FlameWM
A window manager and desktop shell for Linux, written in Rust, with its UI in HTML and CSS compiled to native code.
Extremely efficient. Two sessions: X11 and Wayland.
Screenshots · Features · Status · Install · Build · Architecture · Contributing
Why FlameWM
- Native and small. The shell is HTML and CSS, compiled at build time. There is no embedded browser. Idle figures are in Performance.
- One desktop, one owner per job. The window manager, shell, settings, lock screen and apps are separate crates. The layering rules are in
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.
- Honest status. Open work is tracked in
docs/TODO.md. Known issues are listed below, not hidden.
Screenshots
| Explorer, Terminal and widgets | Start menu and Dock |
|---|
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The screenshots come from an isolated FlameWM session on a private Xvfb display, with the default wallpaper, sample files and a neutral profile.
Features
Status key: Shipped is in the current source and used in the screenshots. Partial is present with stated gaps. Planned is not yet built.
| Area | Feature | Status |
|---|
| Window management (X11) | Reparenting, focus, minimize, maximize, fullscreen, move, resize | Shipped |
| Window management (X11) | Snap previews | Shipped |
| Window management (X11) | Keyboard-switched workspaces | Shipped |
| Desktop | Icons, context menus, wallpapers | Shipped |
| Panel | Taskbar, Start menu, status popovers, Dock (pill layout) | Shipped; Dock is partial, see docs/DOCK_DESIGN.md |
| Widgets | Clock, CPU, memory, media | Shipped |
| Notifications | org.freedesktop.Notifications server, history centre grouped by app, popup suppression | Shipped; Do Not Disturb works in the backend, its toggle is not yet in the centre UI |
| Settings | Settings application | Shipped |
| Lock screen | PAM authentication (X11) | Shipped on X11; not on Wayland |
| Screenshots | Full screen, monitor, window, region, annotation, clipboard, optional ffmpeg recording | Shipped; see docs/SCREENSHOT.md |
| Audio | Volume on-screen display for XF86 audio keys | Shipped |
| Apps | Task manager, terminal, file explorer, finder | Shipped |
| Weather | Open-Meteo popup | Shipped; off by default, needs network |
| ARK AI | Optional ARK AI chat window | Shipped; off by default, see ARK AI |
| Wayland | Compositor on Smithay, runs native Wayland and XWayland clients | Shipped; see Wayland known limitations |
| Wayland | DRM/KMS backend | Shipped; owner-reported working on a real laptop, not re-verified in CI |
Full comparison with another desktop is in docs/competitors/.
Status
FlameWM is a source-level release. It does not claim parity with the historical IceWM or C implementations. Release history is in CHANGELOG.md. The current version is printed by ./scripts/version.
Both sessions are supported. The Wayland session is owner-reported working on a real laptop; that report is not re-verified by CI or in the build sandbox. See docs/INSTALL.md and docs/PACKAGING.md.
Sessions
| Session | Entry | Notes |
|---|
| FlameWM (X11) | /usr/share/xsessions/flamewm.desktop | Default. |
| FlameWM (Wayland) | /usr/share/wayland-sessions/flamewm-wayland.desktop | Native DRM/KMS. A nested window backend exists for testing inside another session. |
The Wayland compositor is crates/flamewm-wm-wayland, built on Smithay. It runs native Wayland clients and XWayland. The shell, desktop and settings run as XWayland clients. Install from a working X11 session first. If the Wayland session fails, choose FlameWM at the login screen. The wrapper does not fall back to X11 by itself.
Diagnostics:
flamewm-wayland --capabilities # build facts only
flamewm-wayland --probe # read-only report
tail -n 200 ~/.cache/flamewm/wayland-session.log
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
