Ubuntu Manpage: evilwm—minimalist window manager for X11

NAME

       evilwm—minimalist window manager for X11

SYNOPSIS

       evilwm [OPTION]…

DESCRIPTION

       evilwm  is  a  minimalist  window  manager  for the X Window System. It features plenty of
       reconfigurable mouse and keyboard controls while providing a clean display, uncluttered by
       less useful window furniture (like title bars).

OPTIONS

--display display
specifies the X display to run on. Usually this can be inferred from the DISPLAY
environment variable.

--term termprog
specifies an alternative program to run when spawning a new terminal (defaults to
xterm, or x-terminal-emulator in Debian). Separate arguments with whitespace, and
escape needed whitespace with a backslash. Remember that special characters will
also need to be protected from the shell.

--fn fontname
specify a font to use when resizing or displaying window titles.

--fg colour
--fc colour
--bg colour
frame colour of currently active, fixed active, and inactive windows respectively.
Either specify an X11 colour name like goldenrod, or a hex triplet like #DAA520.

--bw borderwidth
width of window borders in pixels.

--snap distance
enable snap-to-border support. distance is the proximity in pixels to snap to.

--wholescreen
ignore monitor geometry and use the whole screen dimensions. This is the old
behaviour from before multi-monitor support was implemented, and may still be
useful, eg when one large monitor is driven from multiple outputs.

--numvdesks value
number of virtual desktops to provide. Defaults to 8. Any extras will only be
accessible by pagers or using Control+Alt+(Left/Right).

--nosoliddrag
draw a window outline while moving or resizing.

--mask1 modifier[+modifier]…
--mask2 modifier[+modifier]…
--altmask modifier[+modifier]…
override the default keyboard modifiers used to grab keys for window manager
functionality.

mask1 is used for most keyboard controls (default: control+alt), and mask2 is used
for mouse button controls and cycling windows (default: alt). altmask is used to
modify the behaviour of certain controls (default: shift). Modifiers may be
separated with + signs. Valid modifiers are 'shift', 'control', 'alt',
'mod1'…'mod5'.

--bind key[+modifier]…=[function[,flag]…]
bind a key pressed with specified modifiers to a window manager function. key is an
X11 keysym name, modifiers are as above, but may also include 'mask1', 'mask2' and
'altmask' to refer to the globally-configured combinations. See FUNCTIONS for a
list of available functions and the flags they recognise. If function is empty, a
bind is removed.

--bind button=[function[,flag]…]
bind a mouse button to a window manager function. While modifiers can be specified,
they will be ignored; the button on its own will trigger if pressed within a
window's frame, or with 'mask2' held anywhere within a window. Function and flags
is as with key binds above. Valid buttons are 'button1'…'button5'.

--app name/class
match an application by instance name and class (for help in finding these, use the
xprop tool to extract the WM_CLASS property).

Subsequent --geometry, --dock, --vdesk and --fixed options will apply to this
match.

-g, --geometry geometry
apply a geometry (using a standard X geometry string) to applications matching the
last --app.

--dock specify that application should be considered to be a dock, even if it lacks the
appropriate property.

-v, --vdesk vdesk
specify a default virtual desktop for applications matching the last --app. Note
that virtual desktops are numbered from zero.

-f, --fixed
specify that application is to start with a fixed client window.

-h, --help
show help

-V, --version
show program version

evilwm will also read options, one per line, from a file called .evilwmrc in the user's
home directory. Options listed in a configuration file should omit the leading dash(es).
Options specified on the command line override those found in the configuration file.

USAGE

In evilwm, the focus follows the mouse pointer, and focus is not lost if you stray onto
the root window. The current window border is shaded gold (unless it is fixed, in which
case blue), with other windows left as a dark grey.

You can use the mouse to manipulate windows either by click/dragging the single-pixel
border (easier when they align with a screen edge), or by holding down Alt and doing so
anywhere in the window. The controls are:

Button 1
Move window.

Button 2
Resize window.

Button 3
Lower window.

Most keyboard controls are used by holding down Control and Alt, then pressing a key.
Available functions are:

Return Spawn new terminal.

Escape Delete current window. Hold Shift as well to force kill a client.

Insert Lower current window.

H, J, K, L
Move window left, down, up or right (16 pixels). Holding Shift resizes the window
instead.

Y, U, B, N
Move window to the top-left, top-right, bottom-left or bottom-right of the current
monitor.

I Show information about current window.

Equals Maximise current window vertically on current monitor (toggle). Holding Shift
toggles horizontal maximization.

X Maximise current window to current monitor (toggle).

D Toggle visible state of docks, eg pagers and launch bars.

If compiled with virtual desktop support, these functions are also available:

F Fix or unfix current window. Fixed windows remain visible when you switch virtual
desktop.

1—8 Switch to specific virtual desktop (internally, desktops are numbered from zero, so
this actually switches to desktops 0—7; this only becomes important if you use
application matching).

Left Switch to next lower numbered virtual desktop.

Right Switch to next higher numbered virtual desktop.

