Powerful Features

Everything you need for a productive desktop experience, without the bloat.

Window Management

DWN provides flexible window management that adapts to your workflow, whether you prefer the precision of tiling or the freedom of floating windows.

☷ Tiling Layout

Master-stack tiling with configurable master area ratio. Windows automatically organize into a primary area and a stack, maximizing screen real estate.

  • Adjustable master area ratio (0.1 - 0.9)
  • Multiple windows in master area
  • Smart stack arrangement
  • Seamless borderless design (0px borders, 0px gaps)

❏ Floating Layout

Traditional floating window management with drag-and-drop positioning. Perfect for workflows that need overlapping windows or free-form arrangement.

  • Click and drag to move windows
  • Resize from any edge or corner
  • Window snapping support
  • Respect minimum size hints

☐ Monocle Layout

Full-screen single window mode for focused work. Each window takes up the entire workspace, perfect for presentations or deep concentration.

  • Maximize focused window
  • Quick window cycling
  • Ideal for single-task focus
  • Works great on small screens
Pro Tip

Switch layouts instantly with Super + Space. Your window arrangement is preserved when switching back.

Borderless Design

DWN employs a professional, seamless aesthetic with zero window borders and zero gaps:

  • 0px borders - No visible borders around windows
  • 0px gaps - Windows tile edge-to-edge without spacing
  • 28px title bars - Minimal height for window controls
  • Maximum screen utilization - Every pixel counts

This creates a smooth, professional appearance where content takes center stage. The focus remains on your work, not on window decorations. All settings are configurable via ~/.config/dwn/config if you prefer different values.

Virtual Workspaces

Nine virtual desktops give you unlimited room to organize your work. Each workspace maintains its own window state and layout preferences.

1-9

9 Workspaces

Quick access via F1-F9 keys. Organize projects, contexts, or tasks across dedicated spaces.

↔

Window Transfer

Move windows between workspaces with Shift+F1-F9. Quick and keyboard-driven.

📈

Per-Workspace State

Each workspace remembers its layout mode, window positions, and focused window.

👁

Visual Indicators

Panel shows active and occupied workspaces at a glance with color coding.

Panels & System Tray

Built-in panels provide essential information and quick access to common functions without needing external tools or status bars.

Top Panel

The top panel contains your main controls and information:

  • Workspace Indicators - Click or use shortcuts to switch
  • Taskbar - Shows windows on current workspace
  • System Tray - Battery, volume, WiFi indicators

Bottom Panel

Optional bottom panel for additional information:

  • Clock Display - Time and date
  • News Ticker - Scrolling news feed with navigation
  • Customizable - Can be hidden in config

News Ticker

The bottom panel includes a scrolling news ticker that displays headlines from a news feed. Navigate through articles using keyboard shortcuts:

  • Super + Down - Next article
  • Super + Up - Previous article
  • Super + Return - Open in browser

The ticker updates automatically and caches up to 50 articles. Smooth scrolling animation at 80 pixels per second keeps you informed without distraction.

XEmbed System Tray

📱 External Application Icons

DWN implements the freedesktop.org XEmbed System Tray protocol, allowing external applications to dock their status icons in the panel - just like XFCE, GNOME, or KDE.

Supported applications include:

  • Telegram - Notification icons for messages
  • nm-applet - NetworkManager GUI
  • blueman-applet - Bluetooth manager
  • pasystray - PulseAudio control
  • udiskie - USB automounter
  • Any application with tray icon support

Simply launch any tray-enabled application and its icon will automatically appear in the panel. Click on icons to interact - all events are forwarded to the application.

XDG Autostart

Automatic Application Startup

DWN follows the XDG Autostart specification, automatically starting system services and tray applications - just like traditional desktop environments.

Directories scanned at startup:

  • /etc/xdg/autostart/ - System defaults (nm-applet, blueman, power-manager)
  • ~/.config/autostart/ - User XDG autostart entries
  • ~/.config/dwn/autostart.d/ - DWN-specific symlinks and scripts

All applications launch concurrently for fastest boot time. Properly handles .desktop file fields including Hidden, TryExec, OnlyShowIn, and NotShowIn.

