-
-
## 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 via `bspc`.
-
-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
-
-There is only two splitting modes: *automatic* and *manual*.
-
-The default mode is *automatic*. The *manual* mode is entered by sending a *presel* message.
-
-Example: insertion of a new node (number 4) into the given tree in
-*automatic* mode:
-
- b c
- / \ / \
- 3 a --> 4 b
- ^ / \ ^ / \
- 2 1 3 a
- / \
- 2 1
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
- | | | | | |
- | | 2 | | | 3 |
- | | | | | |
- | 3 |------------| --> | 4 |------------|
- | ^ | | | ^ | | |
- | | 1 | | | 1 | 2 |
- | | | | | | |
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
-
-Same departure, but the mode is *manual*, and a `presel up` message
-was sent beforehand:
-
- b b
- / \ / \
- 3 a --> c a
- ^ / \ / \ / \
- 2 1 4 3 2 1
- ^
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
- | | | | | |
- | | 2 | | 4 | 2 |
- | | | | ^ | |
- | 3 |------------| --> |------------|------------|
- | ^ | | | | |
- | | 1 | | 3 | 1 |
- | | | | | |
- +-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
-
-## Messages
+*bspwm* is a tiling window manager that represents windows as the leaves of a full binary tree.
-The syntax for the client is `bspc MESSAGE [ARGUMENTS ...]`.
+It only responds to X events, and the messages it receives on a dedicated socket.
-The following messages are handled:
+*bspc* is a program that writes messages on *bspwm*'s socket.
- get SETTING
- Return the value of the given setting.
+*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.
- set SETTING VALUE
- Set the value of the given setting.
+The outlined architecture is the following:
- list [DESKTOP_NAME]
- Output the internal representation of the window tree.
+```
+ PROCESS SOCKET
+sxhkd --------> bspc <------> bspwm
+```
- list_desktops [--quiet]
- Perform a dump of each desktop for the current monitor.
-
- list_monitors [--quiet]
- Perform a dump of each monitor.
-
- list_windows
- Return the list of managed windows (i.e. their identifiers).
-
- presel left|right|up|down
- Switch to manual mode and select the splitting direction.
-
- cancel
- Switch to automatic mode.
-
- ratio VALUE
- Set the splitting ratio of the focused window.
-
- pad MONITOR_NAME [TOP_PADDING [RIGHT_PADDING [BOTTOM_PADDING [LEFT_PADDING]]]]
- Set the padding of the given monitor.
-
- focus left|right|up|down
- Focus the neighbor window situated in the given direction.
-
- shift left|right|up|down
- Exchange the current window with the given neighbor.
-
- push left|right|up|down
- Push the fence located in the given direction.
-
- pull left|right|up|down
- Pull the fence located in the given direction.
-
- cycle next|prev [--skip-floating|--skip-tiled|--skip-class-equal|--skip-class-differ]
- Focus the next or previous window matching the given constraints.
-
- nearest older|newer [--skip-floating|--skip-tiled|--skip-class-equal|--skip-class-differ]
- Focus the nearest window matching the given constraints.
-
- circulate forward|backward
- Circulate the leaves in the given direction.
-
- toggle_fullscreen
- Toggle the fullscreen state of the current window.
-
- toggle_floating
- Toggle the floating state of the current window.
-
- toggle_locked
- Toggle the locked state of the current window (locked windows will not respond to the 'close' message).
+## Configuration
- close
- Close the focused window.
+The default configuration file is `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/bspwm/bspwmrc`: this is simply a shell script that calls *bspc*.
- kill
- Kill the focused window.
+An argument is passed to that script to indicate whether is was executed after a restart (`$1 -gt 0`) or not (`$1 -eq 0`).
- send_to DESKTOP_NAME
- Send the focused window to the given desktop.
+Keyboard and pointer bindings are defined with [sxhkd](https://github.com/baskerville/sxhkd).
- send_to_monitor MONITOR_NAME
- Send the focused window to the given monitor.
+Example configuration files can be found in the [examples](examples) directory.