A Switch to the previously selected virtual desktop.

In addition to the above, Alt+Tab can be used to cycle through windows.

To make evilwm reread its config, send a HUP signal to the process. To make it quit, kill
it, ie send a TERM signal.

FUNCTIONS

The keyboard and mouse button controls can be configured with the --bind option to a
number of built-in functions. Typically, these functions respond to an additional set of
flags that modify their behaviour.

delete Delete a window. This is the co-operative way of closing applications, as it sends
the client a signal indicating that they should shut down.

dock When called with the toggle flag, toggles visibility of any window claiming to be a
dock.

fix With the toggle flag, toggle whether a window is fixed (visible on all virtual
desktops) or not.

info Shows extra information about the current window for as long as the key is held.

kill Kill a window. A more forceful way of closing an application if it is not
responding to delete requests.

lower Lower the current window.

move When bound to a button, moves a window with the mouse.

When bound to a key, if the relative flag is specified, moves a window in the
direction indicated by other flags: up, down, left or right. Without the relative
flag, moves a window in the direction specified by other flag to the edge of the
monitor.

next Cycle to the next window.

raise

Raises the current window.

resize When bound to a button, resizes a window with the mouse.

When bound to a key, if the relative flag is specified, modifies the width or
height of the window as indicated by other flags: up (reduce height), down
(increase height), left (reduce width) or right (increase width). If instead the
toggle flag is specified, maximises along axes specified by other flags:
horizontal, vertical or both.

spawn Start a terminal.

vdesk With the toggle flag specified, switch to the previously visible vdesk. With the
relative flag set, either increase vdesk number (with up flag) or decrease it (with
down flag).

If neither flag is specified, a numerical argument indicates which vdesk to switch
to.

DEFAULT BINDS

       These are the default lists of modifiers, button and keyboard binds.  The  built-in  binds
       use the globally-configurable modifier combinations 'mask1', 'mask2' and 'altmask', making
       a sweeping change to a different modifier combination easy.

       Note that 'mod1' typically refers to the Alt key.

   Modifiers
              mask1 control+mod1
              mask2 mod1
              altmask shift

   Button binds
              bind button1=move
              bind button2=resize
              bind button3=lower

   Keyboard binds
              bind mask1+Return=spawn
              bind mask1+Escape=delete
              bind mask1+altmask+Escape=kill
              bind mask1+Insert=lower
              bind mask1+KP_Insert=lower
              bind mask1+i=info
              bind mask2+Tab=next
              bind mask1+h=move,relative+left
              bind mask1+j=move,relative+down
              bind mask1+k=move,relative+up
              bind mask1+l=move,relative+right
              bind mask1+y=move,top+left
              bind mask1+u=move,top+right
              bind mask1+b=move,bottom+left
              bind mask1+n=move,bottom+right
              bind mask1+altmask+h=resize,relative+left
              bind mask1+altmask+j=resize,relative+down
              bind mask1+altmask+k=resize,relative+up
              bind mask1+altmask+l=resize,relative+right
              bind mask1+equal=resize,toggle+v
              bind mask1+altmask+equal=resize,toggle+h
              bind mask1+x=resize,toggle+v+h
              bind mask1+d=dock,toggle
              bind mask1+f=fix,toggle
              bind mask1+1=vdesk,0
              bind mask1+2=vdesk,1
              bind mask1+3=vdesk,2
              bind mask1+4=vdesk,3
              bind mask1+5=vdesk,4
              bind mask1+6=vdesk,5
              bind mask1+7=vdesk,6
              bind mask1+8=vdesk,7
              bind mask1+Left=vdesk,relative+down
              bind mask1+Right=vdesk,relative+up
              bind mask1+a=vdesk,toggle

FILES

       $HOME/.evilwmrc

LICENCE

       Copyright (C) 1999-2022 Ciaran Anscomb <evilwm@6809.org.uk>

       This is free software. You can do what you want to it, but if it breaks something, you get
       to  pay for the counselling. The code was originally based on aewm, so this is distributed
       under the same terms, which follow.

AEWM LICENCE

       Copyright (c) 1998-2000 Decklin Foster.

       THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES
       OF  ANY  KIND.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES CONNECTED WITH
       THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM.

       You are granted permission to copy,  publish,  distribute,  and/or  sell  copies  of  this
       program  and  any  modified  versions  or  derived works, provided that this copyright and
       notice are not removed or altered.

       Portions of the code were based on 9wm, which contains this license:

              9wm is free software, and is Copyright (c) 1994 by David Hogan.
              Permission is granted to all sentient beings to use this
              software, to make copies of it, and to distribute those copies,
              provided that:
                (1) the copyright and licence notices are left intact
                (2) the recipients are aware that it is free software
                (3) any unapproved changes in functionality are either
                      (i) only distributed as patches
                  or (ii) distributed as a new program which is not called 9wm
                          and whose documentation gives credit where it is due
                (4) the author is not held responsible for any defects
                    or shortcomings in the software, or damages caused by it.
              There is no warranty for this software.  Have a nice day.