Built-in Widgets

🔋 Battery Monitor

Shows current battery percentage with color-coded status:

  • Red when below 20%
  • Blue when charging
  • Auto-hides on desktops

🔊 Volume Control

Full audio control at your fingertips:

  • Click for volume slider
  • Scroll to adjust
  • Right-click to mute

📶 WiFi Manager

Network management made simple:

  • Click for network list
  • Signal strength indicators
  • Current SSID display

Notification System

Built-in D-Bus notification daemon following freedesktop.org standards. No need for external notification tools like dunst or notify-osd.

Standards Compliant

Implements the org.freedesktop.Notifications D-Bus interface. Works seamlessly with any application that sends desktop notifications.

Customizable Appearance

Configure notification colors and positioning through the config file. Notifications match your overall color scheme automatically.

Capacity

DWN can display up to 32 notifications simultaneously, with automatic queuing and timeout management.

AI Integration

Optional AI features powered by OpenRouter API and Exa semantic search. Control your desktop with natural language and get intelligent assistance.

🤖 AI Command Palette

Press Super + Shift + A and type natural language commands like "open firefox" or "launch terminal".

Learn More

🔍 Semantic Web Search

Search the web semantically with Exa integration. Find relevant content based on meaning, not just keywords.

Learn More

🎓 Context Analysis

AI analyzes your current workspace to understand what you're working on and provides relevant suggestions.

Learn More

Extensible API

DWN exposes a real-time WebSocket API that allows for complete programmatic control and monitoring of your desktop environment.

💡 Real-time Monitoring

Subscribe to window manager events and state changes. Build custom dashboards, status bars, or automation scripts.

🎫 Remote Control

Change workspaces, focus windows, and launch applications programmatically from any language that supports WebSockets.

💻 Integration Ready

Native support for JSON-RPC style commands makes it easy to integrate with external tools, mobile apps, or web interfaces.

Detailed API documentation and examples are available in the Documentation section.

Standards Compliance

DWN implements EWMH and ICCCM protocols for maximum compatibility with X11 applications.

EWMH Support

Extended Window Manager Hints for modern application features:

  • _NET_WM_STATE (fullscreen, maximized, etc.)
  • _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW
  • _NET_CLIENT_LIST and _NET_CLIENT_LIST_STACKING
  • _NET_CURRENT_DESKTOP and _NET_NUMBER_OF_DESKTOPS
  • _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE

ICCCM Compliance

Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual support:

  • WM_STATE management
  • WM_PROTOCOLS (WM_DELETE_WINDOW, WM_TAKE_FOCUS)
  • WM_NORMAL_HINTS (size hints)
  • WM_CLASS for window matching
  • WM_NAME and _NET_WM_NAME

Technical Specifications

Specification Value
Language ANSI C (C99)
Maximum Clients 256 windows
Workspaces 9 virtual desktops
Monitor Support Up to 8 monitors (Xinerama/Xrandr)
Notifications 32 concurrent
Keybindings 64 configurable shortcuts
Memory Usage < 5MB typical
Configuration INI-style (~/.config/dwn/config)

Learning DWN

Two built-in modes help you learn DWN quickly: an interactive tutorial and an automated demo that showcases all features.

📚 Interactive Tutorial

Press Super + T to start a hands-on tutorial that:

  • Guides you through essential shortcuts step-by-step
  • Waits for you to press the correct key combination
  • Automatically advances when you complete each step
  • Can be restarted at any time

🎬 Demo Mode

Press Super + Shift + D for an automated showcase:

  • Demonstrates window management, workspaces, and layouts
  • Shows panel features and system tray
  • Highlights AI integration and news ticker
  • Displays complete keyboard shortcut reference

Ready to Try DWN?

Get started in minutes with our simple installation process.

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