Apelles Window Manager

Apelles is a dynamic tiling window manager based on the suckless philosophy. It's a fork of dwm with additional features and customizations, focusing on simplicity, efficiency, and keyboard-driven workflow.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Configuration
• Layouts
• Keybindings
• Mouse Controls
• Autostart
• Scratchpads
• Window Rules
• Status Bar
• Patches and Extensions
• Customization
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing

Features

Core features include:

• Dynamic window tiling
• Multiple layouts
• Customizable gaps between windows
• Floating window support
• Window Swallowing capability
• Scratchpad terminals
• Multi-monitor support
• Status bar with customizable colors
• .Xresources integration
• Custom window factor adjustments
• Automatic window rules
• Window cycling

Installation

Dependencies

• Xlib headers
• libXinerama
• libXft
• dmenu (program launcher)
• st (default terminal)
• JetBrainsMono Nerd Font
• slstatus (status bar)
• ranger (optional, for file manager scratchpad)
• make
• gcc

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/ayusjayaswal/Apelles-Window-Manager.git
cd Apelles-Window-Manager
sudo make clean install

Post-Installation

Move dwm.desktop to the /usr/share/xsessions/ folder

Configuration

config.h

Main configuration is done through config.def.h. Key aspects that can be configured:

• Keybindings
• Layouts
• Fonts
• Colors
• Border width
• Gap sizes
• Autostart programs
• Window rules

Xresources

Create ~/.Xresources with these configurations:

! DWM Base Colors
dwm.normfgcolor: #ebdbb2
dwm.normbgcolor: #282828
dwm.normbordercolor: #282828
dwm.selfgcolor: #282828
dwm.selbgcolor: #83a598
dwm.selbordercolor: #83a598

! Layout Settings
dwm.borderpx: 2
dwm.gappx: 8
dwm.snap: 32
dwm.showbar: 1
dwm.topbar: 1

! Window Management
dwm.nmaster: 1
dwm.resizehints: 1
dwm.mfact: 0.55

! Terminal Colors (Gruvbox)
*.foreground: #ebdbb2
*.background: #282828
*.cursorColor: #ebdbb2

! Black + DarkGrey
*.color0: #282828
*.color8: #928374
! DarkRed + Red
*.color1: #cc241d
*.color9: #fb4934
! DarkGreen + Green
*.color2: #98971a
*.color10: #b8bb26
! DarkYellow + Yellow
*.color3: #d79921
*.color11: #fabd2f
! DarkBlue + Blue
*.color4: #458588
*.color12: #83a598
! DarkMagenta + Magenta
*.color5: #b16286
*.color13: #d3869b
! DarkCyan + Cyan
*.color6: #689d6a
*.color14: #8ec07c
! LightGrey + White
*.color7: #a89984
*.color15: #ebdbb2

Apply changes with:

xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources

Layouts

Available layouts:

1. STK - Traditional tiling (master-stack)

   • One master window on the left, stack on the right
   • Adjustable master width

2. [M] - Monocle

   • All windows fullscreen
   • Cycle through with keybindings

3. SPR - Spiral

   • Windows arranged in fibonacci spiral
   • Good for many windows

4. DCK - Deck

   • Master window with stacked windows
   • Like a card deck

5. BST - Bottom stack

   • Master window on top
   • Stack arranged horizontally below

6. GRD - Grid

   • Equal-sized grid arrangement
   • Automatically adjusts to window count

7. NGD - N-row grid

   • Grid with customizable rows
   • Forced vertical splits available

8. CST - Centered master

   • Master window in center
   • Other windows on sides

9. FLT - Floating

   • Free window placement
   • Traditional stacking window manager

Keybindings

MODKEY is set to the Windows key (Mod4)

Core Controls

• MODKEY + Enter - Open terminal
• MODKEY + Shift + Enter - Open dmenu
• MODKEY + b - Toggle status bar
• MODKEY + x - Kill focused window
• MODKEY + Shift + q - Quit Apelles
• MODKEY + Ctrl + Shift + q - Restart Apelles

Window Management

• MODKEY + w - Focus next window
• MODKEY + s - Focus previous window
• MODKEY + Shift + w - Move window up in stack
• MODKEY + Shift + s - Move window down in stack
• MODKEY + q - Zoom/Switch to master
• MODKEY + f - Toggle fullscreen
• MODKEY + Space - Toggle between layouts
• MODKEY + Shift + Space - Toggle floating
• MODKEY + Tab - Cycle through layouts forward
• MODKEY + Shift + Tab - Cycle through layouts backward

