awesome
- Android app
- Not listed
- Free plan
- Yes
- Runs on
- Linux
Summary
Awesome is a free, highly configurable window manager for X on Linux. It is a framework rather than a complete desktop environment, and is primarily aimed at power users, developers, and people who want precise control over their graphical setup. Users can extend it with Lua, and its keyboard-driven design allows everything to be done without a mouse. Windows can be assigned to one or more tags, with several tags shown at once. XRandR support provides per-screen desktops for multihead setups. Awesome implements standards including EWMH, XDG Base Directory, XEmbed, Desktop Notification, and System Tray, and it supports D-Bus. Lua extensions are available for dynamic tagging, widgets, tabs, and layouts. The project uses the asynchronous XCB library and says this makes it less subject to latency than window managers based on Xlib. Packages are available for many distributions, including Arch Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora. The latest stable release listed is version 4.3, released on 28 January 2019.
Who it is for
Awesome suits Linux users who are comfortable configuring their environment and want keyboard control and Lua extensibility. It is a window manager, not a full desktop environment.
What is good
- Lua makes the framework extensible.
- Everything can be controlled from the keyboard.
- Supports per-screen desktops through XRandR.
- Windows can belong to multiple tags.
- Packages are available for many distributions.
What to know first
- It is not a desktop environment.
- Latest stable release listed is version 4.3 from 2019.
- Source builds may encounter LGI and Lua path problems.
Verdict
Awesome offers extensive control for users willing to configure a window manager rather than choose a full desktop environment. Its listed stable release is old, and the project recommends distribution packages over source builds.
awesome plans and pricing
All plansCompared on window management software
- Free plan
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Platforms
- Linuxawesomewm.org
- Layout presets
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Application rules
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Window grouping
- Yesawesomewm.org
- Virtual desktop controls
- Yesawesomewm.org
Facts
- Product type
- Awesome is a highly configurable framework window manager for X.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- License
- Awesome is licensed under the GNU GPLv2 license.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Target users
- It is primarily targeted at power users, developers and people who want fine-grained control of their graphical environment.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Configuration
- Awesome is designed as a framework window manager that is extensible using the Lua programming language.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Performance
- Awesome uses the asynchronous XCB library and says this makes it less subject to latency than Xlib-based window managers.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Keyboard control
- Everything in Awesome can be performed with the keyboard without using a mouse.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Multihead support
- Awesome provides real multihead support through XRandR with per-screen desktops called tags.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Standards
- Awesome implements EWMH, XDG Base Directory, XEmbed, Desktop Notification and System Tray standards.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Window organization
- Windows can be assigned to one or more tags, and several tags can be displayed at the same time.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Awesome supports D-Bus and offers Lua extensions for dynamic tagging, widgets, tabs and layouts.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Distribution support
- Packages are available for distributions including Arch Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD and others.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Latest stable release
- The download page identifies version 4.3 as the latest stable release, released on 28 January 2019.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Source installation
- The project recommends using the package supplied by your distribution because source builds can have LGI and Lua 5.1 package-search-path problems.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Release verification
- The stable source archives are provided with GPG signatures.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- Official documentation includes Lua API documentation, the awesome manpage, awesomerc manpage and awesome-client manpage.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project directs users to the #awesome channel on OFTC IRC, Stack Overflow, Reddit and GitHub for questions and issue reports.awesomewm.org · 1 Oct 2026
- Not a desktop environment
- The FAQ states that Awesome is a window manager, not a desktop environment.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
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Sources
- awesomewm.org· checked 1 Oct 2026
- awesomewm.org/download/· checked 1 Oct 2026
- awesomewm.org/doc/· checked 1 Oct 2026
- awesomewm.org/community/· checked 1 Oct 2026
- github.com/awesomeWM/awesome/blob/master/docs/90-F· checked 1 Oct 2026