# bxwm
A very basic X window manager, a.k.a Brett's X window manager.
## Yet Another Window Manager?
I went down the path of minimalist window managers a very long time
ago. I used [dwm](https://dwm.suckless.org/) for many years. I tried out both
[i3](https://i3wm.org/) and [bspwm](https://github.com/baskerville/bspwm). I've relied on [cwm](https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/xenocara/app/cwm/) for the most recent several years.
One day not too long ago when I should've been working, I daydreamed
about a window manager that did nothing more nor less than what I
needed a window manager to do. That matched my worflow without
tweaking or patching or scripting or hacking.
Dreaming led to looking up minimal window manager source code, then
learning to read C code, then designing, then roadmapping, then
stumbling along writing C code, a lot of trial and error. And voilà.
Here is yet another window manager. My window manager. __bxwm__.
A stacking window manager that is purposely opinionated regarding
window placement and sizing, provides a straight forward work
environment, and prefers simplicity and tranquility.
In addition to being the window manager I use every day, __bxwm__
also serves as my primary project for transitioning from writing
shell scripts for automating workflow to writing robust, maintainable
C programs that adhere to my values of minimalism, the Unix
philosophy, and clean, readable API design.
## Dependencies
- Xlib
- A C compiler compliant with the C11 standard (e.g. cproc or gcc).
- bxhkd, basic X hotkey daemon (required for managing key commands).
## Build
Compile __bxwm__ from source.
```
make
```
## Install
Install the binary and man page. Note that root privileges are not
required as the default desination is `~/.local/`.
```
make install
```
## Uninstall
Remove the binary and man page.
```
make uninstall
```
## Configuration
__bxwm__ is configured at compile-time by editing config.def.h. After
making changes, the program must be recompiled and reinstalled. See
bxwm(1) for details.
## Design & Functionality
__bxwm__ is built around a set of opinionated primitives:
- Window Sizing & Placement
- New windows are opened
- small, centered on the screen, and,
- at a gold ratio dimension.
- Windows can be moved and resized to
- centered half the width of the screen and full height,
- right half of the screen and full height,
- left half of the screen and full height,
- maximized to full screen height and width, and,
- back to a small screen centered.
- Stacking
- Windows are maintained in a stack.
- Window focus follows stack order.
- Windows are navigated via key command
- next window and
- previous window.
- Workspaces
- 10 workspaces available.
- Windows can be moved between workspaces via key commands.
- Workspaces are navigated via key command.
Window and workspace management and navigation commands via hotkeys
are sent to __bxwm__ via __bxhkd__.
Add the following lines to `~/.xinitrc` to start __bxwm__.
```
exec bxwm 2> ~/.local/var/log/bxwm.log
```
