Note: Project was renamed from nwm to swm (Simple Window Manager) in April 2026.

swm (Simple Window Manager) is a minimal, lightweight X11 window manager written in POSIX C99. Under 1000 lines across two files. No config files, no status bar, no runtime dependencies beyond Xlib. Tiling, floating, and monocle layouts. Tag-based workspaces. Compile-time configuration via swm.h. A clean dwm alternative for users who want full control without the patch surface.

swm is a POSIX X11 window manager that follows the suckless philosophy: small, auditable, and configured at compile time. The full source fits in swm.c and swm.h. No external build system, no scripting language, no plugin API.

Key properties:

• Two source files, under 1000 lines of C99
• Pure Xlib - no xcb, no Cairo, no Pango
• Configured entirely in swm.h before compilation
• Partial EWMH and full ICCCM compliance
• OpenBSD pledge(2) support; portable to FreeBSD

No other runtime dependencies. st and dmenu are the default terminal and launcher; replace them in swm.h before compiling.

Supported platforms:

• Linux (tested on Arch, Void, Debian)
• OpenBSD (with pledge(2))
• FreeBSD (compiles; not regularly tested)

Tested on other UNIX-like systems? Let me know - open an issue or send a patch.

git clone https://github.com/tinyopsec/swm
cd swm
make
sudo make install

Installs to /usr/local/bin/swm. Edit PREFIX in the Makefile to change the path.

yay -S swm
# or
paru -S swm

AUR package: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/swm

sudo make uninstall

Add swm to ~/.xinitrc:

exec swm

Start X:

startx

For display managers, create a session entry:

# /usr/share/xsessions/swm.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=swm
Comment=Nano Window Manager - minimal tiling X11 WM
Exec=swm
Type=Application

Print version and exit:

swm -v

Default modifier is Super (Win). To switch to Alt, change to Mod1Mask in swm.h.

Mouse bindings (modifier key held over a client window):

Dragging or resizing a tiled window past the snap threshold auto-floats it.

All bindings are defined in keys[] and buttons[] in swm.h and are freely remappable.

swm has no runtime configuration files. All settings live in swm.h and take effect after recompilation:

$EDITOR swm.h
make && sudo make install

#define MODKEY Mod4Mask   /* Super / Win */

static const char *termcmd[]  = { "st", NULL };
static const char *dmenucmd[] = { "dmenu_run", NULL };

Replace with any terminal or launcher: "alacritty", "foot", "rofi", etc.

swm follows the suckless philosophy:

• Auditable by design. Under 1000 lines of C99. No hidden complexity. The entire codebase fits in one reading session.
• Compile-time configuration. No config file parser, no IPC socket, no scripting runtime. Edit swm.h, recompile.
• Zero dependencies. Pure Xlib. No xcb, no Cairo, no external libraries.
• No feature creep. Features are added by patching the source, not by enabling runtime options.

swm is inspired by dwm but departs from it in several concrete ways:

• Deterministic tiling algorithm with no pixel drift or remainder accumulation
• Built-in gap support via gappx without requiring a patch
• Two-slot XOR system for both layouts and tags - Mod+Tab is consistent
• OpenBSD pledge(2) in the default build

Bug reports and patches are welcome via GitHub issues and pull requests.

Code style requirements:

• No comments in production code
• No external dependencies
• No over-abstraction or wrapper layers
• Compiles clean: gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra
• Total source stays under 1000 lines

Optional features behind #ifdef or compile-time constants are considered. Changes to the core event loop are reviewed carefully.

MIT. See LICENSE for details.