Desktop environments and Window managers: Difference between revisions

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The desktop environment in Alpine have two main flavors: '''official desktop for alpine as Xfce4 and LXDE''' and '''community contributed desktops as Mate, AWM''' also have more options such as special case the very bloated [[Gnome Setup|Gnome]] (that currently recent version uses [[Wayland]]). 
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<!-- COMMENT FOR EDITORS


Please, if find something not easy to understand about integration of the variety of programs, take in consideration further reading at the end of this page to understand important notes about [[Alpine_newbie_desktops#Behavior_of_Desktop_Environments_in_Linux|Behavior of Desktop Environments in Linux]]
Do not add any content about specific desktop environment or window manager in this page. Please add all the content to the respective wiki pages. If wiki page does not exist for the specific window manage, please create and add the content.


'''So you can choose from those options or follow the next sugested [[Alpine Newbies Openbox Window Manager|Alpine Newbies: Xorg and Openbox]]''' page.
This page lists only the window managers and desktop environments for which packages are available in Alpine Linux. Do not add unsupported software here.
-->


= Alpine Desktops: Official Desktop =
'''Alpine Linux''' has no official desktop and setting up a graphical environment is not even part of [[Installation]]. All window managers and desktop environments that are available in Alpine Linux are listed in this page. Quick installation using [[Alpine_setup_scripts#setup-desktop|setup-desktop]] script is available for few [[Setup-desktop|desktops]].


There's two official supported desktops, [[Alpine Newbies XFCE Desktop Environment|XFCE Desktop Environment]] and [[Alpine Newbies LXDE Desktop Environment|LXDE Desktop]], that last make also optional the [[Alpine Newbies Openbox Window Manager|Openbox Window Manager]].
{{Tip|For servers consider using [[Alpine_Configuration_Framework_Design|Alpine Configuration Framework(ACF)]] for security reasons.}}


# [[Alpine Newbies XFCE Desktop Environment]]
== Desktop environments ==
# [[Alpine Newbies LXDE Desktop Environment]]
# [[Alpine Newbies Openbox Window Manager]]


= Alpine Desktops: Community Contributions =
Desktop environment (DE) is made of a bundle of programs that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphical shell. A desktop environment typically consists of icons, windows, toolbars, folders, wallpapers desktop widgets and might also provide drag and drop.
* [[Xfce]]
* [[LXQt]]
* [[KDE|KDE Plasma]]
* [[GNOME]]
* [[MATE]]


There's some contributions desktop available using the Community Repository Packages like the [Alpine Newbies MATE Desktop Environment|MATE Desktop environment]] due some others need Wayland that has some compatibility problems:
== Window managers ==


# [[Alpine Newbies MATE Desktop Environment]]
A window manager is software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. In case of [[Wayland]], these are called  compositors because they additionally perform the task of a compositing window manager.
# [[Awesome(wm)_Setup|Awesome Window Manager]]


= Alpine Desktops: Upstream and external ones =
Almost all components of a desktop needs to be added manually by the user. A [[Alpine_Linux:Glossary#S|stacking]] a.k.a. floating or [[Alpine_Linux:Glossary#T|tiling]] a.k.a. dynamic layout is commonly used for window management.


All of the original upstream desktop can be installed by the traditional Unix-like method by downloading and compiling it:
{|class="wikitable sortable" align="center" style="width:100%; border:1px #0771a6 solid; background:#f9f9f9; text-align:left; border-collapse:collapse;"
 
! WM Name !! Protocol!! Style !! Toolkit!!class="unsortable"|Inspiration
# [[Dwm|Dynamic Window Manager for X]]
|-
# [[Alpine LXQT Desktop Environment]]
| [[AwesomeWM|Awesome]] ||X11  || Tiling || Lua ||
 
|-
= Alpine Desktops: multimedia =
| {{Pkg|berry|arch=}} || X11 || Stacking || C ||
 
|-
After have your preferred desktop you can also improvement to your desktop with:
| {{Pkg|bspwm|arch=}} || X11 || Tiling || C ||
 
|-
* [[Alpine multimedia for users]] (Audio and video multimedia related software and setup)
|  {{Pkg|cage |arch=}} || Wayland || Kiosk || C/wlroots || ratpoison
* [[Alpine multimedia for editing and amateurs]] (Amateur related such editing and converting tools)
|-
 
| {{Pkg|cagebreak|arch=}} || Wayland || Tiling ||C/wlroots || ratpoison and cage
= Alpine Desktops: emulation and gamming =
|-
 
| {{Pkg|cwm|arch=}} || X11 || Stacking || C ||
Alpine are capable of provide a good platform to play games and enjoy:
|-
 
| {{Pkg|dwl|arch=}}  || Wayland || Tiling || C/wlroots||[[dwm]]
* [[Alpine games packages and options]]
|-
* [[Alpine emulators packages and options]]
| [[dwm]] || X11 || Tiling || C ||
* [[Alpine games from upstreams sources]]
|-
* [[Alpine emulators from upstreams sources]]
| [[Fluxbox]] || X11 || Stacking || C++ ||Blackbox
 
