JWM - ArchWiki

# JWM

JWM (Joe's Window Manager) is a featherweight window manager for Xorg written in C. It is under active development and maintained by Joe Wingbermuehle. It is the default window manager base for distributions such as Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux.

JWM uses approximately 5 MB of resident memory under normal operating conditions. As of January 2009, the size of the version present in the official Arch Linux repositories is under 76 KB packaged (compare to dwm at under 17 KB) and under 171 KB installed (compare to dwm at 68 KB). A minimally compiled version consumes approximately 136 KB of disk space and occupies under 1500 KB of resident memory.

Configuration is done via a single XML file `~/.jwmrc`, there is native support for customizable panels and buttons, and it includes system tray dock.

## Installation

Install jwm from the official repositories.

Warning: Recent SVN snapshots (e.g. 500) have migrated to Mod key masks (e.g. `H` to `4`).

## Starting JWM

Run the xinit program to start the X server and the JWM client program:

    $ xinit /usr/bin/jwm

Alternatively, add `exec /usr/bin/jwm` to your Xinitrc. See also Start X at Boot.

## Configuration

A sample configuration file is located at `/etc/system.jwmrc`. Create `~/.jwmrc`:

    $ touch ~/.jwmrc

or:

    $ cp -i /etc/system.jwmrc ~/.jwmrc

Edit this file to establish the environment. See JWM Configuration for a complete list of available tags, attributes and values.

Note: The rolling content of JWM Configuration is based on the latest SVN snapshot and may not reflect the options available in the the current release.

### Overview of selected tags

This article or section is being considered for deletion.

Reason: This adds little to JWM Configuration (Discuss)

#### <StartupCommand>

Load and fork `parcellite` from parcellite package as a background daemon when JWM starts:

    <StartupCommand>parcellite -d</StartupCommand>

Quietly connect to and fork the urxvtd daemon to the current `$DISPLAY` when JWM starts:

    <StartupCommand>urxvtd -q -o -f</StartupCommand>

Recursively force the removal of selected directories as a general housekeeping measure when JWM starts:

    <StartupCommand>rm -rf $HOME/.adobe $HOME/.cache $HOME/.local/share/Trash $HOME/.macromedia $HOME/.recently-used.xbel $HOME/.Xauthority</StartupCommand>

Enable DPMS (Energy Star) to turn monitor 0:0 off to its lowest state of power consumption state after 900 seconds of screen idle after JWM starts:

    <StartupCommand>xset -display :0.0 dpms 0 0 900</StartupCommand>

Enable `devmon` from devmon package after JWM starts:

    <StartupCommand>/usr/bin/devmon</StartupCommand>

Note:

- Run the `xdpyinfo` command (owned by xorg-utils) to reveal the name of the current display.

Startup applications can be executed outside of the `<StartupCommand>` by including the appropriate options in Xinitrc.

#### <Program>

Open Thunar in a specified directory:

    <Program label="Thunar">thunar ~/Desktop</Program>

Connect to the local CUPS web interface to configure printers (use xdg-open from xdg-utils to use the default web browser):

    <Program label="CUPS Printing">xdg-open http://localhost:631</Program>

Iconize and start FileZilla with Site Manager opened:

    <Program icon="filezilla.png">filezilla -s</Program>

#### <Menu>

Create containers for a list of additional programs to display as a submenus under `<RootMenu>`:

    <Menu label="Sample">
        <Program label="Xfburn">xfburn -d</Program>
        <Program label="urxvt Client">urxvtc</Program>
    </Menu>

    <Menu label="Example">
        <Program label="Opera">opera -nolirc -nomail</Program>
        <Program label="Writer">lowriter</Program>
    </Menu>

#### <RootMenu>

Create a menu container displaying the `label="Test"` of `height="24"` pixels and bound to the left mouse button `onroot="1"` under `<RootMenu>`:

    <RootMenu labeled="true" label="Test" height="24" onroot="1">
        <Program label="Thunar">thunar ~/Desktop</Program>
        <Program label="CUPS Printing">xdg-open http://localhost:631</Program>
        <Program icon="filezilla.png">filezilla -s</Program>
        <Menu label="Sample">
            <Program label="Xfburn">xfburn -d</Program>
            <Program label="urxvt Client">urxvtc</Program>
        </Menu>
        <Menu label="Example">
            <Program label="Opera">opera -newprivatetab -noargb -nolirc -nomail</Program>
            <Program label="Writer">lowriter</Program>
        </Menu>
    </RootMenu>

Create a nested menu container with no label, of `height="32"` pixels, and bound to the right mouse button `onroot="3"` under `<RootMenu>`:

