wmctrl is a

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

used to control windows in EWMH- and

NetWM The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems. X originated as part of Project Athena at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984. The X protocol has been at ...

-compatible

X Window The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems. X originated as part of Project Athena at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984. The X protocol has been a ...

window manager A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of window (computing), windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment. They ...

s. Some of its common operations are list, resize, and close window. It also has the ability to interact with

virtual desktop In computing, a virtual desktop is a term used with respect to user interfaces, usually within the WIMP (computing), WIMP paradigm, to describe ways in which the virtual space of a computer's desktop environment is expanded beyond the physical ...

s and give information about the window manager. wmctrl is a

command-line program A console application or command-line program is a computer program (applications or utilities) designed to be used via a text-only user interface. A console application can be used with a computer terminal, a system console, or a terminal emu ...

, however, it has some functions that allow the mouse to select a window for an operation.man wmctrl(1)
/ref>

Operations

wmctrl operations *List all desktops *List all windows *Switch desktop of a window *Close window *Resize window *Move window *Set window's icon name *Set window title *Add, remove, or toggle windows properties ** modal **sticky **maximized_vert **maximized_horz **shaded **skip_taskbar **skip_pager, hidden **fullscreen **above **below *Move window to another desktop *Change geometry (common size) of desktops *Display information about the window manager *Change number of desktops

Compatible window managers

Compatible, or mostly compatible, window managersHome page
(archived 2022-11-16) *

Blackbox Blackbox is a free and open-source stacking window manager for the X Window System. Blackbox has specific design goals, and some functionality is provided only through other applications. One example is the bbkeys hotkey application. Blackbox ...

≥ version 0.70 *

IceWM IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, originally written by Marko Maček. It was written from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. It is customizable, relatively light ...

KWin KWin is a window manager for the X Window System and a Wayland (display server protocol)#Wayland compositors, Wayland compositor. It is released as a part of KDE Plasma, for which it is the default window manager. KWin can also be used on its o ...

(the default WM for

KDE KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the KDE Plasma gra ...

) *

Metacity Metacity (pronounced ) was the default window manager used by the GNOME 2 desktop environment until it was replaced by Mutter in GNOME 3. It is still used by GNOME Flashback, a session for GNOME 3 that provides a similar user experience to the ...

(the default WM for

GNOME 2 GNOME 2 is the second major release of the GNOME desktop environment. Building upon the release of GNOME 1, development of GNOME 2 focused on a greater design-oriented approach that simplified and standardized elements of the environment. It als ...

, replaced by Mutter in

GNOME 3 GNOME 3 is the third major release of the GNOME desktop environment. A major departure from technologies implemented by its predecessors, GNOME 3 introduced a dramatically different user interface. It was the first GNOME release to utilize a unif ...

) *

Openbox Openbox is a free, stacking window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0 (a C++ project), Openbox has been completely re-written in the C programming language ...

≥ 3 (the default WM of

Lubuntu Lubuntu ( ) is a lightweight Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that uses the LXQt desktop environment in place of GNOME. Lubuntu was originally touted as being "lighter, less resource hungry and more energy-efficient", but now aims to be "a f ...

) *

sawfish Sawfish, also known as carpenter sharks, are a family of very large rays characterized by a long, narrow, flattened rostrum, or nose extension, lined with sharp transverse teeth, arranged in a way that resembles a saw. They are among the lar ...

FVWM The F Virtual Window Manager (FVWM) is a virtual window manager for the X Window System. Originally a twm derivative, FVWM is now a window manager for Unix-like systems. History In 1993, during his work analyzing acoustic signatures for the ...

≥ 2.5 * waimea * PekWM *

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

≥ 0.16.6 *

Xfwm Xfce or XFCE (pronounced as four individual letters, ) is a free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Xfce aims to be fast and lightweight while still visually appealing and easy to use. The deskt ...

≥ 4 (the default WM for Xfce) *

Fluxbox Fluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox 0.61.1 in 2001, with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the d ...

≥ 0.9.6 *

matchbox A matchbox is a container or case for matches, made of paperboard, cardboard, thin wood, or metal, generally in the form of a box with a separate drawer sliding inside the cover. Matchboxes generally measure 5 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm, and commonly have ...

Window Maker GNUstep is a free software implementation of the Cocoa (formerly OpenStep) Objective-C frameworks, widget toolkit, and application development tools for Unix-like operating systems and Microsoft Windows. It is part of the GNU Project. GNUste ...

≥ 0.91 *

compiz Compiz () is a compositing window manager for the X Window System, using 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing desktop effects for window management. Effects, such as a minimization animation or a cube workspace, are implemented as loa ...

* Awesome *

Xmonad xmonad is a dynamic window manager ( tiling) for the X Window System, noted for being written in the functional programming language Haskell. Window manager Begun in March 2007, version 0.1 was announced in April 2007 as 500 lines of Haske ...

* Qubes *

Qtile In computing, a tiling window manager is a window manager with the organization of the screen often dependant on mathematical formulas to organise the windows into a non-overlapping frame. This is opposed to the more common approach used by sta ...

References

External links

* *
Website, archived 2023-04-07

NetWM
{{XWinSys Application programming interfaces X Window System Computing commands