- use DESKTOP_NAME
- Select the given desktop.
+## Monitors, desktops and windows
- use_monitor MONITOR_NAME
- Select the given monitor.
+*bspwm* holds a list of monitors.
- alternate
- Alternate between the current and the last focused window.
+A monitor is just a rectangle that contains desktops.
- alternate_desktop
- Alternate between the current and the last focused desktop.
+A desktop is just a pointer to a tree.
- alternate_monitor
- Alternate between the current and the last focused monitor.
+Monitors only show the tree of one desktop at a time (their focused desktop).
- add DESKTOP_NAME ...
- Make new desktops with the given names.
+The tree is a partition of a monitor's rectangle into smaller rectangular regions.
- add_in MONITOR_NAME DESKTOP_NAME ...
- Make new desktops with the given names in the given monitor.
+Each node in a tree either has zero or two children.
- rename_monitor CURRENT_NAME NEW_NAME
- Rename the monitor named CURRENT_NAME to NEW_NAME.
+Each internal node is responsible for splitting a rectangle in half.
- rename CURRENT_NAME NEW_NAME
- Rename the desktop named CURRENT_NAME to NEW_NAME.
+A split is defined by two parameters: the type (horizontal or vertical) and the ratio (a real number *r* such that *0 < r < 1*).
- cycle_monitor next|prev
- Select the next or previous monitor.
+Each leaf node holds exactly one window.
- cycle_desktop next|prev [--skip-free|--skip-occupied]
- Select the next or previous desktop.
+## Insertion modes
- layout monocle|tiled [DESKTOP_NAME ...]
- Set the layout of the given desktops (current if none given).
+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.
- cycle_layout
- Cycle the layout of the current desktop.
+The insertion mode tells *bspwm* how it should alter the tree in order to insert new windows on a given insertion point.
- rotate clockwise|counter_clockwise|full_cycle
- Rotate the tree of the current desktop.
+By default the insertion point is the focused window and its insertion mode is *automatic*.
- rule PATTERN [DESKTOP_NAME] [floating]
- Create a new rule (PATTERN must match the class or instance name).
+### Manual mode
- adopt_orphans
- Manage all the unmanaged windows remaining from a previous session.
+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*.
- reload_autostart
- Reload the autostart file.
+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*).
- reload_settings
- Reload the default settings.
+After doing so the insertion point goes into *manual* mode.
- reload
- Reload the autostart file and the default settings.
+Let's consider the following scenario:
- quit
- Quit.
+```
+ a a a
+ / \ / \ / \
+ 1 b ---> c b ---> c b
+ ^ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
+ 2 3 4 1 2 3 d 1 2 3
+ ^ / \
+ 5 4
+ ^
-## Settings
++-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
+| | | | | | | | | |
+| | 2 | | 4 | 2 | | 5 | 4 | 2 |
+| | | | ^ | | | ^ | | |
+| 1 |-----------| |-----------|-----------| |-----------|-----------|
+| ^ | | | | | | | |
+| | 3 | | 1 | 3 | | 1 | 3 |
+| | | | | | | | |
++-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
-Colors are either [X color names](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X11_color_names) or *#RRGGBB*, booleans are *true* or *false*.
+ X Y Z
+```
- focused_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused window of a focused monitor.
+In state *X*, the insertion point is *1*.
- active_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused window of an unfocused monitor.
+We send the following message to *bspwm*: *node -p north*.
- normal_border_color
- Color of the main border of an unfocused window.
+Then add a new window: *4*, this leads to state *Y*: the new internal node, *c* becomes *a*'s first child.
- inner_border_color
- Color of the inner border of a window.
+Finally we send another message: *node -p west* and add window *5*.
- outer_border_color
- Color of the outer border of a window.
+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.
- presel_border_color
- Color of the *presel* message feedback.
+### Automatic mode
- focused_locked_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused locked window of a focused monitor.
+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.
- active_locked_border_color
- Color of the main border of a focused locked window of an unfocused monitor.
+#### Longest side scheme
- normal_locked_border_color
- Color of the main border of an unfocused locked window.
