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Glitch is a minimal X11 window manager controlled by keyboard shortcuts.

[!IMPORTANT] I built this window manager for personal use. There are no guarantees of stability. Main purpose is to learn X11 and also to have a window manager that is simple and that I can easily modify to my liking.

glitch

Key Features

  • Window Movement: Move windows by pixel values
  • Window Resizing: Resize windows
  • Desktop Management: Multiple desktops and moving windows between them
  • Window Control: Kill, fullscreen, PiP, and always-on-top
  • Maximization: Vertical and horizontal maximization
  • Edge Snapping: Snap windows to screen edges
  • Window Centering: Center windows on screen
  • Audio Control: Toggle microphone mute with on-screen status
  • Tiling Layout: Toggle between floating and tiling layouts per desktop
  • Application Launcher: Integrated .desktop-aware launcher with usage-based sorting
  • On-screen Indicators: Live status for desktop, layout, mic, and clock
  • Live Reload: Reload configuration without restart

Technical Details

  • Built on X11/Xlib for low-level window management
  • Uses EWMH (Extended Window Manager Hints) for fullscreen and state functionality
  • Integrated PulseAudio support for real-time microphone status tracking
  • Uses GIO/GLib for standard-compliant .desktop file parsing and application discovery
  • Persistent usage tracking for applications to provide "most used" sorting
  • Xft-based on-screen widgets for system status (Clock, Mic, Layout, Desktop)
  • Maintains state for maximized windows to enable toggle behavior
  • Implements proper X11 event handling and window attribute management

Requirements

  • C compiler (GCC or Clang)
  • GNU Make
  • pkg-config
  • X11 and Freetype development libraries
  • libXft development library
  • PulseAudio development library
  • GLib/GIO development libraries

Installing Dependencies

Void Linux:

sudo xbps-install libX11-devel freetype-devel libXft-devel pulseaudio-devel glib-devel pkg-config

Compilation

# Build normally
make

# Use a specific compiler
CC=clang make
CC=gcc make

# Build with debug symbols
DEBUG=1 make

# Compile with optimization levels
OPTIMIZE=2 make

# Clean build
make clean && make

Testing in Virtual Display

For safe testing without affecting your main session:

# Start Xephyr virtual display (requires Xephyr installed)
make virt

# In another terminal, run the window manager in the virtual display
DISPLAY=:69 ./glitch

Installation

# Install to /usr/local/bin by default
sudo make install

Running Glitch

Starting the Window Manager

From a display manager (login screen):

  • Add Glitch to your display manager's session list
  • Select it from the session menu
# Exit current window manager first, then:
./glitch

# Start X server and window manager
startx ./glitch

Configuration

Glitch uses a simple configuration system based on C header files. The configuration is compiled into the binary, so you need to recompile after making changes.

Setting Up Configuration

  1. Copy the default configuration:

    cp config.def.h config.h

  2. Edit your configuration:

    vim config.h  # or your preferred editor

  3. Recompile the window manager:

    make clean && make

  4. Restart or Reload:

    • Quit and restart, or
    • Use Mod+Shift+r to reload in-place

    You can also sen SIGUSR1 to trigger restart with

    kill -s SIGUSR1 $(pidof glitch)

Configuration Structure

The configuration uses two main arrays:

  1. shortcuts[] - Maps keys to shell commands
  2. keybinds[] - Maps keys to window manager functions

Default Key Bindings

Modifier key: Mod4 (Super/Windows key)

Window Movement

{ MODKEY,               XK_Left,    move_window_x,       { .i = -75 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_Right,   move_window_x,       { .i = +75 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_Up,      move_window_y,       { .i = -75 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_Down,    move_window_y,       { .i = +75 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_c,       center_window,       { 0 } },

Window Resizing

{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_Left,    resize_window_x,     { .i = -75 } },
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_Right,   resize_window_x,     { .i = +75 } },
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_Up,      resize_window_y,     { .i = -75 } },
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_Down,    resize_window_y,     { .i = +75 } },

Desktop Management

// Switch to desktop
{ MODKEY,               XK_1,       goto_desktop,        { .i = 1 } },
// ... up to XK_9

// Move window to desktop
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_1,       send_window_to_desktop, { .i = 1 } },
// ... up to XK_9

Window Control

{ MODKEY,               XK_f,       toggle_fullscreen,   { 0 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_q,       close_window,        { 0 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_m,       toggle_mic_mute,     { 0 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_p,       toggle_launcher,     { 0 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_space,   toggle_layout,       { 0 } },
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_q,       quit,                { 0 } },
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_r,       reload,              { 0 } },
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_s,       toggle_pip,          { 0 } },
{ MODKEY | ShiftMask,   XK_t,       toggle_always_on_top,{ 0 } },
{ Mod1Mask,             XK_Tab,     cycle_active_window, { .i = 0 } },
{ Mod1Mask | ShiftMask, XK_Tab,     cycle_active_window, { .i = 1 } },

Window Maximization

{ MODKEY,               XK_x,       window_hmaximize,    { 0 } },
{ MODKEY,               XK_z,       window_vmaximize,    { 0 } },

Window Snapping

{ MODKEY | ControlMask, XK_Up,      window_snap_up,      { 0 } },
{ MODKEY | ControlMask, XK_Down,    window_snap_down,    { 0 } },
{ MODKEY | ControlMask, XK_Right,   window_snap_right,   { 0 } },
{ MODKEY | ControlMask, XK_Left,    window_snap_left,    { 0 } },

Shell Commands

Defined in shortcuts[] array:

  • Mod+Return: Terminal (st)
  • Mod+p: Internal application launcher
  • Mod+w: Browser (brave)
  • Mod+e: File Manager (thunar)
  • Mod+s: Screen magnifier (xmagnify)
  • Mod+r: Screen recorder (SSR)
  • Mod+l: Screen lock (xlock)
  • Control+Escape: Screenshot (maim)

Function Reference

Function Category Parameters Description
move_window_x Movement arg->i (pixels) Move window horizontally (positive = right)
move_window_y Movement arg->i (pixels) Move window vertically (positive = down)
resize_window_x Resize arg->i (pixels) Resize window width (positive = wider)
resize_window_y Resize arg->i (pixels) Resize window height (positive = taller)
center_window Movement None Center window on screen
window_snap_up Snap None Snap window to top edge
window_snap_down Snap None Snap window to bottom edge
window_snap_left Snap None Snap window to left edge
window_snap_right Snap None Snap window to right edge
goto_desktop Desktop arg->i (desktop #) Switch to specified desktop
send_window_to_desktop Desktop arg->i (desktop #) Move window to specified desktop
cycle_active_window Focus arg->i (0=fwd, 1=back) Cycle focus through windows
close_window Control None Gracefully close active window
quit Control None Exit the window manager
toggle_fullscreen Control None Toggle fullscreen mode
toggle_pip Control None Toggle Picture-in-Picture mode
toggle_always_on_top Control None Toggle Always-on-Top status
window_hmaximize Maximize None Toggle horizontal maximize
window_vmaximize Maximize None Toggle vertical maximize
toggle_mic_mute Audio None Toggle microphone mute state
toggle_launcher Control None Toggle integrated app launcher
toggle_layout Layout None Toggle between floating/tiling
reload System None Reload configuration/restart WM
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