|-
= Tutorial series =
| {{Pkg|herbstluftwm|arch=}} || X11 || Tiling || C++ ||
 
|-
{| class="wikitable"
| [[Hyprland]] || Wayland || Tiling || C++ ||
|-
| [[I3wm|i3]] || X11 || Tiling || C ||
|-
| {{Pkg|jwm|arch=}} || X11 || Stacking || C ||
|-
| [[LabWC]] || Wayland || Stacking || C/wlroots||[[Openbox]]
|-
| {{Pkg|mwm|arch=}} || X11 || Stacking || C ||
|-
| [[Openbox]] || X11 || Stacking || C ||
|-
| [[Qtile]] || Both || Tiling || Python ||
|-
| {{Pkg|ratpoison|arch=}}  || X11 || Kiosk || C ||
|-
| [[River]] || Wayland || Tiling || Zig || [[dwm]] and xmonad
|-
| {{Pkg|spectrwm |arch=}}  || X11 || Tiling || C||xmonad and [[dwm]]
|-
| [[Sway]] || Wayland || Tiling || C/wlroots || [[I3wm|i3]]
|-
| [[twm]] || X11 || Tiling || C ||
|-
|-
! Previous required  !! What's next to read
| {{Pkg|wayfire|arch=}} || Wayland || Stacking || C++/wlroots || Compiz
|-
|-
| [[Alpine newbie apk packages]] || [[Alpine Newbies Openbox Window Manager|Alpine Newbies: Xorg and Openbox]]
| [[Weston]] || Wayland || Stacking ||  C ||
|}
|}


= Behavior of Desktop Environments in Linux  =
== See also ==
 
* [[Installation#Post-Installation|Post Installation]]
The popularity of Linux in desktop computers and laptops has been increasing BUT that's a only false behavior.. there's two factors that indicates that:
* [[Wayland]]
 
* [[Xorg]]
# Because Linux desktop distributions are not usually distributed by retail sale, there are no sales numbers that indicate the number of users. Desktop computers and phones are ruled by M$ and Google so far.
* [[Display manager]]
# The main offers are focused in server and many desktops have programs that never find a end in development like Kppp or Firefox OS, or GTKpod; those are projects that works only with deprecated not used in time devices or machines.
* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Desktop_environment Desktop environment - Archwiki]
 
* [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Desktop_environment Desktop environment - Gentoo Wiki]
You as user will find some very '''significant differences when integrated some desktops or try to install many desktops programs from source upstream''', a very important thing to take in consideration. But '''"Ah ok, but why that? why not a automatic default etc etc..?"''' because the focus of the system are efficiency, performance and maximum control of the system, not an automatic behavior not well knowed.
 
Taking in consideration that the North American-based web-measurement methods produce high Win-like desktop OS numbers and ignore the widespread use of Linux in other parts of the world, no single official Linux desktop exists and all the integration are focused in too many RedHat proposed practices (that ends in M$-like things like <code>systemd</code>.
 
As pointed in first paragraph, '''Gnome it's a example of this.. it's used the <code>wayland</code> service and widely integrated with <code>systemd</code>, and Alpine does not use <code>systemd</code> that comes something in compatibility issues'''. That it's a example why Desktop environment are so difficult to adopt in Linux world and obviously to configured in Alpine systems.
 
= See Also =
 
# [[Alpine newbie]]
# [[Alpine newbie install manual]]
# [[Alpine newbie apk packages]]
# [[Alpine newbie desktops]]
# [[Alpine newbie developer]]
# [[Alpine newbie lammers]]


[[Category:Desktop]]
[[Category:Desktop]]
[[Category:Multimedia]]
[[Category:Desktop Environments]]
[[Category:Window Managers]]
[[Category:Compositor]]

Latest revision as of 10:38, 10 March 2025

Alpine Linux has no official desktop and setting up a graphical environment is not even part of Installation. All window managers and desktop environments that are available in Alpine Linux are listed in this page. Quick installation using setup-desktop script is available for few desktops.

Tip: For servers consider using Alpine Configuration Framework(ACF) for security reasons.

Desktop environments

Desktop environment (DE) is made of a bundle of programs that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphical shell. A desktop environment typically consists of icons, windows, toolbars, folders, wallpapers desktop widgets and might also provide drag and drop.

Window managers

A window manager is software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. In case of Wayland, these are called compositors because they additionally perform the task of a compositing window manager.

Almost all components of a desktop needs to be added manually by the user. A stacking a.k.a. floating or tiling a.k.a. dynamic layout is commonly used for window management.

WM Name Protocol Style Toolkit Inspiration
Awesome X11 Tiling Lua
berry X11 Stacking C
bspwm X11 Tiling C
cage Wayland Kiosk C/wlroots ratpoison
cagebreak Wayland Tiling C/wlroots ratpoison and cage
cwm X11 Stacking C
dwl Wayland Tiling C/wlroots dwm
dwm X11 Tiling C
Fluxbox X11 Stacking C++ Blackbox
herbstluftwm X11 Tiling C++
Hyprland Wayland Tiling C++
i3 X11 Tiling C
jwm X11 Stacking C
LabWC Wayland Stacking C/wlroots Openbox
mwm X11 Stacking C
Openbox X11 Stacking C
Qtile Both Tiling Python
ratpoison X11 Kiosk C
River Wayland Tiling Zig dwm and xmonad
spectrwm X11 Tiling C xmonad and dwm
Sway Wayland Tiling C/wlroots i3
twm X11 Tiling C
wayfire Wayland Stacking C++/wlroots Compiz
Weston Wayland Stacking C

See also

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