    <RootMenu height="32" onroot="3">
        <Program label="Thunar">thunar ~/Desktop</Program>
        <Program label="CUPS Printing">xdg-open http://localhost:631</Program>
        <Program icon="filezilla.png" label="FileZilla">filezilla -s</Program>
      <Menu label="Sample">
        <Program label="Xfburn">xfburn -d</Program>
        <Program label="urxvt Client">urxvtc</Program>
      <Menu label="Example">
        <Program label="Opera">opera -newprivatetab -noargb -nolirc -nomail</Program>
        <Program label="Writer">lowriter</Program>
      </Menu>
      </Menu>
    </RootMenu>

#### <Groups>

Preserve panel space by not displaying `Squeeze` and `Xarchiver` within the `<Tasklist>`:

    <Group>
        <Class>Squeeze</Class>
        <Class>Xarchiver</Class>
        <Option>nolist</Option>
    </Group>

Always start `Firefox` maximized on `desktop:2` without a title bar:

    <Group>
        <Class>Firefox</Class>
        <Option>maximized</Option>
        <Option>desktop:2</Option>
        <Option>notitle</Option>
    </Group>

##### Window class

The xprop utility displays window and font properties in an X server.

Set xprop to display the window class name of an application:

    xprop WM_CLASS

Click on the desired application window to display the string name of the window class:

    WM_CLASS(STRING) = "urxvt", "URxvt"

xprop is part of the xorg-utils package in the Arch Linux official repositories.

#### <TrayButton>

Create a panel `<TrayButton>` displaying the `label="Pattern"` which launches the `root:1` menu:

    <TrayButton label="Pattern">root:1</TrayButton>

#### <Swallow>

Integrate, or `<Swallow>` into the tray the program whose `name=wicd-gtk` and allow the named program to execute the command `wicd-gtk`

    <Swallow name="wicd-gtk">
        wicd-gtk
    </Swallow>

#### <Tray>

Create a panel `<Tray>` of `height="24"` pixels offset `x="0"` pixels from the left of the screen and `y="0"` from the top of the screen. Display within the panel:

1. A menu `<TrayButton>` which displays the `root:1` menu.
2. A `<TaskList/>` which displays running applications within the current desktop.
3. A `<TrayButton>` with the text `label="X"` that minimizes open windows to show the root window, or desktop.
4. A virtual desktop `<Pager/>` showing available workspaces.
5. The `<Swallow>` integration of the Wicd network applet.
   1. It is currently recommended to set `wicd-gtk` within the <StartupCommand> tag.
6. For supported applications, a system tray area for programs to `<Dock/>`.
7. A `<Clock>` which displays the date and time in the specified format.
   1. See `strftime` manual page for time and date character conversion specifications.

    <Tray x="0" y="0" height="24">
        <TrayButton label="Pattern">root:1</TrayButton>
        <TaskList/>
        <TrayButton label="X">showdesktop</TrayButton>
        <Pager/>
        <Swallow name="wicd-gtk">
            wicd-client
        </Swallow>
        <Dock/>
        <Clock format="%a %b %d %l:%M %p"></Clock>
    </Tray>

#### <Key>

Bind the `F1` key to launch and display the `root:3` menu:

    <Key key="F1">root:1</Key>

Bind the `Super+l` key combination to lock the screen (XScreenSaver)

    <Key mask="S" key="l">exec:xscreensaver-command -lock</Key>

Note: Run the `xev` command (owned by xorg-utils) to print the contents of keybound X events to standard output.

#### <Include>

Elaborate configurations often `<Include>` files for ease of maintenance and control

    <Key key="F1">root:1</Key>
    <Include>./.jwmrc-super-hyper-keys</Include>
    <Key mask="S" key="l">exec:xscreensaver-command -lock</Key>

Contents of an example `~/.jwmrc-super-hyper-keys`:

`<Key mask="PH" key="t">exec:thunderbird -addressbook</Key> <Key mask="PH" key="h">exec:htop -d 10 -u USER</Key> <Key mask="PH" key="c">exec:catfish --hidden --path=/usr</Key>`

#### <RestartCommand>

Call sync to flush file system buffers before dismounting all mounted TrueCrypt volumes when the user logs out of the current X session:

    <RestartCommand>sync; truecrypt -d</RestartCommand>

The `<RestartCommand>` complements, or can take the place of `$HOME/.bash_logout` for users working in an X environment.

#### <ShutdownCommand>

Recursively force the removal of the contents of the `Trash` folder when JWM shuts down:

    <ShutdownCommand>rm -rf ~/.local/share/Trash/*</ShutdownCommand>

Note: `<ShutdownCommand>` does not appear to behave as expected when using `dbus-send` `Shutdown` or `Stop` commands.

## Tips and tricks

### Improve <Tasklist> contrast

Change the default `<Tasklist>` settings to match the improved contrast style of the default `<MenuStyle>` and active `<WindowStyle>`:

    <TaskListStyle>
        <ActiveForeground>black</ActiveForeground>
        <ActiveBackground>gray90:gray70</ActiveBackground>
    </TaskListStyle>

    <TaskListStyle>
        <ActiveForeground>white</ActiveForeground>
        <ActiveBackground>#70849d:#2e3a67</ActiveBackground>
    </TaskListStyle>

### Logout and refresh

`<Exit/>` (Logout) is the menu command to cleanly log out of the current X server.

