Window Managers

Updated 14-Sep-2023

Beneath every window-based Desktop Environment (DE) there is a windows manager. And beneath the windows manager, is a display server protocol such as X.org, Mir, and Wayland. When choosing a Desktop Environment, one can simply choose a windows manager and then add various other utilities such as menus, panels, search interfaces, configuration interfaces, etc. This is the case with Openbox in particular.

Openbox-based Desktop Environments

Openbox is a highly stable and functional window manager used in LXDE, LXQT, and other distributions, which bundle source repositories, applications, a windows manager (or not), and a full-fledged desktop environment (or not).

What Window Managers are used with which Desktop Environments?

  • Cinnamon uses Muffin, a fork of Mutter (but rebased with X11, no Wayland components)
  • KDE uses
  • Gnome uses Mutter,
  • KDE Plasma 5 uses KWin, a Wayland compositor
  • Enlightenment uses
  • Moksha, a fork of Enlightenment DR17, is both a Window Manager and Desktop Environment for Bodhi Linux.