Herbstluftwm

Manual tiling window manager for X11 using Xlib and Glib. The layout is based on splitting frames into subframes which can be split again or can be filled with windows (similar to i3/ musca). Tags (or workspaces or virtual desktops or …) can be added/removed at runtime. Each tag contains its own layout. Exactly one tag is viewed on each monitor. The tags are monitor independent (similar to xmonad). It is configured at runtime via ipc calls from herbstclient. So the configuration file is just a script which is run on startup.

Installation

Once you finish installing Archcraft, Herbstluftwm can be installed on the top of it. It's pre-configured and ready to go. Open a terminal and run the following command to install it :

$ sudo pacman -Sy archcraft-herbstluftwm

Configuration

Herbstluftwm is pre-configured in Archcraft. In this section, We'll see how the Herbstluftwm window manager is configured, what tools and utilities are used to make it look and work like a complete desktop environment.

Config Structure

The configuration structure of Herbstluftwm in Archcraft looks something like this:

~/.config
└── herbstluftwm    : herbstluftwm config directory
    ├── alacritty   : terminal config
    ├── scripts     : scripts used for herbstluftwm
    ├── theme       : desktop theme (polybar, rofi configs) 
    ├── autostart   : main herbstluftwm config file
    ├── dunstrc     : dunst config for notifications
    ├── picom.conf  : compositor config
    └── xsettingsd  : gtk themes, icons and fonts config file

Terminal

Alacritty is the default terminal. In the Herbstluftwm window manager, alacritty is launched with an alternative config file. If you need to change anything, make sure you modify the config files in ~/.config/herbstluftwm/alacritty directory. These are the following config files you can modify to change the behaviour of your terminal:

~/.config/herbstluftwm/alacritty/alacritty.toml : Main configuration file
~/.config/herbstluftwm/alacritty/colors.toml : Colors configurations
~/.config/herbstluftwm/alacritty/fonts.toml : Fonts configurations

If you need any help with alacritty config, run : man 5 alacritty in terminal.

Notification

Dunst is used as a notification daemon for notifications in Herbstluftwm. In the Herbstluftwm window manager, dunst is launched with an alternative config file, which is ~/.config/herbstluftwm/dunstrc. So, If you need to modify anything, make sure you edit this file.

If you need any help with dunst config, run : man 5 dunst in terminal.

Wallpaper

hsetroot sets the wallpaper in the Herbstluftwm. If you want to change the wallpaper, Edit ~/.config/herbstluftwm/scripts/herb_autostart script and add the path to your wallpaper :

# Restore wallpaper
hsetroot -cover '/path/to/your/wallpaper'
#hsetroot -solid "#BDBAB5"

Statusbar

Polybar is used as the statusbar in Archcraft's Herbstluftwm window manager.

The configurations for polybar can be found inside the theme directory directory of Herbstluftwm ~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme

If you want to modify the polybar settings, or perhaps want to add/remove modules, then you need to edit the following files :

~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme/polybar/config.ini : Main config file
~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme/polybar/colors.ini : Colors config file
~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme/polybar/modules.ini : Modules config file

If you need any help with polybar config, visit : polybar wiki

Launchers and Applets

Rofi is used for application launchers, command runner and various applets. To modify the rofi config, edit ~/.config/rofi/config.rasi file.

If you need any help with rofi config, run : man rofi in terminal.

The scripts for rofi that are used in Herbstluftwm can be found it ~/.config/herbstluftwm/scripts directory. These are the following scripts that uses rofi to provide the launchers and applets in Herbstluftwm :

rofi_askpass : rofi based sudo frontend to get root password
rofi_asroot : applet to open apps as root
rofi_bluetooth : bluetooth applet to quickly connect to BT devices
rofi_launcher : an application launcher, cmd runner, file manager and task manager
rofi_music : music applet, that controls MPD with mpc
rofi_powermenu : power menu, with confirmation dialog
rofi_runner : quickly lets you run a command
rofi_screenshot : screenshot applet that works with maim
rofi_windows : applet to manage opened windows

If you want to modify any applet or perhaps want to extend the functionality of the applet, just edit these scripts above.

The configuration of each script can be found inside the theme directory of Herbstluftwm ~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme

Let's say you want to modify the looks of launcher, then you need to edit the ~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme/rofi/launcher.rasi file. Same goes for every other applet, Edit the respective file in the same directory.

If you need any help with rofi theming, run : man rofi-theme in terminal.

To change the colors and fonts of the launchers and applets, Edit the ~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme/rofi/shared/colors.rasi and ~/.config/herbstluftwm/theme/rofi/shared/fonts.rasi files.

Compositor

Picom is used for compositing. It's a lightweight compositor with shadowing, advanced blurring and fading. In Herbstluftwm, picom is launched with an alternative config file, which is ~/.config/herbstluftwm/picom.conf.

If you need to change anything related to picom, Edit this picom config file.

If you need any help with picom config, check the picom's default config file in /etc/xdg/picom.conf

info

If you're having screen-tearing issues, using glx backend can solve this issue.
If you're facing lagging, hangs and freezes, try switching between xrender and glx backend.