Master Area

• MODKEY + a - Increase number of master windows
• MODKEY + d - Decrease number of master windows
• MODKEY + h - Decrease master area size
• MODKEY + l - Increase master area size

Window Resizing

• MODKEY + Shift + h - Increase client size horizontally
• MODKEY + Shift + l - Decrease client size horizontally

Tags (Workspaces)

• MODKEY + 1-9 - Switch to tag 1-9
• MODKEY + Shift + 1-9 - Move window to tag 1-9
• MODKEY + Ctrl + 1-9 - Toggle tag view
• MODKEY + 0 - View all tags
• MODKEY + Shift + 0 - Tag window with all tags

Gaps

• MODKEY + g - Toggle gaps
• MODKEY + Shift + g - Reset gaps to default
• MODKEY + Alt + u - Increase all gaps
• MODKEY + Alt + Shift + u - Decrease all gaps
• MODKEY + Alt + i - Increase inner gaps
• MODKEY + Alt + Shift + i - Decrease inner gaps
• MODKEY + Alt + o - Increase outer gaps
• MODKEY + Alt + Shift + o - Decrease outer gaps

Multi-monitor

• MODKEY + comma/period - Focus previous/next monitor
• MODKEY + Shift + comma/period - Move window to previous/next monitor

Scratchpads

• MODKEY + c - Toggle terminal scratchpad
• MODKEY + v - Toggle ranger file manager scratchpad

Mouse Controls

• MODKEY + Left Click - Move window
• MODKEY + Right Click - Resize window
• MODKEY + Middle Click - Toggle floating
• Click on tag - Switch to tag
• Right click on tag - Toggle tag view
• MODKEY + Click on tag - Move window to tag
• Click on layout symbol - Cycle layouts

Autostart

Programs can be automatically started by adding them to the autostart array in config.h:

static const char *const autostart[] = {
    "slstatus", NULL,
    "nitrogen", "--restore", NULL,  // Wallpaper
    "picom", NULL,                  // Compositor
    "nm-applet", NULL,              // Network manager
    NULL /* terminate */
};

Window Rules

Window rules are defined in config.def.h. Example configuration:

static const Rule rules[] = {
    /* class      instance    title       tags mask     isfloating   isterminal  noswallow  monitor */
    { "Gimp",     NULL,       NULL,       0,            1,           0,          0,        -1 },
    { "Firefox",  NULL,       NULL,       1 << 8,       0,           0,         -1,        -1 },
    { "st",       NULL,       NULL,       0,            0,           1,          0,        -1 },
    { NULL,       "spterm",   NULL,       SPTAG(0),     1,           1,          0,        -1 },
};

Status Bar

The status bar uses slstatus. To customize:

1. Clone and build slstatus
2. Configure status bar items in slstatus's config.h
3. Restart Apelles

Patches and Extensions

Common patches that can be applied:

• systray (system tray support)
• pertag (per-tag layout settings)
• fullgaps (advanced gap customization)
• attachaside (new windows added to stack)
• alpha (transparency support)
• vanity gaps (advanced gap settings)
• swallow (terminal window swallowing)
• cool-autostart (enhanced autostart)

Customization

Adding New Layouts

1. Create new layout function in layouts.c
2. Add to layouts[] array in config.h
3. Recompile

Custom Colors

1. Edit colors in .Xresources
2. Run xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
3. Restart Apelles

Custom Status Bar

1. Modify slstatus configuration
2. Recompile slstatus
3. Restart status bar

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

1. Black screen after starting:

   • Check .xinitrc
   • Verify X server running
   • Check logs in ~/.local/share/xorg/

2. No status bar:

   • Verify slstatus installed
   • Check autostart configuration
   • Try running slstatus manually

3. Font issues:

   • Install JetBrainsMono Nerd Font
   • Check font configuration in config.h
   • Verify Xresources loading

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch
3. Commit changes
4. Push to branch
5. Create Pull Request

Follow suckless coding style:

• Clear, simple code
• Minimal dependencies
• Avoid bloat
• Keep patches separate

License

See LICENSE file for details. Based on dwm, which is licensed under the MIT/X Consortium License.