dxdwm

WARNING: VIBECODED :3

dxdwm is a small X11 window manager written in Rust.

What it does

• Becomes the active X11 window manager via SubstructureRedirect.
• Manages top-level windows and keeps them focusable/raiseable.
• Default launcher keybind: Super (Windows key) runs:
  • rofi -show drun
• Terminal keybind: Alt+Enter runs:
  • alacritty
• Window control keybinds:
  • Alt+Q closes the focused window.
  • Alt+W cycles focus through managed windows (tab-like).
  • Alt+Space toggles between floating mode and single-window tabbed mode.
• Mouse bindings:
  • Alt + Left Mouse Drag moves windows.
  • Alt + Right Mouse Drag resizes windows.

Project layout

• Cargo.toml - dependency manifest.
• src/main.rs - window manager implementation.
• scripts/run_xephyr.sh - optional nested X11 runner for Linux.

Notes

• This is intended for X11 Linux sessions.
• On macOS, this can be edited but not realistically run as an X11 session WM.
• rofi must be installed and in PATH for the launcher binding.
• DXDWM_LAUNCHER can override launcher command (default: rofi -show drun).
• DXDWM_TERMINAL can override terminal command (default: alacritty).
• On startup, dxdwm runs $HOME/.config/dxdwm/dxdwm.sh; it is auto-created if missing.

License

GPL-3.0-only

Build (Linux/X11 host)

cargo build --release

Run from tty via startx (standalone WM)

Create ~/.xinitrc:

#!/usr/bin/env sh
export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"
# Optional overrides:
# export DXDWM_TERMINAL="kitty"
# export DXDWM_LAUNCHER="rofi -show drun"
exec /absolute/path/to/dxdwm/target/release/dxdwm

Then from a Linux tty (not from inside another WM):

chmod +x ~/.xinitrc
startx

Run as WM from an existing X session

exec /absolute/path/to/dxdwm/target/release/dxdwm

Quick input checks

Inside dxdwm, verify:

• Alt + Left Mouse Drag moves windows.
• Alt + Right Mouse Drag resizes windows.
• Alt + Enter launches your terminal.
• Pressing Super launches your app launcher.

Optional nested run (Linux with Xephyr)

./scripts/run_xephyr.sh