spectrwm
7.1#4 in window management softwareFree planFree planLinuxmacOSWindows
Visitspectrwm vs yabai
What both publish
| Fact | spectrwm | yabai |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | The official installation guide provides source-build instructions and package commands for Debian/Ubuntu, Arch, NixOS and NetBSD, with a separate macOS guide. | The maker documents installation using a codesigned binary installer script or Homebrew from the asmvik/formulae tap. |
| License | The code is released under the permissive ISC license, with patches required to use the same license. | yabai is distributed under the MIT License. |
| Purpose | spectrwm is a small, dynamic tiling and reparenting window manager for X11. | yabai is a tiling window manager for macOS that automatically arranges windows using binary space partitioning. |
| Support | The project directs questions and feedback to the OFTC IRC channel #spectrwm. | The project provides installation and configuration documentation through its GitHub wiki and asks users to review requirements before filing issues. |
| Supported systems | The project lists BSD systems, Linux, macOS and Windows through Cygwin as supported targets. | The project lists macOS Big Sur 11 or later for Intel and macOS Monterey 12 or later for Apple Silicon, including Tahoe 26. |
spectrwm plans
- spectrwmFree
yabai plans
- yabaiFree
Pick spectrwm if…
spectrwm suits people using X11 who want configurable tiling layouts and keyboard- or mouse-based window navigation. It may also fit users who want to define workspaces, regions, and application-launch shortcuts without learning a programming language for configuration.
Pick yabai if…
yabai suits macOS users who want command-line control over tiled or floating windows, spaces, and displays. Its advanced options may appeal to people comfortable reviewing permissions and system requirements.