart file and the default settings.
+When the value of the automatic scheme is `longest_side`, the window will be attached as if the insertion point was in manual mode and the split direction was chosen based on the dimensions of the tiling rectangle and the initial polarity.
-## Settings
+Let's consider the following scenario, where the initial polarity is set to `second_child`:
-Colors are either [X color names](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X11_color_names) or '#RRGGBB', booleans are 'true' or 'false'.
+```
+ 1 a a
+ ^ / \ / \
+ ---> 1 2 ---> 1 b
+ ^ / \
+ 2 3
+ ^
- focused_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused window of a focused monitor.
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
+ | | | | | | | |
+ | | | | | | | 2 |
+ | | | | | | | |
+ | 1 | | 1 | 2 | | 1 |-----------|
+ | ^ | | | ^ | | | |
+ | | | | | | | 3 |
+ | | | | | | | ^ |
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
- active_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused window of an unfocused monitor.
+ X Y Z
+```
- normal_border_color
- Color of the main border of an unfocused window.
-
- inner_border_color
- Color of the inner border of a window.
+In state *X*, a new window is added.
- outer_border_color
- Color of the outer border of a window.
-
- presel_border_color
- Color of the *presel* message feedback.
+Since *1* is wide, it gets split vertically and *2* is added as *a*'s second child given the initial polarity.
- focused_locked_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused locked window of a focused monitor.
+This leads to *Y* where we insert window *3*. *2* is tall and is therefore split horizontally. *3* is once again added as *b*'s second child.
- active_locked_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused locked window of an unfocused monitor.
+#### Alternate scheme
- normal_locked_border_color
- Color of the main border of an unfocused locked window.
+When the value of the automatic scheme is `alternate`, the window will be attached as if the insertion point was in manual mode and the split direction was chosen based on the split type of the insertion point's parent and the initial polarity. If the parent is split horizontally, the insertion point will be split vertically and vice versa.
- urgent_border_color
- Color of the border of an urgent window.
+#### Spiral scheme
- inner_border_width
- main_border_width
- outer_border_width
- Width of the inner, main and outer borders.
+When the value of the automatic scheme is `spiral`, the window will *take the space* of the insertion point.
- window_gap
- Value of the gap that separates windows.
+Let's dive into the details with the following scenario:
- top_padding
- bottom_padding
- left_padding
- right_padding
- Padding space added at the sides of the screen.
+```
+ a a a
+ / \ / \ / \
+ 1 b ---> 1 c ---> 1 d
+ / \ / \ / \
+ 2 3 4 b 5 c
+ ^ ^ / \ ^ / \
+ 3 2 b 4
+ / \
+ 3 2
- wm_name
- The value that shall be used for the _NET_WM_NAME property of the root window.
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
+ | | | | | | | | |
+ | | 2 | | | 4 | | | 5 |
+ | | ^ | | | ^ | | | ^ |
+ | 1 |-----------| | 1 |-----------| | 1 |-----------|
+ | | | | | | | | | 3 | |
+ | | 3 | | | 3 | 2 | | |-----| 4 |
+ | | | | | | | | | 2 | |
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
- button_modifier
- The modifier mask used for mouse bindings (possible values: 'mod1' ... 'mod5').
+ X Y Z
+```
- borderless_monocle
- Whether to remove borders for tiled windows in monocle mode.
+In state *X*, the insertion point, *2* is in automatic mode.
- focus_follows_mouse
- Wether to focus the window under the mouse pointer.
+When we add a new window, *4*, the whole tree rooted at *b* is reattached, as the second child of a new internal node, *c*.
-## Mouse Bindings
+The splitting parameters of *b* (type: *horizontal*, ratio: *½*) are copied to *c* and *b* is rotated by 90° clockwise.
- button_modifier + left mouse button
- Move the window under the pointer.
+The tiling rectangle of *4* in state *Y* is equal to the tiling rectangle of *2* in state *X*.
- button_modifier + middle mouse button
- Focus the window under the pointer.
+Then the insertion of *5*, with *4* as insertion point, leads to *Z*.
- button_modifier + right mouse button
- Resize the window under the pointer (by moving one of its four corners).
+The *spiral* automatic scheme generates window spirals that rotate clockwise (resp. anti-clockwise) if the insertion point is the first (resp. second) child of its parent.
-## Panel
-`dzen2` fed with the output of `ewmhstatus`. Example: [launchpanel](https://github.com/baskerville/bin/blob/master/launchpanel).
+## Supported protocols and standards
-## Required Libraries:
+- The RandR and Xinerama protocols.
+- A subset of the EWMH and ICCCM standards.
-libxcb, xcb-util, xcb-util-wm.
+## Community
-## Installation
+Want to get in touch with other *bspwm* users or you need help? Join us on our:
- make
- make install
+- Subreddit at [r/bspwm](https://www.reddit.com/r/bspwm/).
+- IRC channel at `#bspwm` on `irc.libera.chat` (maintained by [@dannycolin](https://github.com/dannycolin) / sdk on IRC).
+- Matrix room at https://matrix.to/#/#bspwm:matrix.org
projects / bspwm.git / blobdiff