+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.
- urgent_border_color
- Color of the border of an urgent window.
+Let's consider the following scenario, where the initial polarity is set to `second_child`:
- inner_border_width
- main_border_width
- outer_border_width
- Width of the inner, main and outer borders.
+```
+ 1 a a
+ ^ / \ / \
+ ---> 1 2 ---> 1 b
+ ^ / \
+ 2 3
+ ^
- window_gap
- Value of the gap that separates windows.
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
+ | | | | | | | |
+ | | | | | | | 2 |
+ | | | | | | | |
+ | 1 | | 1 | 2 | | 1 |-----------|
+ | ^ | | | ^ | | | |
+ | | | | | | | 3 |
+ | | | | | | | ^ |
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
- {top,right,bottom,left}_padding
- Padding space added at the sides of the current monitor.
+ X Y Z
+```
- wm_name
- The value that shall be used for the _NET_WM_NAME property of the root window.
+In state *X*, a new window is added.
- button_modifier
- The modifier mask used for mouse bindings (possible values: 'shift', 'control', 'lock', 'mod1' ... 'mod5').
+Since *1* is wide, it gets split vertically and *2* is added as *a*'s second child given the initial polarity.
- numlock_modifier
- The modifier holding Num_Lock (cf. xmodmap).
+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.
- capslock_modifier
- The modifier holding Lock.
+#### Alternate scheme
- borderless_monocle
- Whether to remove borders for tiled windows in monocle mode.
+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.
- gapless_monocle
- Whether to remove gaps for tiled windows in monocle mode.
+#### Spiral scheme
- focus_follows_mouse
- Wether to focus the window under the mouse pointer.
+When the value of the automatic scheme is `spiral`, the window will *take the space* of the insertion point.
- adaptative_raise
- Prevent floating windows from being raised when they might cover other floating windows.
+Let's dive into the details with the following scenario:
-## Mouse Bindings
+```
+ a a a
+ / \ / \ / \
+ 1 b ---> 1 c ---> 1 d
+ / \ / \ / \
+ 2 3 4 b 5 c
+ ^ ^ / \ ^ / \
+ 3 2 b 4
+ / \
+ 3 2
- button_modifier + left mouse button
- Move the window under the pointer.
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
+ | | | | | | | | |
+ | | 2 | | | 4 | | | 5 |
+ | | ^ | | | ^ | | | ^ |
+ | 1 |-----------| | 1 |-----------| | 1 |-----------|
+ | | | | | | | | | 3 | |
+ | | 3 | | | 3 | 2 | | |-----| 4 |
+ | | | | | | | | | 2 | |
+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
- button_modifier + middle mouse button
- Focus the window under the pointer.
+ X Y Z
+```
- button_modifier + right mouse button
- Resize the window under the pointer (by moving one of its four corners).
+In state *X*, the insertion point, *2* is in automatic mode.
-## Key Features
+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*.
-- Configured and controlled through messages
-- Multiple monitors support (via *Xinerama*)
-- EWMH support (`tint2` works)
-- Automatic and manual modes
-- Triple window borders
+The splitting parameters of *b* (type: *horizontal*, ratio: *½*) are copied to *c* and *b* is rotated by 90° clockwise.
-## Panel
+The tiling rectangle of *4* in state *Y* is equal to the tiling rectangle of *2* in state *X*.
-`dzen2` fed with the output of `ewmhstatus`. Example: [launchpanel](https://github.com/baskerville/bin/blob/master/launchpanel).
+Then the insertion of *5*, with *4* as insertion point, leads to *Z*.
-Or any EWMH compliant panel.
+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.
-## Required Libraries:
-- libxcb
-- xcb-util
-- xcb-util-wm
+## Supported protocols and standards
-## Installation
+- The RandR and Xinerama protocols.
+- A subset of the EWMH and ICCCM standards.
- make
- make install
+## Community
-## Contributors
+Want to get in touch with other *bspwm* users or you need help? Join us on our:
-- [Ivan Kanakarakis](https://github.com/c00kiemon5ter)
+- 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