Window Manager

The configuration of Herbstluftwm is available in ~/.config/herbstluftwm. To configure Herbstluftwm window manager, this is the main file that is used :

autostart : main configuration file responsible for determining the behaviour and settings of the overall session. Edit this file to set window rules, configure tags, layouts, and herbstluftwm appearance.

If you need any help with herbstluftwm configuration, visit : herbstluftwm.org

Keybindings

Here's a list of some important keybinds you need to know for operating Herbstluftwm easily. If you want to view, modify or add new keybinds, Edit ~/.config/herbstluftwm/autostart file.

Applications

Keys	Action
super + Return	Open terminal (alacritty)
super + shift + Return	Open floating terminal
super + alt + Return	Open fullscreen terminal
super + shift + F	Open file manager (thunar)
super + shift + E	Open text editor (geany)
super + shift + W	Open web browser (firefox)

Menu and Applets

Keys	Action
super	Open application launcher
alt + F1	Open application launcher
alt + F2	Open command runner
super + N	Open network manager applet
super + B	Open bluetooth applet
super + M	Open music applet
super + X	Open powermenu applet
super + S	Open screenshots applet
super + R	Open apps as root applet
super + W	Open window applet

Hardware Keys

Keys	Action
Print	Take screenshot
alt + Print	Take screenshot in 5 seconds delay
shift + Print	Take screenshot in 10 seconds delay
ctrl + Print	Take screenshot of currently focused window
super + Print	Take screenshot of selected area
XF86AudioRaiseVolume	Increase volume
XF86AudioLowerVolume	Decrease volume
XF86AudioMute	Toggle mute speakers
XF86AudioMicMute	Toggle mute microphone
XF86Audio + Next/Prev/Play/Stop	Media controls (MPD)
XF86MonBrightnessUp	Increase display brightness
XF86MonBrightnessDown	Decrease display brightness

Workspaces

Keys	Action
super + 1..9	Switch to respective tag
super + shift + 1..9	Send focused client to respective tag
super + Comma/Period	Cycle through tags
super + BackSpace	Cycle monitor

Window Management

Keys	Action
super + C	Close focused client
super + Left/Right/Up/Down	Focus left, right, top and bottom clients respectively
super + H/L/K/J	Focus left, right, top and bottom clients respectively
super + shift + Left/Right/Up/Down	Move clients in tiling and floating mode
super + shift + H/L/K/J	Move clients in tiling and floating mode
super + ctrl + Left/Right/Up/Down	Resize frames and floating clients
super + ctrl + H/L/K/J	Resize frames and floating clients
super + U	Splitting frames, create an empty frame at bottom
super + O	Splitting frames, create an empty frame in right
super + ctrl + S	Let the current frame explode into subframes
super + D	Remove subframes
super + Tab	Cycle clients
alt + Tab	Cycle clients
super + I	Jump to urgent client
super + F	Toggle fullscreen
super + shift + Space	Toggle focus between floating and tiled clients
super + ctrl + Space	Toggle floating
super + shift + M	Focus minimized clients
super + ctrl + M	Jump to last minimized client
super + G	Toggle pseudotile
super + Space	Cycles through the available layouts

Window Manager

Keys	Action
super + shift + R	Reload herbstluftwm
super + shift + Q	Quit herbstluftwm

Misc Keys

Keys	Action
ctrl + alt + M	Open ncmpcpp with album art in terminal
ctrl + alt + L	Trigger lockscreen
super + P	Run colorpicker
super + Escape	Run xkill

Screenshots

Here's few screenshots of Herbstluftwm desktop. These'll give you an idea of the experience of Herbstluftwm in Archcraft.

Desktop 1	Desktop 2	Desktop 3	Desktop 4

Desktop 5	Desktop 6	Desktop 7	Desktop 8

Desktop 9	Desktop 10	Desktop 11	Desktop 12

Desktop 13	Desktop 14	Desktop 15	Desktop 16

FAQs

How to update my config to new configs?

When a new version of Archcraft Herbstluftwm get released, And you update the system by sudo pacman -Syu or you update the Herbstluftwm package by sudo pacman -S archcraft-herbstluftwm, New config files get installed as herbstluftwm_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD in your ~/.config directory.

To use new configs, backup your old ~/.config/herbstluftwm directory and move ~/.config/herbstluftwm_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD to ~/.config/herbstluftwm and login again.

How to change GTK theme, icons and cursor?

To change GTK theme, icons and cursor in Herbstluftwm session, Edit ~/.config/herbstluftwm/xsettingsd file and restart Herbstluftwm to apply the changes.

Net/ThemeName "Adwaita-dark"
Net/IconThemeName "Zafiro"
Gtk/CursorThemeName "Qogirr"

How to manage multiple monitors and resolution in Herbstluftwm?

If you use multiple monitors with Herbstluftwm window manager, you can manage them by running Manager Monitors or archcraft-randr app.

Why Alacritty is not working on my computer?

Since Alacritty is a OpenGL based terminal emulator, It may not work on some computer hardwares. You can make it work on such computers by following these methods :

1. Open alacritty with LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 variable. Edit the keybindings/script launching alacritty and replace alacritty with LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 alacritty
2. Edit /usr/share/applications/Alacritty.desktop desktop file and replace Exec=alacritty with Exec=env LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 alacritty