`<Restart/>` (Refresh) is the menu command tag which reinitializes the configuration file and updates menus and keybindings accordingly.

`<Restart/>` and `<Exit/>` can be bound to the `Ctrl+Alt` modified keys following the example syntax below:

    <Key mask="CA" key="r">exec:jwm -restart</Key>
    <Key mask="CA" key="e">exec:jwm -exit</Key>

#### Reboot and shutdown

A system with systemd can be rebooted with the `Restart` and `Poweroff` menu options.

    <Program label="Restart">systemctl reboot</Program>
    <Program label="Poweroff">systemctl poweroff</Program>

Alternatively, use `<Key>` to bind the commands to a chosen key.

See Allow users to shutdown for additional information.

#### Conky

Conky can be run within the `<StartupCommand>` to provide the display of various data streams (e.g. battery life and AC adapter status for notebooks). xfdesktop may conflict with Conky; workarounds include:

1. Review the Conky FAQ for workarounds in `~/.conkyrc`
2. `<Group>` Conky and specify the following `<Option>` tags in `~/.jwmrc`:

    <Group>
        <Class>Conky</Class>
        <Option>nolist</Option>
        <Option>noborder</Option>
        <Option>notitle</Option>
        <Option>sticky</Option>
    </Group>

### Minimal build

Gains in UI response can be gleaned by not using menu icons and by disabling the use of Xft fonts. Further gains can be accomplished by removing support for external libraries with a custom build. The result is also a reduction in resource requirements. A minimal build compiled with Xft support and using Xft fonts is allocated approximately 3 MB of resident and 1.5 MB of shared memory. The same build compiled without Xft support is allocated under 1.5 MB and approximately 1.2 MB, respectively. See the Arch Build System page for further details.

#### Minimal PKGBUILD example

    PKGBUILD

    pkgname=jwm
    pkgver=2.1.0
    pkgrel=3
    pkgdesc="A lightweight window manager for the X11 Window System"
    arch=('i686' 'x86_64')
    url="http://joewing.net/programs/jwm/"
    license=('GPL2')
    depends=('libx11')
    backup=('etc/system.jwmrc')
    source=(http://joewing.net/programs/jwm/releases/jwm-$pkgver.tar.bz2)
    md5sums=('e8fab21b2410eb82032b7c3472af642c')

    build() {
      cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver"
      ./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc --disable-fribidi \
      --disable-confirm --disable-icons --disable-png \
      --disable-xpm --disable-jpeg --disable-xinerama \
      --disable-xft --disable-xrender --disable-debug
      make
    }

    package() {
      cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver"
      make BINDIR="$pkgdir/usr/bin" MANDIR="$pkgdir/usr/share/man" \
           SYSCONF="$pkgdir/etc" install
    }

### Minimal font suggestions

    <WindowStyle>
    -*-fixed-*-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

    <TaskListStyle>
    -*-fixed-*-r-*-*-13-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

    <TrayStyle>
    -*-fixed-*-r-*-*-13-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

- Man `xfontsel` and review the X Logical Font Description article for additional details and pattern descriptions.

### Manual tiling support

Tiling support can be added to JWM with the Poor Man's Tiling Window Manager. Assuming `manage.py` is part of the local `PATH`, various tiling actions can be assigned to keys, for example:

    <Key mask="H" key="Up">exec:manage.py swap</Key>
    <Key mask="H" key="Down">exec:manage.py cycle</Key>
    <Key mask="H" key="Left">exec:manage.py left</Key>
    <Key mask="H" key="Right">exec:manage.py right</Key>

Note: Run the `env` command to list the modified environments of the current user.

## Troubleshooting

### Additional troubleshooting

If X is not already running on `tty1`, `Ctrl+Alt+F1` will allow you to review standard output errors and messages. See `man script` command for details on how to create a typescript of what is printed to the terminal.

### All windows are transparent using compton

Adjust the window transparency in `~/.jwmrc`:

    <Inactive>
      <Opacity>1,0</Opacity>
    </Inactive>

### Terminal windows do not fully maximize

Add a group with the `iignore` option to `~/.jwmrc`, for example:

    <Group>
     <Class>URxvt</Class>
     <Option>iignore</Option>
    </Group>

### Verify configuration changes

To check the JWM configuration and return syntax errors (including associated line numbers), if any, run:

    $ jwm -p

Note: Configuration changes are applied after restarting JWM via the `<Restart/>` command, available on the initial root menu. There is no need to restart the X server for changes to apply. Users are recommended to use `jwm -p` between configuration changes to ensure valid markup and a stable environment.

## See also

- Joe's Window Manager
- PuppyLinux JoesWindowManager
- Puppy Linux JWM themes exchange

Category:

- Stacking WMs