CachyOS Window Managers Guide - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

CachyOS Window Managers Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to window managers on CachyOS, including i3, Wayfire, Qtile, Hyprland, Sway, and other tiling and compositing window managers.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding Window Managers
  2. i3 Window Manager
  3. Wayfire Compositor
  4. Qtile Window Manager
  5. Hyprland Compositor
  6. Sway Window Manager
  7. Other Window Managers
  8. Troubleshooting

Understanding Window Managers

What is a Window Manager?

Window manager manages windows on your screen.

What it does:

  • Window placement: Places windows on screen
  • Window behavior: Controls window behavior
  • Keyboard shortcuts: Provides shortcuts
  • Workspaces: Manages workspaces

Types:

  • Tiling: Windows arranged automatically
  • Floating: Windows can overlap
  • Compositing: Visual effects and animations

i3 Window Manager

What is i3?

i3 is a tiling window manager.

Key features:

  • Tiling: Windows arranged automatically
  • Keyboard-driven: Controlled with keyboard
  • Lightweight: Low resource usage
  • Configurable: Highly configurable

Installing i3

Install i3:

sudo pacman -S i3 i3status i3lock

What this does:

  • Installs i3 window manager
  • i3status: Status bar
  • i3lock: Screen locker
  • Makes i3 available

Install with CachyOS settings:

sudo pacman -S i3 cachyos-i3wm-settings

What this does:

  • Installs i3
  • Installs CachyOS i3 settings
  • Pre-configured for CachyOS

Configuring i3

Configuration file:

nano ~/.config/i3/config

What this does:

  • Opens i3 configuration
  • Customize i3
  • Set keybinds, colors, etc.

Reload config:

Super + Shift + R

What this does:

  • Reloads i3 configuration
  • Applies changes
  • No restart needed

See CachyOS Desktop Environment Keybinds for i3 keybinds.

Wayfire Compositor

What is Wayfire?

Wayfire is a Wayland compositor.

Key features:

  • Wayland: Modern display server
  • 3D effects: Visual effects
  • Eye candy: Beautiful animations
  • Performance: Good performance

Installing Wayfire

Install Wayfire:

sudo pacman -S wayfire wayfire-plugins

What this does:

  • Installs Wayfire compositor
  • Installs plugins
  • Makes Wayfire available

Install with CachyOS settings:

sudo pacman -S wayfire cachyos-wayfire-settings

What this does:

  • Installs Wayfire
  • Installs CachyOS Wayfire settings
  • Pre-configured for CachyOS

Configuring Wayfire

Configuration file:

nano ~/.config/wayfire.ini

What this does:

  • Opens Wayfire configuration
  • Customize Wayfire
  • Configure effects, keybinds, etc.

Restart Wayfire to apply changes.

Qtile Window Manager

What is Qtile?

Qtile is a tiling window manager written in Python.

Key features:

  • Python: Configured in Python
  • Tiling: Automatic window tiling
  • Customizable: Highly customizable
  • Extensible: Python extensions

Installing Qtile

Install Qtile:

sudo pacman -S qtile

What this does:

  • Installs Qtile window manager
  • Makes Qtile available

Install with CachyOS settings:

sudo pacman -S qtile cachyos-qtile-settings

What this does:

  • Installs Qtile
  • Installs CachyOS Qtile settings
  • Pre-configured for CachyOS

Configuring Qtile

Configuration file:

nano ~/.config/qtile/config.py

What this does:

  • Opens Qtile configuration
  • Python configuration file
  • Customize Qtile

Reload config:

Super + Ctrl + R

What this does:

  • Reloads Qtile configuration
  • Applies changes
  • No restart needed

Hyprland Compositor

What is Hyprland?

Hyprland is a modern Wayland compositor.

Key features:

  • Wayland: Modern display server
  • Performance: High performance
  • Animations: Smooth animations
  • Modern: Modern features

Installing Hyprland

Install Hyprland:

sudo pacman -S hyprland

What this does:

  • Installs Hyprland compositor
  • Makes Hyprland available

Configuring Hyprland

Configuration file:

nano ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

What this does:

  • Opens Hyprland configuration
  • Customize Hyprland
  • Configure keybinds, effects, etc.

Reload config:

Super + Shift + R

What this does:

  • Reloads Hyprland configuration
  • Applies changes
  • No restart needed

Sway Window Manager

What is Sway?

Sway is i3-compatible Wayland compositor.

Key features:

  • i3-compatible: Similar to i3
  • Wayland: Modern display server
  • Tiling: Automatic window tiling
  • Keyboard-driven: Controlled with keyboard

Installing Sway

Install Sway:

sudo pacman -S sway swaybg swaylock

What this does:

  • Installs Sway compositor
  • swaybg: Background
  • swaylock: Screen locker
  • Makes Sway available

Configuring Sway

Configuration file:

nano ~/.config/sway/config

What this does:

  • Opens Sway configuration
  • Similar to i3 config
  • Customize Sway

Reload config:

Super + Shift + C

What this does:

  • Reloads Sway configuration
  • Applies changes
  • No restart needed

Other Window Managers

Niri

Install Niri:

sudo pacman -S niri

Install with CachyOS settings:

sudo pacman -S niri cachyos-niri-settings

What this does:

  • Installs Niri compositor
  • CachyOS pre-configuration
  • Ready to use

Openbox

Install Openbox:

sudo pacman -S openbox

What this does:

  • Installs Openbox window manager
  • Lightweight floating WM
  • Minimal interface

Other WMs

Available window managers:

  • Awesome: Tiling WM with Lua config
  • Bspwm: Tiling WM
  • Dwm: Minimal tiling WM
  • Herbstluftwm: Manual tiling WM

Install as needed:

sudo pacman -S window-manager-name

Troubleshooting

Window Manager Not Starting

Check logs:

journalctl -b | grep -i "window manager name"

What this does:

  • Shows window manager logs
  • Helps identify issues
  • Troubleshooting information

Check configuration:

# For i3
i3 -C ~/.config/i3/config

# For Sway
sway -C ~/.config/sway/config

What this does:

  • Checks configuration syntax
  • Validates config file
  • Helps find errors

Configuration Not Applying

Reload configuration:

  • Use reload shortcut
  • Or restart window manager
  • May fix issues

Check config syntax:

  • Validate configuration file
  • Fix syntax errors
  • Reload again

Additional Resources

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. Understanding window managers - What they are
  2. i3 - Tiling window manager
  3. Wayfire - Wayland compositor
  4. Qtile - Python-based tiling WM
  5. Hyprland - Modern Wayland compositor
  6. Sway - i3-compatible Wayland
  7. Other window managers - Additional options
  8. Troubleshooting - Common WM issues

Key Takeaways:

  • Window managers control window behavior
  • Tiling WMs arrange windows automatically
  • Use CachyOS settings packages for pre-configuration
  • Configure in config files
  • Reload config to apply changes
  • Keyboard-driven for efficiency
  • Wayland compositors are modern

This guide is based on the CachyOS Wiki and expanded with detailed explanations for beginners. For the most up-to-date window manager information, always refer to the official documentation.